Bamboo Barrel Tea of Dai People

Dai is an ethnic group living in XiShuangBanNa area, YunNan Province. Their distinctive bamboo barrel (zhu-tong) tea is made from local materials. There are usually five steps for the procedure:

1. put fresh tea leaves in a bamboo barrel, ground them together to be solid.
2. bake the barrel in fire, turn it until the bamboo becomes yellow, now the tea is processed well.
3. cut the barrel open, the tea will be a solid cylinder shaped tea brick.
4. take a small piece from the tea cylinder and soak it in hot water for several minutes.
5. serve.

The bamboo barrel tea has the aroma of bamboo and is very refreshing. It is enjoyed by many Dai families.