Cloud tea is like life; life is learning, wisdom is cultivation.
At the Water-Splashing Festival in Xishuangbanna, besides splashing water and drinking raw pu-erh, there is something else I love — bamboo tube tea. Bamboo tube tea is a traditional beverage of the Dai people. Fresh bamboo tubes are stuffed with tea leaves and slowly roasted over charcoal. After roasting, the fresh fragrance of bamboo permeates the leaves, producing a truly unique flavour. This tea is very hard to find outside; you have to visit a Dai village in Banna to have the chance to taste it.
Bamboo tube tea has a very long history, said to span several hundred years. The Dai people have lived for generations in the tropical rainforests of Banna, surrounded by bamboo groves. They discovered that roasting tea leaves inside fresh bamboo tubes not only makes the tea more fragrant but also helps it keep longer. This is the practical wisdom of the Dai people — using the natural resources at hand to improve daily life.
This year during the Water-Splashing Festival, I visited a Dai village specifically to learn how to make bamboo tube tea. First, you must select a fresh bamboo stalk, about as thick as your arm. Saw it into sections roughly thirty centimetres long, sealed at one end and open at the other. Then stuff sun-dried loose leaf tea into the bamboo tube, pressing it down firmly with a wooden rod. Once packed, place the bamboo tubes over charcoal and roast slowly. During roasting, you must keep turning the tubes so the leaves heat evenly.
The roasting process takes about half an hour. During that time, the bamboo’s fragrance gradually seeps into the tea leaves, while the moisture within the leaves slowly dries out. After roasting, split the bamboo tube open. Inside, the tea has formed a solid cylinder — that is bamboo tube tea. Its appearance is quite distinctive: wrapped in a membrane of bamboo, with tightly compressed leaves within.
The brewing method for bamboo tube tea differs from ordinary pu-erh. First, break off a small piece, about five to eight grams. Then brew with boiling water — first rinse, then drink from the second infusion. The moment it enters your mouth, that bamboo fragrance fills your entire palate — not an ordinary tea aroma, but the uniquely sweet freshness of bamboo. By the third infusion, the tea flavour begins to emerge, blending with the bamboo scent to create something altogether singular. This flavour cannot be matched by any other tea.
Bamboo tube tea also has notable wellness qualities. Bamboo contains rich flavonoids, which are traditionally believed to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In the heat of Banna, a cup of bamboo tube tea is thought to clear heat and relieve summer discomfort. The fresh bamboo fragrance is also said to refresh the mind and lift the spirits.
I remember the first time I drank bamboo tube tea — it was at the home of a Dai elder. He served me his family’s own bamboo tube tea. One sip and I was stunned — I had never tasted anything so distinctive. I asked him why bamboo tube tea was so delicious. He smiled and said: “Because it is the taste of nature. Bamboo, tea leaves, charcoal fire — combine these three things and you get the finest flavour.” I have remembered those words to this day.
Tea has grades; all may enjoy it regardless of status.
During the Water-Splashing Festival, the Dai people serve bamboo tube tea to guests. When visitors arrive, they are first presented with a cup of bamboo tube tea, a gesture of welcome and respect. This custom has been passed down for centuries and is still maintained today. I find this custom deeply meaningful — serving tea you have made yourself is more sincere than any purchased gift.
When I left Banna, I bought several bamboo tubes of tea to bring back to Guangdong. Every time I drink bamboo tube tea, I think of my days in Banna — the joy of splashing water, the tranquillity of the tea mountains, the warmth of the Dai people. All these memories are sealed within the bamboo tube tea, surging back with every cup. That is the magic of tea — it is not just a beverage; it is a vessel of memory.
Make friends through tea, please enjoy a cup.
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Author: Old Tea Head · Lin Shen (LamSam)
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