What’s Yum Cha?

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Yum cha is a culinary and family tradition in China known as tea drinking. The word yum cha translates into English as “drinking tea.” The tradition can be ritualized, but is usually not overly formal. Yum cha is typically undertaken by taking some of the dim sum as well. It is associated with Silk Road travelers in ancient times.

The literal translation of yum cha into English is something like “tea drinking” or “tea tasting.” It refers to an activity that may or may not be ritualised, depending on the practitioners. Many Chinese families set aside Sunday morning and afternoon tea and generally spend this time with friends and family.

Although practitioners can drink tea alone, in yum cha tea drinking is almost always accompanied by dim sum, which is a style of Cantonese-Chinese food. It is prepared and served on small plates, bowls and steamer baskets. The food itself is usually bite-sized and presented in individual portions.

For some Chinese, the activities of yum cha and food dim sum are inseparable and always undertaken at the same time. The menu for dim sum is extensive and usually includes various forms of dumplings, steamed buns and other small dishes such as rolls, cakes and rice dishes. Dumplings and baubles can contain almost any type of ingredient.

Yum Cha is thought to predate dim sum and is believed to have originated along the Silk Road in ancient China. Farmers and travelers would be exhausted after a hard day’s work and look for a place to relax. Teahouses were set up along the road to house them. Although teahouse owners were initially skeptical about combining food with the traditional drink, once they discovered its positive effects on digestion, the owners started serving small snacks and food alongside the tea.

There are specific habits and issues of etiquette that are observed while drinking tea. For example, an individual should not pour his tea first and should try to pour tea for the other people sitting at the table. The first person to pour the tea is usually thanked silently with a finger in which the drinker lightly taps or places two or three fingers of the same hand on the table.

This practice is explained in a Chinese folk tale about the Qianlong Emperor. According to this account, the emperor, when traveling incognito to southern China with some companions, visited a teahouse on the way. To prevent his identity from being revealed to others, he poured tea for his traveling companions. The companions were moved but were unable to properly return the great honor the emperor had just given them. To show their appreciation, the companions bowed their heads slightly and created the finger kowtow.

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