抹茶冰淇淋 Matcha ice cream
抹茶蛋糕 matcha cake
抹茶巧克力 matcha chocolate
抹茶就好像是甜點界的百搭服飾 Matcha goes well with everything, think H&M but for sweets
似乎所有的甜食都可以來個抹茶口味 nothing goes wrong with a bit of matcha
只是抹茶明明也是可以喝的茶 Yet, matcha was originally a tea
但怎麼今天我們好像都忘了咧 How did we forget?
而這個抹茶 And how come this tea
怎麼又跟其他的茶長得不太一樣呢 looks so different from other teas?
嗯？ Hmm?
說到這個「茶」 Speaking of tea,
大家都知道茶是從中國的誕生的 we all know that tea originated in China
身分證父母那欄寫的是 On its ID, tea’s parents are stamped:
Chinapapa Chinapapa
Chinamama Chinamama
但偏偏這個抹茶是 made in japan But, isn't matcha made in Japan?
這又是怎麼一回事呢？ what’s going on?
似乎有點意思 Interesting...
就讓偵茶事務所 Let the tea-tectives
來揭開抹茶身後隱藏的秘密故事吧 uncover the secret behind matcha’s mysterious birth
事出必有因 The devil is in the details
調查從頭尋 if you look carefully enough, you’ll realize that
抹茶其實是茶葉的一種古老的飲用方式 matcha was actually an ancient way of drinking tea
而茶葉據說是由神農氏發現的 Rumor has it that the “Divine Farmer” first discovered tea leaves
故事是這樣的 The story goes like this...
某次神農嘗百草之後中毒躺地休息 Once, poisoned after tasting hundreds of herbs, the “Divine Farmer” lay resting,
此時一片茶葉飄到他嘴裡 when out of nowhere, a tea leaf drifted into his mouth
他咬過後發現身體好多了 After chewing the leaf, he suddenly felt better
這就是中國發現茶的起源... ..and voil?! The origin of tea discovery in China
別再相信沒有根據的說法啦 Stop believing fake news
拔獅子的鬃毛也長不出頭毛阿 The wise do not buy into baseless rumors
大家好像都以為 Everyone seems to think
茶葉是炎黃子孫一脈相傳的東西 tea leaves were discovered and passed down by the “Divine Farmer”
但其實不是 Not so
我們是偵探 We’re tea-tectives
講求的是考查 We investigate!
講求的是證據 We gather evidence!
講求的是... To reiterate...
考查與證據 Tea-tectives investigate and gather evidence!
根據調查 According to our investigation,
茶葉的起源是在今天的四川附近 the origin of tea is Sichuan
當地人有悠久的喝茶歷史 the locals there have been drinking tea forever
而神農與漢文化發祥地 But the birthplace of the “Divine Farmer” and of Chinese culture
卻是在河南一帶 is Henan
因此在茶葉這案 which means
神農可是完全有不在場證明啊 the “Divine Farmer” wasn’t even in the picture.
漢人開始喝茶 The history of Chinese tea culture
要從秦國征伐各地開始說起 dates back to Qin State’s conquest of other states,
本來屬於異文化的茶飲 Thus, tea, once considered foreign,
這時才從四川傳入了中原地區 spread from Sichuan through the Central Plains
華夏子民這時才沐浴在茶湯之中 Chinese people were finally immersed in tea.
但是 However,
一開始茶卻大多南部人在喝 In the beginning, tea was common only in the South
北部人卻很少喝 not in the North
為什麼呢 How come?
因為他們不屑喝 That’s because Northern folk scoffed at tea!
