What is the importance of drinking morning tea in Guangzhou?

Xianfeng Tongzhi has a restaurant called "Yili Restaurant". Its equipment is very simple. It has wooden tables and benches to serve cakes. A wooden sign with the words "Tea Talk" is hung at the opening to provide a place for guests to stop and chat and eat. Later, a teahouse appeared, which meant "hiding" and also provided some leisure. At that time, people who operated teahouses in Foshan bought land to build teahouses of several floors, and then the whole building was used to operate large teahouses. From then on, Cantonese people began to have the habit of going to teahouses. There is also a restaurant called "Erli Restaurant" that serves the same snacks. The difference lies in the price and equipment. The cost of tea in teahouse is 36 cents, while that in Erli restaurant is only 20 cents, which is a far cry from 16 times. Some old-fashioned teahouses are graded, and upstairs is more expensive than downstairs, because there is air conditioning (or electric fan) upstairs, and the place is more spacious.

Tea house in ancient Guangzhou

The predecessor of Guangzhou Teahouse is a restaurant, which can be traced back to Li Yong in Daoguang period of Qing Dynasty. There is a poem that says, "Ten thousand tiles are covered with scales, and the curtain outside Xiaodongmen is inclined, which is known to pedestrians on Yong 'an Bridge. This is an old restaurant 200 years ago. "Dongdi Jinjiang Restaurant is also old, and its couplets say:" There are many wine marks on the front, and the Jade Emperor blows twenty-four bridges, and the clouds in the river are heavy, and thousands of pictures are collected in golden jars. "

During the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, the teahouse opened in Guangzhou was originally named "Ju" and "Shang Cha Ju". Just like Fulaiju in the mouth of the Town God Temple in Hui 'ai Road, Lu Yu in Taiping Road, the second Maozhenju, the third permanent residence, the fifth Wuliuju and the tenth Taotaoju. During the Guangxu period, Ju was renamed Lou, which was called Shang Teahouse. Strange to say, the teahouse named "Ru" has its own origin: in the first year of Guangxu, there was Chen Huiru, who pioneered "Hui Ru Lou" in Love Stories. Subsequently, Tan Xinyi, Tan Qingbo, Zhao Jiansheng and others successively amassed shares and opened a number of teahouses such as Zhuji Road Building Group, Triangle East Building Group, Haizhu Road Sanru Building Group, Huifu Road Nanru Building Group, Maima Street Furu Building Group, Long Beach Wuxianmen Ruiru Building Group, Henan Tian Ru, Yide Road Building Group and so on.

Since it is a building, underground shops are used to sell cakes and pastries. There is a private room upstairs in the middle, surrounded by quiet suites. The price of tea is also high, so there is a proverb: "Money goes upstairs, but no money goes underground."

Why is Tao Taoju's "residence" still in use today and not renamed as "building"? Because of its elegance. Most Cantonese opera artists live in Xiguan. Bai Jurong and Xue Juexian often come to Taotaoju for tea, and cultural celebrities also come to this elegant gathering. Lu Xun, Xu Guangping and Ba Jin are all guests of Tao Taoju.

After liberation and reform, the development of teahouse

This time is a time for a teahouse to leap.

Teahouses have developed into modern restaurants and reached a higher level. Contemporary restaurants are willing to spend a lot of money to decorate, including single rooms, private rooms and western styles; Japanese-style, Southeast Asian-style, all kinds of furnishings, open all kinds of teahouses, so that people of different classes have more choices. There are morning tea and afternoon tea. As for evening tea, there are more styles, and you can eat stews and seafood.

As for the business model, many changes have taken place.

Guangzhou restaurant, Nanhai city, food for heaven and other chain operations, Nanhai fishing village, Jiangnan fishing village and a series of seafood cities, as well as Dunhuang and other high-end operations.

The development of Guangzhou teahouse has made a qualitative leap, and its business model is more diversified, from the expansion of traditional time-honored brands to chain operation, and then to the development of high-end teahouses. The development of Guangzhou teahouse has entered a new stage.

