Cognitivism evolved from behaviorist learning theory, which refers to the processing of information received from the outside, knowledge into one’s own knowledge (Ertmer & Newby, 2013). Learning Chinese tea culture is built on the basis of cognitivism, which stands for the learner reprocessing and reorganizing the knowledge being taught for the purpose of learning.
Chinese tea culture is a very broad subject of knowledge, which contains a lot of historical and geographical information. Students being taught this course need to have their own knowledge of the subject matter, to understand and rework the knowledge being taught in order to truly understand and absorb Chinese tea culture. According to the meaning of cognitivism, it is the most suitable for the construction of learning Chinese tea culture. Cognitivism will help students better understand and appreciate the significance of learning about Chinese tea culture.
Reference
Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (2013). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 26(2), 43-71.
Brief Commentary
Tea is found throughout China, with different regions having tea plantations and industries. Through the gradual development of the tea industry, more and more diverse teas have been invented, including different ways of using tea leaves. Chinese tea culture is divided into six main categories: green tea, black tea, white tea, oolong tea, yellow tea, and dark tea (Liu, 2012). These types of tea are the mainstream, and there are more detailed categories below these types. The difference between these types may be classified according to the type of tea, the process used to make the tea, etc.
Learning outcomes:
The main types of tea in China & The produce process
Green tea: Accounting for 75% of tea production is green tea, which is also the most widely consumed beverage by Chinese people (Jian, Xie, &Lee, 2003). Green tea is mainly manufactured from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis tree, and its manufacture also requires a hot and humid climate (Shi &Schlegel, 2012). âTwo leaves and one budâ is the key collection method for green tea (Shi &Schlegel, 2012). The process of producing green tea preserves many compounds that are relevant to human health, which distinguishes green tea from black and oolong teas (Shi &Schlegel, 2012).
Black tea: Yunnan Province mainly produces black tea, which is also a very well-known and traditional tea drink (Oi et al., 2011). Post-fermented tea is the main classification of Chinese black tea, and it is called black tea because of the dark brown color of the liquid after it has been steeped (Oi et al., 2011). However, there is a big difference between Chinese black tea and foreign black tea, which is an oxidized tea (Oi et al., 2011). Dried green tea leaves are the main raw material for Chinese black tea (Oi et al., 2011).
White tea: The southeast coast of China is the origin of white tea, which is mainly produced here, and it maintains the natural characteristics of white tea with minimal processing (Tan et al., 2017). White tea is made only through withering and drying; it is not fermented during the production process like other teas (Tan et al., 2017). According to the seasonality of growth, white tea is divided into three grades Tan et al., 2017).
Oolong tea: Oolong tea tastes different from green tea black tea, like something in between (Zeng et al., 2020). The special fruity and floral aroma is what makes oolong tea famous (Zeng et al., 2020). Dehydration and bruising are the reasons for the unique manufacturing techniques that give oolong tea a stronger and more refreshing flavor (Zeng et al., 2020).
Yellow tea: Yellow tea is mainly distributed in Sichuan, Anhui, Hunan, Hubei, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Guizhou provinces in China (Xu et al., 2018). In the middle of the Tang Dynasty from 618 to 907 AD, yellow tea was discovered, and it was also the second tea discovered after green tea (Xu et al., 2018). âSealed yellowingâ is the step in the processing of yellow tea that is different from other teas (Xu et al., 2018). This special step causes a significant change in the composition of yellow tea, resulting in a taste that is different from other teas (Xu et al., 2018).
Dark tea: âThe major types of Chinese dark tea are Puâer tea in Yunnan, Liubao tea in Guangxi, Kangzhuan tea (i.e., Tibetan tea) in Sichuan, Anhua dark tea in Hunan, Qingzhuan tea in Hubei, and Fuzhuan tea in Shannxi (Ye et al., 2020).â Pu-erh tea is the most famous among these types (Ye et al., 2020). As early as the Tang Dynasty black tea was invented and exported in large quantities (Ye et al., 2020).
Interactive activities
Think and discuss the following questions: Do different kinds of tea bring the same benefits to human health? Why or why not? Why do you think different regions grow different kinds of tea?
https://groups.google.com/g/tea-types/c/hz5q9LUykno
Formative assessment
Here is a quiz on the types of tea in China. This quiz is to be completed by the students and it contains multiple choice and short answer questions about the type of tea and will be in a scoring format.
https://forms.gle/MHDoc47YkQhJ7LuXA
References
Jian, L., Xie, L. P., Lee, A. H., & Binns, C. W. (2004). Protective effect of green tea against prostate cancer: a caseâcontrol study in southeast China. International journal of cancer, 108(1), 130-135.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ijc.11550
Liu, T. (2012). Chinese tea. Cambridge University Press.
Oi, Y., Hou, I. C., Fujita, H., & Yazawa, K. (2012). Antiobesity effects of Chinese black tea (puâerh tea) extract and gallic acid. Phytotherapy Research, 26(4), 475-481.
https://europepmc.org/article/med/22508359
Shi, Q. Y., & Schlegel, V. (2012). Green tea as an agricultural based health promoting food: the past five to ten years. Agriculture, 2(4), 393-413.
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/2/4/393
Tan, J., Engelhardt, U. H., Lin, Z., Kaiser, N., & Maiwald, B. (2017). Flavonoids, phenolic acids, alkaloids and theanine in different types of authentic Chinese white tea samples. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 57, 8-15.
htps://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=US201800106123
Xu, J., Wang, M., Zhao, J., Wang, Y. H., Tang, Q., & Khan, I. A. (2018). Yellow tea (Camellia sinensis L.), a promising Chinese tea: Processing, chemical constituents and health benefits. Food Research International, 107, 567-577.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29580521/
Ye, Z., Wang, X., Fu, R., Yan, H., Han, S., Gerelt, K., … & Zhou, Y. (2020). Determination of six groups of mycotoxins in Chinese dark tea and the associated risk assessment. Environmental Pollution, 261, 114180.
https://europepmc.org/article/med/32088438
Zeng, L., Zhou, X., Su, X., & Yang, Z. (2020). Chinese oolong tea: An aromatic beverage produced under multiple stresses. Trends in Food Science & Technology.