Dry January is over, we know, but if you’re still on the hunt for healthy alternatives to throwing back a couple cocktails on the weekends or simply looking for a way to elevate your mood through some kind of substance (‘cause let’s face it, we can’t always get there on our own accord), allow me to introduce an ancient concept: tea drunk. Called “cha zui” in Chinese, tea drunkenness was memorably captured in the famous "Seven Bowls of Tea," poem, known also as “The Song of Tea,” by Lu T’ung during the Tang Dynasty (around 790–835 AD). His poem walks us through the stages to cha zui :
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The first cup moistens my lips and throat. The second cup breaks my loneliness. The third cup searches my barren entrails, but to find therein some five thousand volumes of odd ideographs. The fourth cup raises a slight perspiration; all the wrongs of life pass out through my pores. At the fifth cup I am purified. The sixth cup calls me to the realms of the immortals. The seventh cup—ah, but I could take no more! I only feel the breath of the cool wind that raises in my sleeves. Where is Paradise? Let me ride on this sweet breeze and waft away thither. What you can expect to feel from getting tea drunk is a kind of euphoria, a giddiness, a lightness of being. As Lu T’ung intimates, tea drunkenness can often lean toward the spiritual–bringing to mind matcha’s ties to Zen Buddhist practice–it allows one to experience a deeper connection to what lies beyond the material world. The Science Behind the Altered State The sensation of tea drunkenness can be attributed to a combination of several psychoactive compounds in tea: caffeine, L-theanine, and catechins such as EGCG. Together, these elements create a whirlwind of stimulation (caffeine), relaxation (L-theanine), and body high (catechins)—consumed in copious amounts, these sensations will be at their peak, leading to that giddy feeling that we call tea drunk. Quality Matters With that said, one cannot simply accomplish tea drunkenness from drinking large quantities of just any tea. A tea’s composition can depend largely on how it is produced, where it comes from, and the type of tea it is. You’ll want to opt for teas that have high concentrations of the aforementioned psychoactive compounds that lead to tea drunkenness. Matcha, for instance, is a great choice as it contains all three elements in a higher concentration than most other teas. Being shade-grown increases the quantity of L-theanine and catechins found in the tea and being consumed in powdered form increases its caffeine level. It’s important to make sure your matcha is of high quality and suited for drinking as opposed to a culinary grade matcha, which will contain lower levels of caffeine, L-theanine, and catechins. Other teas that have been lauded as good candidates for achieving this state of cha zui are Oolong, Raw Pu-erh, and teas grown at high elevation or in mineral rich soils. How to Achieve Cha Zui and What to avoid One might think that the most important step of getting tea drunk is choosing the right tea, but there are a few things that must work synergistically in order to create this experience in its highest form. To begin, one should be mindful of their mental and emotional state before embarking on this journey. In other words: tea is not a party drug. It’s more akin to a kind of ritualistic psychedelic ceremony that revolves around intention rather than an escapist activity. We are not here to forget ourselves, rather to know ourselves more deeply, and to open our minds to how we connect to and perceive the world around us. The more practical tips needed for the ultimate tea drunk experience include brewing small, more concentrated bowls/cups of tea for multiple infusions–this is known as the gongfu cha brewing method–and drinking your tea on a light (but not empty) stomach. Be sure to stay hydrated and drink water between your tea and stay connected to your body so as to take care that you’re not overdoing it! Potential negative side effects of cha zui do exist and include things like jitters, dizziness, and/or nausea. This, however, is totally avoidable if you take your time, hydrate, eat light snacks, and practice moderation. Ready to Give Cha Zui a Try? |
So, how many cups/bowls of Tori Tea’s matcha does one need in order to reach tea drunkenness? Well, we suppose it varies person to person, but we love our matcha so much we’re pretty much high off the first sip. In all seriousness, we’ve deduced it takes around 2-3 servings of our matcha to start feeling the effects of cha zui. Let us know in the comments about your personal adventures in tea drunkenness! And if you just so happen to get “drunk” off of Tori matcha tag us in your tea drunk moments—we'd love to feature your stories!