Linhuan Tea-Stem Tea 临涣棒棒茶

Linhuan Tea-Stem Tea (临涣棒棒茶) is the tea served in the tea houses of Linhuan (临涣), an old town in Huaibei (淮北) in northern Anhui, brewed from tea stems brought in from Lu'an (六安) with water from the town's old springs.

Stems and water

Linhuan grows no tea. Its tea houses built their brand on a Lu'an tea of stems called hong cha bang (红茶棒), which the Suixi (濉溪) county government notes is seldom brewed in Lu'an itself or anywhere else.

The water is the other half. Four ancient springs lie under the old town, and the Huaibei city government names Huilong Spring (回龙泉), south of the old town, as the one most of today's tea houses stand near. Tea made with the spring water is said to rise above the rim of the cup without spilling and to float a coin. Brewed with it, the stems give a bright, fragrant tea that tastes soft and sweet, with steam gathering over the bowl; the Suixi county government says the same stems brewed with water from elsewhere never taste as good.

How it is drunk

Drinking tea-stem tea and listening to Huaibei drum-song storytelling (淮北大鼓) have long been part of life in the old town, and the storytellers perform in front of the tea houses on the old street. An Anhui News (中安在线) report counts more than 20 tea houses in Linhuan; the owner of one, the Yixin Tea House (怡心茶楼), says it has served this tea for a hundred years across five generations.

Linhuan's old-town tea-drinking custom was entered on the Anhui provincial intangible cultural heritage list in 2017. The tea houses also serve as places to settle local quarrels, and the town has drawn a "one cup of tea" mediation method from the custom.