Theme

„cha qi; 茶气 - Tea nature. The inherent energetic qualities in tea. That which makes it tea. Sometimes rather unsatisfactorily interpreted as 'tea energy'; translating qi as energy suggests perhaps a rather too narrow idea of qi but it is an interesting term to consider since many people use the term. Ideas and experiences of cha qi vary considerably; the taste of tea, the appearance of the leaves (particularly after steeping i.e. the life in the tea), any physical or psychological experiences one may have as a result of drinking tea are all aspects of cha qi. One cannot satisfactorily dissociate one from the other just as one cannot isolate sunshine from wind, which are both manifestations of weather, tian qi. If it did not have cha qi it wouldn't be tea, it would be something else. From a western point of view perhaps, cha qi is due, in some good part, to the presence of caffeine, theine, etc. The active constituents.“

„chui niu; 吹牛. 吹 - chui, to blow. 牛 - niu, cow, but in this case can be read as 公牛 or bull. An almost default aspect of tea drinking - 'shooting the bull'. The talk that often accompanies tea drinking and can be peppered with much knowledge, a little exaggeration and some humour. Also 吹牛皮. 皮 - skin or hide. 'Blowing the bulls hide.'“

„cha zhuan; 茶砖 - Tea brick 砖 has石shi as a radical which means stone or something to do with stone, so a brick shape of material from the ground, but the wider meaning of brick is a brick shape of any material.“