Tea Preferences by CQL Sects - a Headcanon
Since watching ep 3 for the first time (i.e. january), this has been knocking around in my brain. In ep 3, we see JZXuan waltzing into the same inn as the Yunmeng Trio, booting them, and then rejecting “bad tea”. Ever since, I’ve watched a lot of tea being poured in CQL. It got me thinking, what kind of tea would different sects prefer and what would different characters drink?
Per ep 3, we hear JZXuan say “This tea is stale.” This means this tea is no longer fresh. Based on that (and the pale greenish yellow color of the liquid) I would guess he’s drinking green here but green that’s over a year old, maybe only 7 months old. Probably to an average person, this tea is fine. It might even be nice enough. (I like a taiwanese green that is really yummy for about a year but the vendor tells me he doesn’t drink it past 6 months.) But for our rich peacock? Oh no! Unacceptable! He sets it down and walks away.
I’m guessing Jin Clan (especially JZXuan and JGS) is accustomed to drink imperial grade pre-qingming dragonwell starting early April. They drink it through the summer. Maybe have some nice aged oolongs between August - October. I can see them drinking motherbush yancha and motherbush phoenix mountain dancongs. They would then switch to a green oolong after the fall oolong harvest. I headcanon they drink the most floral of Tie Guan Yins (tgy, iron goddess of mercy), especially ones that taste like orchids (yes, tgys like this exist) and/or peonies (i’m guessing these exist, but not 100% sure). I can also seeing them drink something akin to modern taiwanese high mountain oolongs, also winter harvest (but that really depends on if that sort of crop exists in their world since world building isn’t period-specific). Either way, I’m thinking super green or super floral fresh tea crops with a hefty price tag.
Since the Wens exude red and oppression, I can’t help but think they drink a lot of black teas (called red tea in chinese). Like the Jins, they go for famous teas and rare teas and expensive teas. But since their environment is hot and sulfuric (have you seen Nightless City, sheesh, i’m surprised WWX didn’t comment on the stink), I suspect they have to drink teas that can stand up to such environments. My first thought was Keemun tea! It’s called QiMen tea, which would be perfect for the homonym effect! But it may not be the best fit. My next thought was ZhengShan XiaoZhong (Lapsong Souchong). Fruity, pine smoked, and oxidized, this tea would survive the climate well and show off Wen sect’s wealth. (I’ve had really nice versions of ZhenShan XiaoZhong that aren’t as smokey, but they were still robust and flavorful.) Also Lapsong Souchong was popular enough outside of China that Winston Churchill drank it. UK → China → Imperialism → oppression → Wens. QED. Wen Qing and Wen Ning, probably don’t drink that when left to their own devices. I see Wen Qing making herself and her brother drink “cooling” teas, so likely green, to counteract the effects of the fire and brimstone mountains.
So I get the sense that the Nie sect really cares about cultivation. They want tea that they can feel chi from. They don’t have to have the fanciest things or the most expensive, but they do care about the quality and intrinsic value. NMJ wants tea that will help with his cultivation. NHS seeks out culture and interesting fun teas. I can definitely see the two of them going on tea purchasing trips together in the spring and fall. They travel to Fujian, to Yunnan, to Guangdong.There, they talk to farmers, look at the plants, try the tea, get a sense of the energies the leaves impart. NMJ is partial the Wuyi rock teas, Yunnan old tree heichas, and phoenix mountain dancong mother bushes since many are from old bushes and have their own spiritual energies. NHS is fascinated by the Fujian artistry, especially the Anxi farmers. They source their teas from the farmers and have really good relationships with a lot of oolong and black tea growers. NHS has a soft spot for Phoenix Mountain Duck Shit Fragrance Dancong. The tea is delicious and the name hysterical.
Yunmeng is a place of a lot of water and lotus and down to earth people. A lot of places in china grow tea. Often they’re just referred to as local green tea. I can see the people here picking the tea in the spring and drinking it throughout the summer. The stuff isn’t fancy but it’s fresh. That freshness makes it delicious. I can also see the Jiang family seeking out bricks of heicha. Heicha is the large category Puerh falls under. They are considered post process fermentation teas which means they develop further after they’re formed into bricks. In a humid and wet environment, I can see these teas being stored easily. A lot of heicha have earthy flavors – which suits the simple Jiang family well. Additionally, tea drinkers often get a sense of chi from heicha – something that’s not lost on Jiang Fengmian. WWX enjoys their local green tea. He especially likes the varieties that are infused with lotus blossom smells or dried on lily pads. JC sticks to the heicha. He’s such a try-hard. JYL will drink the local green and sometimes adds it to her cooking.
So my gut reaction to Gusu Lan is they should drink really nice jasmine tea or white tea. Just look at their aesthetics! Then one day, I was watching the tea being poured out and it wasn’t the right color! I was shook. But Lan sect! Righteous and elegant! White tea! I felt betrayed.
During this quarantine, I have been drinking more tea. A lot of green and oolong (i’m a sucker for good winter taiwanese oolong, let me tell you. It’s freakishly delicious) but also some aged white. I realized the broth (brewed tea) gets darker with age. Then it clicked into place.
The Lans drink white tea. They drink freakishly old white tea!
There’s a saying: 白茶 – 一年茶，三年药，七年宝 (White tea – year one, it’s tea. Year three, it’s medicine. Year seven, it’s treasure.)
I have a white tea from 2005. It’s delicious, rather expensive, and not as dark as the tea LXC drinks. I seriously thought he was drinking a black tea or a heicha! (i don’t know which ep, this is just my foolish brain screaming)
So my headcanon is when Lan An founded the Lan sect, he bought a century worth of white tea. From there on out, every year, the Lans would buy a year or two worth of some fairly high grade white teas, label it, and place it in their tea cellar. (Also, their tea cellar is infused with spiritual energy to provide an idea aging environment for the tea. The spiritual energies of the elders are also partially offered to the tea, imparting more benefits over the years.) Lans would hoard their tea until after the century mark. Then they would drink hundred year old teas. It’s good for their cultivation. It’s a reflection of their patience. There is no reason to be showy about what they have. It just is their way of life. Somewhere, in the Lan cellar, there are a dozen pressed white tea “cakes” from Lan An’s initial hoarding. LWJ wants to break out one of the cakes for WWX: a gift for their wedding night, but also, a gift to expedite the formation of a new golden core.
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