Present situation of morning tea in Guangzhou

"Food is in Guangzhou", that's right. Various western restaurants, such as Monte Carlo, fast food restaurants, such as McDonald's and KFC, have brought pressure to the traditional Guangzhou teahouse. Such as Mickey and KFC. Two world-famous fast food restaurants gave Guangzhou Teahouse a warning. They attract children and the younger generation. Teahouses have become places where old people go.

Guangzhou is an ancient city, not only because it has a history of 1000 years, but also because there are many old people scattered in teahouses in the streets. These idle old people continue the habit of hundreds of years, strolling into the teahouse early in the morning, ordering a pot of green tea, two snacks, chatting or reading newspapers and spending most of the morning leisurely. The morning tea in Guangzhou is particularly leisurely because of these old people. Even though there are many businessmen who come and go in a hurry in the teahouse, it feels that they are just passers-by after all. But for the elderly, morning tea is their life. The venue can be changed, but there is nothing else in life.

In this regard, Mr. Sun, a Taiwanese businessman who has been walking in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Shenzhen for many years, agrees: "More than 70% of customers in Hong Kong restaurants are old ladies and gentlemen over 60, and the remaining 30% are men over 40, without office workers in their twenties. It can be seen that morning tea on weekdays is really a matter for the elderly who have nothing to do. Six of the ten guests here have a newspaper of the day, which is a way of life for Hong Kong people. "

As businessmen, businessmen in Guangzhou may be influenced by the elderly in Guangzhou, and the rhythm of drinking morning tea is also peaceful and slow. It is not uncommon to sit for hours when there is nothing to do. Moreover, the morning tea in Guangzhou is worthy of the name. The teahouse opens at four or five in the morning. Old people sleep less, get up early and go to the teahouse before dawn. It is precisely because they get up early that even if those businessmen come late, it will not hinder the reality of morning tea. There are no old people in Shenzhen, and morning tea is not early at all, not to mention 4 or 5 o'clock, but 7 or 8 o'clock. It's too early for Shenzhen people. In such a place with such rich nightlife, it is absolutely difficult for Shenzhen people who can get up early to have morning tea. The ideal time for Shenzhen people to drink morning tea is after 10. Because the time from noon is too short, many people in Shenzhen simply put morning tea and lunch together, which makes the concepts of morning tea and afternoon tea in Shenzhen vague.

In terms of business hours, China chef Master Lin Yu Ming of Grand Sky Hotel told reporters: "Guangzhou people pay attention to three teas and two meals. Guangzhou people go to sea early and have money early. They have a lot of leisure time in a day, so morning tea, afternoon tea and evening tea are all very prosperous. Morning tea in Guangzhou usually opens at 4 am, and evening tea doesn't close until 12 in the evening, some even close until the next morning 1-2, and some even stay open all night. Generally speaking, the morning tea market is the most prosperous, and it is often packed from early morning to 1 1. There are also many people who drink night tea, especially in summer. Many Cantonese people regard eating night tea as a way to escape the heat. "

price

Guangzhou people pay attention to "food is not tired of essence", but the price of dim sum is high or low, which is suitable for both rich and poor. Old people can order one or two cups that are affordable and firm, and wealthy businessmen can naturally gargle with shark fins.

Du also said, "Guangzhou is an ancient city. Eating morning tea is a habit accumulated for hundreds of years, and the price is cheaper than Shenzhen. Compared with Guangzhou, Shenzhen's snacks are of high quality and the environment for eating morning tea is good, which is more suitable for business guests to negotiate business. Because the morning tea in Guangzhou is mainly for family guests, it is not as gentle as Shenzhen, and the environment does not have to be star-rated, as long as the family is happy. "

The dominant position of Guangzhou teahouse still exists, after all, historical origin. At present, the teahouse in Guangzhou is facing all kinds of resistance, and its management mode is constantly innovated and improved, so as to further develop the teahouse in Guangzhou. Although there was a period of silence under the impact of western restaurants and fast food restaurants, Guangzhou teahouse is recovering and awakening.