但其實當時喝茶是大碗公牛飲阿 At the time, tea was consumed in a huge bowl
這使得北部的天龍人覺得太粗俗 They thought it was too vulgar
他們不能接受 They couldn’t accept it
我覺得不行 Nah, classy people don’t do that
所以茶文化才難以進入北部的高牆內 So tea culture wasn’t able to infiltrate northern China
一直到了唐代 It wasn’t until the Tang dynasty
才開始有了轉機 that things started to change
一名關鍵人物陸羽出現了 Let’s welcome Lu Yu to the stage
陸羽很喜歡茶 Lu Yu was crazy about tea
為了撰寫了《茶經》 For the purposes of writing the“Classic of Tea” a.k.a Cha Jing
還發明了茶這個字呢 He even invented the word 「茶」“cha”to represent tea
以前可沒有這個字呀 Previously, the written word did not exist
茶這個字本身是荼變出來的 「茶」"Cha" was derived from the word 「荼」"tu"(thistle)
陸羽將荼中間剪了一刀 Lu Yu removed one stroke from it
茶這個字才正式誕生 And so the word for tea, 「茶」“cha,” was born
所以今天我們看到的才是茶經 So today we have the “Classic of Tea” Cha Jing
不是荼經啦 And not the “Classic of Thistle” Tu Jing
這部經典整理了從製茶到飲茶等等 The Classic of Tea put together everything
一切有關茶的學問 a novice needed to know about tea, from brewing to drinking
陸羽還強調 Lu Yu also emphasized
喝茶能夠彰顯人的品行與氣質 how tea can reveal one’s true character and temperament
大大提升了茶的人文特質 greatly elevating tea culture
這使得北部上層社會覺得 Now the upper class in northern China thought:
哎呦 “Oh my!”
茶不錯喔 Tea is not bad after all!
便開始接納飲茶文化 They started to embrace tea-drinking culture
將喝茶升級成為藝文活動的一部份 Drinking tea was elevated to an artistic and cultural pursuit
無論吟吟詩 賞賞畫 Whether you’re writing poetry or appreciating paintings,
都要喝個兩杯才對味 tea became indispensable.
也難怪陸羽被世人尊稱為茶聖 No wonder Lu Yu is called the Sage of Tea
因為他就是跨時代集大成 the legend who changed everyone’s perception towards tea
推倒中國以北不喝圍牆的傳奇人物呀 and won over the Northern folk to drink tea.
有了唐代的基礎後 After the Tang dynasty,
宋代的茶文化變得更加豐富啦 tea culture flourished even more during the Song dynasty.
為了講究茶葉品質而出現「揀茶」 To ensure the quality of the tea, "leaf selection" was introduced
在飲茶方法上也發展出 The iconic whisked tea was also developed
極具特色的「點茶」 from “powder tea”
點茶就是把開水分批到入茶末中攪拌 In this process, hot water is poured into the tea powder and mixed vigorously
讓水與茶末相混合 Until the water and tea powder becomes
變成為乳狀茶液... a nice frothy beverage...
欸！這不就是抹茶嘛！ Hey! Isn’t that how you make matcha?
沒錯 Exactly!
宋代的點茶 Whisked tea in the Song dynasty
漂洋過海到日本就變成抹茶啦 crossed the ocean and became “matcha” in Japan
也就是說其實抹茶是在中國發跡的 That is to say, matcha was invented in China
欸！這不合理呀！ Eh, this doesn’t make sense!
抹茶現在在日本突破天際 Matcha's popularity in Japan is through the roof
但在中國卻鮮少看見 Why is matcha rarely seen in China though?
為什麼咧？ Tell me, tell me!
其實抹茶的逝去是因為某個出生平民 Actually, matcha gradually lost its favor because of one civilian
當過和尚 Once a monk,
看不慣權貴的人 he despised the rich and powerful
他認為當時候製茶的做工太繁複 He thought that the tea-making process was too complex
要完成宋代的團茶 to make a Song dynasty tea cake,
需要蒸茶 榨茶 研茶 造茶 過黃 烘茶 You needed to steam, press, observe, grind, filter, and bake tea...
實在太複雜太奢侈了 What an extravagantly complicated process
所以他就廢除了團茶進貢啦 So he abolished the whole process
這人就是大明國開元始祖 This person is the founder of Ming Dynasty
朱元璋大大啦 Zhu Yuan Zhang
這個芒果臉 his head looks like a mango
好啦還有另一張畫像 Fine, here's another portrait
至於哪一張是真的咧？ Which one is accurate?
