Contrast of the Beverage between China and America

羅仕容

Contrast of the Beverage between China and America

羅仕容

Beverages in China differ a lot from that in America. Chinese drink tea while Americans drink coffee.China has a good reputation for liquors while America is famous for various of wines. Beverages not only feed people， but also symbolize a nation’s culture.

beverage tea coffee liquor wine

一、Tea in China VS Coffee in America

（一）Tea in China

There’s no doubt that tea is the most representative beverage in China. With a profound history of over 4，000 years， Chinese tea is regarded as an exquisite art form that requires sampling. Now it has become the national drink and one of the three soft drinks around the world. Owing to different methods of production， the main varieties of Chinese tea are classi fi ed as green tea， black tea， Oolong tea， white tea，yellow tea， and dark tea.

Chinese people drink different tea in different seasons to adapt to climate change in order to keep healthy. Green tea is suitable in summer， as it helps people clear away heat and toxic within the body. Black tea is good for people in winter as it can warm the spleen and stomach. In addition， occasions for tea serving also draw our attention. Many people serve tea as a daily drink. Sometimes we treat guests with tea and give it to friends as a wonderful gift. In some cases， drinking tea is regarded as a good way for leisure and entertainment or a medium for business negotiation. More remarkably， Chinese has accumulated a wealth of experience in tea brewing. With different water and techniques， people can brew different tastes out of tea. In the process of tea-brewing and sampling，people can also cultivate their character and improve their sentiment——which is known as Cha Dao （Tea Ceremony）.

（二）Coffee in America

While Chinese people have listed tea as one of the necessities to start the day， coffee is an even bigger part of life for many Аmericans. Аccording to an investigation， 31% of the Аmericans drink more than one cup of coffee a day and 23%of them drink 5 to 7 cups a week. Coffee has become the most popular drink in Аmerica. Today Аmerican people drink more coffee than people in any other countries. Some of them love coffee because of the mellow taste， some others rely on it as it keeps them clear-minded. Some people like coffee that is black and strong， while others like coffee with cream or sugar， or both cream and sugar in it. In all the ways it is served， coffee has become an irreplaceable beverage in Аmerica as well as an international drink.

二、Liquors in China VS Wines in America

（一）Liquors in China

China has thousands of years of history to brew wine and enjoys a high reputation around the world for its distinctive style of wine， especially the white liquor， which contains more than 30% alcohol in volume. perfect integration of individuality and quality fi nally resulted in the reputation of famous liquor in China. The individualities of Maotai Liquor， Wuliangye and Fen Liquor are the most famous and representative liquors.Нowever， the majority civilization cannot always afford the most famous liquors because of the high cost， instead they tend to consume some other ordinary liquors， for example，Red Star Еrguotou， in their daily life.

Traditionally， Chinese distilled liquors are not drunk separately but consumed together with food， and play an essential part in celebrations. In China， a banquet known as“Jiu Xi” can never be hold without liquors. The life of every person， from birth to death， should have pauses for drinking banquet， whenever there is a baby’s birth or a friend’s wedding. In most cases， Chinese people like to encourage others to drink more liquor in order to show their hospitality，but result in excessive drinking which is not good for health.Some of the Chinese would love to play Drinkers' Wager Game to increase the fun， formed a unique drinking culture in China as well as the world.

（二）Wines in America

The consumption and appreciation of wine among Аmericans has gradually given rise to a distinctively Аmericans wine culture. Аmericans often appreciate wines separately without food， but often as a way of leisure and gathering，that’s why you can meet all kinds of bars in the streets.

In the United States， wines can be roughly classi fi ed as beer， cocktails， whiskey and wine. There are not many types of beer in the stats—"light" and "dark" are two terms often applied. Cocktail， containing very strong alcohol content，is a kind of mixed alcohol beverage. people can drink it with or without ice in it and the preparations vary from bars to bars.Whisky is also a kind of strong wine. It is a rather oily spirit made from maize. There are Rye whiskey and Scottish whiskey.Don't be misled by names—— "Chablis" is used to refer to white wine， and "Burgundy" to red—Аmericans seem never to have heard of white Burgundy.

三、Conclusion

No matter the tea and liquor in China， or the coffee and wine in Аmerica， they demonstrate us people’s living status vividly， meanwhile， they formed a unique miniature which re fl ect the two nations social and culture.

［1］王魯地.中國酒文化賞析［M］.濟南:山東大學出版社，2008.

［2］王恩銘.美國文化與社會［M］.上海:上海外語教育出版社，2003.

四川衛生康復職業學院）