茶、文化、儀式：探索中國和臺灣對澳洲布里斯本現代飲茶的影響

Tea, Culture, Practice: Exploring Chinese and Taiwanese Influence on Contemporary Tea-drinking in Brisbane, Australia

本論文探討中國和臺灣對澳洲布里斯本現代飲茶儀式的影響。從19世紀到20世紀中期，澳洲擁有全球最多的茶葉消費者。飲茶儀式在澳洲曾是英國殖民地時扎根。不過自20世紀中期以來，咖啡和酒融入社交生活、以及咖啡店文化的興起，茶逐漸居於劣勢。近幾十年來，出現了更分散的文化視野，優質原片茶葉、綠茶、花茶、花草茶、珍珠奶茶越來越盛行。
本論文中，使用社會學實踐理論，探索源自於中國和臺灣的飲茶儀式，融入布里斯本日常生活的程度。探討了幾個案例，包括為客戶提供「中國茶道」的郊區茶館，一路研究直到它關門，換成了一間奶茶店為止。也研究了布里斯本佛光山中天寺舉辦的「茶禪」，以及一間工作坊所舉辦，指導學員以稱為「小茶壺泡茶風」的風格來沏茶和品茶。
結論是，雖然喝珍珠奶茶已成為布里斯本年輕人固定的社交活動，但文化上更講究傳統，稱之為中國或臺灣茶藝的現代茶藝，仍尚未形成風氣。本論文指出總共有三種障礙，導致這些傳統無法融入當地。第一個就是在澳洲飲茶文化中、以及在澳洲飲茶文化的源頭，也就是英國茶文化中，均缺乏任何能對應中國傳統飲茶文化與自我修養有關之處。第二個就是，合格的中國或臺灣茶文化職人需要習得一套複雜的技能和知識，而在環境中缺乏幫助人們習得這些技能的資源支援。第三個就是在澳洲，相較於咖啡和酒，茶在社交飲品的地位下滑。

This paper explores Chinese and Taiwanese cultural influences on contemporary tea drinking practices in Brisbane, Australia. Throughout the 19th and into the mid-20th century, Australians were among the heaviest consumers of tea in the world. Tea-drinking practices were grounded in the country’s British colonial heritage. Since the mid-20th century, however, tea has lost ground against coffee and wine as beverages of sociability and an emerging caféculture. In recent decades, a more fragmented cultural landscape has emerged, in which premium whole-leaf teas, green tea, flower teas, herbal tisanes and bubble teas have grown in popularity.
In this paper, I use sociological practice theory to explore the extent to which tea-drinking practices derived from China and Taiwan have been incorporated into everyday life in Brisbane. Several case studies are explored, including a suburban teahouse that offered customers a‘Chinese tea ceremony’until it closed and was replaced by a bubble tea shop; a‘tea meditation’conducted by the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist temple in Brisbane, and a workshop held to instruct participants in preparing and appreciating teas using what was described as a‘small teapot brewing’style.
I conclude that while drinking bubble tea has become established as a social practice among young people in Brisbane and entered the mainstream food and beverage culture, the more culturally refined traditions known today as Chinese or Taiwanese tea art have yet to do so. The paper identifies three barriers impeding the adoption of these traditions: the first is the absence in Australian tea culture, and the English tea culture from which it is derived, of anything corresponding with the Chinese tradition associating tea with cultivation of the self. The second is the complex set of skills and knowledge required to become a competent practitioner of Chinese or Taiwanese tea culture, and the lack of environmental supports for the acquisition of these skills. The third is the declining place of tea as a beverage of sociability in Australia, in comparison with coffee and wine.