# Chinese Tea in Mandarin: Order, Taste and Talk About Tea Ten famous Chinese teas, the words to order, taste and buy them, and the tea-table manners that go with them, with audio Source: https://www.saymei.app/resources/downloads/chinese-tea-in-mandarin ## At a glance - Level: Beginner · HSK 1 - Format: Workbook · PDF · 15 pages · US Letter (prints on A4) - Price: Free · free with a saymei account · updated Nov 4, 2026 ## Download Free with a SayMei account, on the workbook's page: https://www.saymei.app/resources/downloads/chinese-tea-in-mandarin. SayMei emails a copy too. ## A line from the workbook 来一壶龙井。 (Lái yì hú Lóngjǐng.) — A pot of Longjing, please. ## By the end you can - Name ten famous Chinese teas and say what they taste like. From 龙井 (nutty and smooth, from Hangzhou) to 普洱茶 (earthy and deep, from Yunnan) and 菊花茶, with each tea's taste and home, and a question to start the talk. 你喜欢喝什么茶？ (Nǐ xǐhuan hē shénme chá?): What kind of tea do you like? - Order a pot for your table at a tea house. Order 一壶 for a shared pot and 一杯 for a cup of your own, say how many of you there are, and ask for more hot water with 再加点水. 来一壶龙井。 (Lái yì hú Lóngjǐng.): A pot of Longjing, please. - Say how a tea tastes. Talk about smell, strength and aftertaste with 香, 浓, 淡 and 回甘. Praise with 很 or 真, and keep 有点 for what you don't quite like. 喝完有回甘。 (Hē wán yǒu huígān.): It leaves a sweet aftertaste. - Pour, offer and thank like a good host or guest. Pour for others first and yourself last, offer a second cup with 再来一杯吧, tap two fingers on the table to say thanks mid-chat, and stop refills with 谢谢，够了. 我给你倒茶。 (Wǒ gěi nǐ dào chá.): Let me pour you some tea. - Taste before you buy and understand the price. Ask to taste with 可以尝一下吗？, then work out prices by the 斤 (500 grams) and the 两 (50 grams), so at 六百块一斤, half a jin costs 300 yuan. 多少钱一斤？ (Duōshao qián yì jīn?): How much is it for a jin? - Buy tea as a gift. Say 我想送人 so the shop knows it's a present, ask for a tin or a gift box, and choose how much to buy, from 二两 to half a jin. 有礼盒吗？ (Yǒu lǐhé ma?): Do you have a gift box? - Get through a whole afternoon at a tea house. The review puts it together: order a pot for three, pour for your friends, say how the tea tastes, ask for water and buy some to take home. 我们三个人。来一壶铁观音。 (Wǒmen sān ge rén. Lái yì hú Tiěguānyīn.): There are three of us. A pot of Tieguanyin, please. ## What's inside - Tea Names: Ten Chinese Teas and Their Tastes · Order a Pot at a Tea House · Order Tea for a Table of Four - Tasting: Learn: Say How a Tea Tastes · Practice: Taste Three Teas and Say It - Tea Manners: Learn: Pour, Thank and Offer Tea · Practice: Host a Guest for Tea - Buying Tea: Learn: Taste and Buy at a Tea Shop · Practice: Taste, Ask the Price, Buy a Gift - Review: An Afternoon at a Tea House ## How to use this book Four short chapters, each a Learn page and a Practice page, then a review. Play the chapter's free audio, say each line back in the pause, and do the Practice page the next day. At one chapter a week, you're ready for a tea house in about a month. - Week 1: Tea names and ordering. Pages 3 to 5. Learn the ten teas, then order a pot for a table of four and ask for more hot water. - Week 2: Tasting. Pages 6 and 7. Make three teas at home, or think of three you know, and say one line about each with 香, 浓, 淡 or 回甘. - Week 3: Tea manners. Pages 8 and 9. Invite a friend for tea: say 请喝茶, pour for them first and offer a second cup. - Week 4: Buying tea. Pages 10 and 11. Work out prices by the jin, then practise asking to taste, buying half a jin and asking for a gift box. - Before your visit: The whole afternoon. Play the review dialogue on page 12 and act it out with a friend. Check your answers on pages 13 to 15. ## Who it's for Adult beginners and tea lovers who want to order, taste and buy tea in Mandarin, on a trip to China, in a Chinese tea house nearer home, or when choosing tea as a gift. Before you start: Nothing. Every line has characters, pinyin and English, and the free audio reads each one with a pause to say it back. The Listen lines on the Practice pages are on the audio, and the answers are at the back. ## Does the book cover bubble tea and coffee? This book is about Chinese tea in tea houses, homes and tea shops. Bubble tea, coffee and café drinks are in Read a Chinese Menu, and ordering food is in Order Food and Drinks in Mandarin. ## What is a jin, and why is tea priced by it? A 斤 (jīn) is 500 grams, and tea in China is usually priced by it, so 六百块一斤 means 600 yuan for 500 g. A 两 (liǎng) is 50 grams, and ten 两 make one 斤. Page 11 lets you practise working out prices. ## Is there audio? Yes, free on the book's page on saymei.app. Every Chinese line is recorded with a pause to say it back, including the Listen exercises on the Practice pages. The PDF prints a QR code to it. ## Is this workbook free? Yes. The whole 15-page PDF is free, and you can look through its pages here before you download. There's no card and nothing to pay. ## Do I need a SayMei account? Yes, to download the PDF, and the account is free: sign up with Google, Apple or your email address. With it we email you a copy of the workbook, keep every workbook you download on your account on all your devices, save your place in the free online practice, and you can practise speaking with Mei Lin, SayMei's AI tutor. ## How do I print it? The PDF is US Letter size. On A4 paper, choose "Fit to page" (or "Scale to fit") in the print dialog so nothing is cut off. Print the whole workbook or only the pages you need; colour looks best, and black and white works too. ## Can I print copies for my class? Yes. Print as many copies as you like for your own class or family. To share it, send this page: everyone can download their own copy. Version 2026-11, updated Nov 4, 2026.