答案眾說紛紜 撲朔迷離 Opinions differ, it's impossible to reach a conclusion
但我比較喜歡這張啦 But this one is my personal favorite
很快地上行下效 Anyway, after Zhu Yuan Zhang issued the order
大家開始不進團茶 Everyone stopped making Song tea cakes
沒有團茶就失去了點茶的原料 No Song tea cakes means no powder tea means no whisked tea
人們乾脆直接茶葉拿來泡 People might as well simply brew the tea leaves
這就成為現在最常見的泡茶啦 This is how we currently consume tea
時至今日 Even now,
華人文化圈主流的喝茶方式就是如此 this is how the Chinese drink tea in sophisticated spheres
回過頭來看看日本 So how did the Japanese
抹茶又是如何在日本發揚光大的呢 become so fond of matcha?
這其實要感謝佛教 讚嘆佛教 It’s actually all thanks to Buddhism
唐宋之際 During the the Tang and Song Dynasties,
佛教動起來 Buddhism flourished
在日本正流行 It was really popular in Japan
許多日本佛教僧人就會到中國取經 Many Japanese monks traveled to China
吸收佛法之時 to study the Dharma
也就順手將中國佛教的茶文化 While receiving Buddhist teachings, they also brought home
一併帶回日本啦 the tea culture of Chinese Buddhism.
沒錯 That's right!
其實佛教 Buddhism
也是影響茶文化的關鍵因素阿 was critical in influencing tea culture
探究中國和尚們喝茶時 When we looked into the Chinese monks’ tea-drinking habits
我們就會發現 we found out that
最初「茶」在佛寺裡 tea was originally used
是被拿來當藥用的呀 as a remedy in the temples
因為僧人時常需要嘗百草 Because monks needed to taste different herbs,
很容易中毒 they were easily poisoned
這時就需要茶葉解毒 Tea leaves were used to detoxify the body
才不是咧 Nah, I lied
而是茶含有咖啡因 Actually, tea contains caffeine
有提神醒腦的作用 which helps people stay alert and focused
使僧人在打坐修行時不會打瞌睡 so monks won’t nod off while meditating
這強大的功能 How great is that!
馬上吸引所有僧人的注意 This caught the monks’ attention right away
茶就變成修行的必備良藥啦 thus tea became an essential part of the spiritual practice
而更進一步將茶和思想結合的 To go one step further, Zen Buddhism
就是禪宗了 combined tea and philosophy
禪宗常講 In Zen one often says:
平常心是道 Peace of mind is a practice
平常自然就是參禪的第一步 Everyday acts are the first step to the cultivation of Zen
而茶是日常事物 And as tea is a daily activity,
可以體現平常心 it cultivates an everyday balanced mind
又能抑止睡意 Plus it keeps drowsiness at bay
引導人們走入空靈的境界 and guides people into a spiritual state
因此喝茶完全就是悟道的好途徑啊 Drinking tea is definitely the best way to enlightenment
禪宗將喝茶本身就視為修行的一部份 Zen regards tea as part of spiritual practice
佛語中說的「喫茶去」就是這個意思 That’s what “go brew tea” in Buddhism is all about
而日本僧侶學習中國禪宗 So when Japanese monks studied Chinese Zen,
就這樣 They brought home
把一整套完整的茶文化 Copy 回去 the entire tea-drinking culture
時至今日他們也就發展出日本茶道 Today, the Japanese have developed cha-no-yu (the way of tea)
以及各式各樣的抹茶商品啦 as well as a variety of matcha products
好的調查到這邊也算告個段落 Okay, that pretty much sums up the results of our investigation
大家是否對抹茶的由來 Is everyone now more familiar
有更深刻的了解呢 with the origin of matcha?
從陸羽集大成到禪宗結合心靈的體悟 Lu Yu made tea-drinking a habit while Zen enhanced it with a spiritual element
讓我們今天喝茶 No longer is tea
不只是喝飲料這麼簡單 only a drink
更是結合自然 It’s about becoming one with nature
尋求心靈寂靜的深層享受 as well as the search and enjoyment of inner peace
說了這麼多茶也準備好啦 Oh, the tea is ready!
收起抹茶的檔案簿 Let’s close this case
最後就讓我們一起品嘗這杯抹茶吧 and enjoy this cup of matcha