Tea mixologist brings Huangshan tea culture in vogue - Xinhua

Customers drink tea beverages at a shop in Huangshan City, east China's Anhui Province, May 23, 2024.

Wang Sun is the founder of Demingshe, a tea art vocational training school in Huangshan City.

Huangshan City is the place of origin of several famous teas including Huangshan Maofeng, Taiping Houkui and Keemun black tea, and boasts a long history of drinking tea.

As a pioneer in developing innovative tea-making skills and alternative ways of drinking tea, Wang started the research and promotion of the new-style tea beverages in 2021. Inspired by bartenders, she uses traditional Huangshan teas as base, employing bar tools to blend the tea with fresh fruits, herbal medicines, fermented rice wine, or ice cubes, creating beverages with diverse flavours, mouthfeels, and appearances.

The tea beverages hit the market and were well received by consumers, meeting their preferences of tea drinking that were dissimilar from traditional brewing methods. "Young people want their tea beverages to be healthy and pleasant both to the tongues and eyes," Wang said.

Nowadays, innovative tea beverages and products abound in Huangshan City and attract more and more consumers. In Wang's view, tea mixologist is a new profession with both opportunities and challenges, which requires practitioners to have a certain accumulation and understanding of traditional Chinese tea culture. While inheriting the traditional culture, they should also use scientific and technological means to innovate and constantly create new products that meet the current trend of tea drinking. (Photo by Shi Yalei/Xinhua)

Wang Sun (L) gives instructions to her apprentice at Demingshe, a tea art vocational training school in Huangshan City, east China's Anhui Province, May 23, 2024. (Xinhua/Du Yu)

Wang Sun makes a tea beverage at Demingshe, a tea art vocational training school in Huangshan City, east China's Anhui Province, May 23, 2024. (Xinhua/Du Yu)

Wang Sun (C) gives instructions to her apprentices at Demingshe, a tea art vocational training school in Huangshan City, east China's Anhui Province, May 23, 2024. (Xinhua/Du Yu)

Wang Sun makes a tea beverage at Demingshe, a tea art vocational training school in Huangshan City, east China's Anhui Province, May 23, 2024. (Xinhua/Du Yu)

A tea beverage is pictured at Demingshe, a tea art vocational training school in Huangshan City, east China's Anhui Province, May 23, 2024. (Xinhua/Du Yu)

Wang Sun makes tea at Demingshe, a tea art vocational training school in Huangshan City, east China's Anhui Province, May 23, 2024. (Xinhua/Du Yu)

Customers drink tea beverages at Demingshe, a tea art vocational training school in Huangshan City, east China's Anhui Province, May 23, 2024. (Xinhua/Du Yu)

Wang Sun (C) gives instructions to her apprentices at Demingshe, a tea art vocational training school in Huangshan City, east China's Anhui Province, May 23, 2024. (Xinhua/Du Yu)