Five reasons for drinking morning tea

Reason 1: When you are in this town, do it according to the custom. If you don't drink morning tea in Guangdong, you will be a Lingnan person for nothing.

Reason 2: relatives and friends, sitting around the table, a pot of tea and a few beautiful things can enhance feelings.

Reason 3: Eating a hearty breakfast is a beneficial reward for yourself who is busy every day.

Reason 4: The whole family eats morning tea, but the per capita consumption is only twenty or thirty yuan. It can also be solved with brunch, which is both economical and enjoyable.

Reason 5: There are many wonderful things to enjoy.

Five reasons for not drinking morning tea

Reason one: I have no time from Monday to Friday and have to go to work; I have no time on weekends, so I have to sleep.

Reason two: I don't even eat breakfast. Why should I eat morning tea?

Reason three: it's too expensive. If it is a food stall, you can consider it.

Reason 4: The reason is simple. Nobody treats you.

Reason 5: Morning tea? What is morning tea?

Morning tea culture in Guangzhou

Drinking morning tea is a unique tea drinking custom in Guangdong. After getting up in the morning, before starting the day's work and business, a cup or two of famous tea is mellow and delicious, which not only solves the breakfast, but also is a wonderful enjoyment.

Tea is tea and snacks. There are black tea, green tea, oolong tea, scented tea and Yuanbao tea, and there are many kinds of snacks. The most common are all kinds of steamed buns, such as barbecued pork buns, crystal buns, pork buns in water cages, shrimp buns and crab powder buns, as well as other kinds of dried steamed buns, various shortcakes, chicken porridge, beef porridge, sashimi porridge, pig rice rolls, shrimp powder and cloud.

Drinking tea is an indispensable part of Cantonese life. Here, nervous people begin to relax and talk about life, old friends and stories leisurely; Here, people freely express their feelings in the faint fragrance of tea. People make a pot of good tea in the teahouse, order some delicious snacks, some pour their own drinks, and some chat with friends for a while. Is it very leisurely!

Teahouses are also an important place for people to make a living. All kinds of people are talking about stocks, property market, Japanese appliances and American cars in the teahouse. Here, people exchange all kinds of economic and commodity information. Without the ability to "soak" in teahouses, the chances of making a fortune are much less. If you do business, you can't integrate into Guangdong's commercial society without entering the teahouse. Leisure and comfortable teahouses have become places for business negotiations, making teahouses no longer just quiet places for people to chat and kill time. There is a couplet in the old "Miaoqixiang" teahouse in Guangzhou:

Busy becoming famous, busy making money, busy relaxing and having a cup of tea;

Work hard, work hard, have fun in pain, and bring a pot of wine.

This is the psychological portrayal of people drinking tea in teahouses.

Of course, the teahouse is not just for morning tea. Tea drinkers always come from morning till night. Teahouses usually open at 5 a.m. and don't close until midnight. Three teas and two meals go straight down.

In Guangdong, drinking tea has "etiquette". When the waiter pours tea, the guests usually tap the desktop with their forefinger and middle finger to express their thanks. According to legend, this custom originated from Emperor Qianlong's traveling incognito in Jiangnan. Once, the emperor pretending to be a servant poured tea for the servant pretending to be the master. The servant was grateful and afraid. He should have knelt down and bowed down, but he was afraid of revealing his royal status. So I had a brainwave and used two fingers instead of hitting the table, which has been passed down to this day.

In the teahouse, when guests need to replenish water, just open the lid of the pot and the waiter will bring it. As for the origin of this etiquette, it is said that a rich businessman went to a teahouse to drink tea and asked the waiter to add water to him. As soon as the waiter opened the lid, he shouted "Hehe" and claimed that there was a thrush worth 1000 yuan in the pot given to the waiter, which must be compensated by the teahouse. In desperation, the boss stipulated that tea drinkers who want to add water should open the pot cover themselves to prevent fraud. Nowadays, this habitual action has become a signal for tea drinkers to add water, so there is no need to call a waiter.