Bamboo tube tea is a traditional drink of the Dai and Bulang people in southwest China's Yunnan Province. Ai Sanjiao is a young Bulang man from Daluo Town, Menghai County. He showed us how to make authentic bamboo tube tea from the very start – choosing the right bamboo!

They usually use Hamilton's bamboo and fragrant bamboo to make the bamboo tube, as they better enrich the tea's flavor. However, he just found giant bamboos near his home and used it for his demonstration.

After making the bamboo tube, Ai put maocha or rough tea into the tube and then roast it. Roasting evaporates the water in the bamboo and softens the tea leaves, which makes them more compressed. The sweet bamboo juice will also be blended into the tea.

When the tube is burned black, it's time to seal it and put it in a dry corner. The sweet and fragrant bamboo tube tea will be ready to be consumed after two months.

(Cover image designed by CGTN's Li Yueyun)

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