The life of Yangzhou people can be summarized in one sentence: in the morning, they are "covered in water", and in the evening, they are "covered in water". The so-called 'skin wrapped water' refers to Yangzhou morning tea, and Yangzhou people start their day with morning tea.

In Yangzhou, there are too many choices for drinking morning tea, among which tea houses with the word "spring" in their names are the most common, such as Fuchun, Yechun, Gonghechun, Jinchun, Wuting Yinchun, as well as Quyuan, Yiyuan, Jiulu Fenzuo, Garden Tea House, etc. Many of these tea houses are century old brands.

In Yangzhou, drinking morning tea is a way of life. In the past, Yangzhou people went to the tea house in the morning to have a plate of hot dried silk, two steamed buns, and a cup of good tea, enjoying themselves leisurely.

But recently, with the increase of tourists, many tea houses are in high demand in the morning, requiring long queues and other positions. I heard that Quyuan is the most popular, with people already queuing up at 3 or 4 in the morning, while Quyuan does not start dispatching until 6:30 in the morning. For the sake of food, they also put in a lot of effort, which is truly admirable.

How can you not experience the morning tea of Yangzhou people when you come to Yangzhou!

1. Yiyuan

Yiyuan was the first teahouse I went to, recommended by the homestay owner. She said her home is an old brand with a good environment, and locals usually come there to entertain guests.

The peak period for morning tea in Yangzhou is from 06:30 to 08:30 in the morning. Yiyuan is located next to the Siwang Hall in the city center. In order to avoid peak hours, I arrived around 9am. Although I also had to queue up, I arrived after waiting for a few minutes. I was given a small table by myself and ordered by scanning the QR code.

Although I was alone, I ordered five Dim sum and wanted to try several more.

I didn't expect these Dim sum to come up. As a Guangzhou girl, I think this amount is too large!

You know, the breakfast Dim sum in Guangzhou are all two or three mouthfuls at most, but the steamed buns here are a lot bigger than my fists. Girls are almost full after eating one bag, one steamed wheat equals a bowl of rice, and one Steamed dumplings equals three dumplings in Guangzhou. The tea snacks in Yiyuan are really too heavy compared to those in Guangzhou.

There is no tea table fee here. The shop provides plain water, and you can bring your own tea or buy tea here for five yuan per small bag. This is better than in Guangzhou, where even if you drink boiled water or bring your own tea, you still have to charge a tea table fee.

Look at my order sheet. Except for the crab roe soup, other Dim sum are not expensive. After finishing this meal, I saved all my lunch for the day, it was just too full.

Yiyuan Recommendation Index: 5 stars

Comment: Yiyuan has a good geographical location and is easy to find. Its products, environment, and service are all good. Scanning the QR code to place an order saves time. It has a small table and fewer people, so there is no need to share tables.

2. Fuchun Tea House

Fuchun is also a time-honored brand. Her family has both old and new shops, and the homestay owner has repeatedly emphasized the need to go to the old shops.

The Fuchun old store is located in a small alley on Guoqing Road. When you walk into the alley, you feel very good. This is the true Yangzhou style!

The environment inside Fuchun Tea House is good, quite quaint, and there is a large plaque in the store that reads "Huaiyang First Floor".

I arrived around 10 o'clock in the morning when there were still many people. In Fuchun, there were large round tables where diners had to share tables, find their own seats, and then queue up to order and pay. When I went to the individual guest hall on the second floor, that long queue really scared me.

I have a tip to share with everyone. Don't go to the individual guest hall on the second floor, where there are the most people and long queues when placing orders and making payments. It's too time-consuming. I don't think the situation is right, so I immediately went back to the small hall on the first floor and saved a lot of time queuing for orders.

Look at their menu. There are 30 yuan per person and 50 yuan per person. They are all mixed brocade Dim sum. It's really sweet.
I ordered 30 yuan. Because it's a mixed assortment, the size of Dim sum is not as large as Yiyuan. It's OK to eat one set alone.

After finishing Fuchun, I felt that the taste was pretty good in all aspects, the tea was delicious, and the meat was also delicious. It seems that the popularity of Fuchun Tea House has some reason.

The business hours here are 06:30-13:30 and 15:45-19:30. The waiter said they could come at 15:45, when there were relatively few people.

Fuchun Tea House Recommendation Index: 4 stars

Comment: Fuchun is a popular old brand located in the alleys of the old city area, with a quaint environment. Visitors to Fuchun can experience the true Yangzhou morning tea atmosphere. But you have to queue up, place orders, pay, and share tables.

3. Ye Chun

Yechun is also a very popular tea house, with many branches and long queues every morning.

I was visiting Zhenyuan around 3pm when I discovered her home. What a pleasant surprise! Her evening market starts at 5 pm, and she specifically asked the front desk sister if she wanted to queue up early. She said there aren't many people at night, so coming directly at 5 pm would be fine.

So if you have already been to tea houses like Fuchun in the morning and want to have tea snacks again, you don't have to queue up in the morning. You can come for lunch or dinner without queuing, and you can choose any location you want.

Yechun has a big Dim sum list, just like the teahouse in Guangzhou. Check it. But you still have to bring the menu to the front desk to place orders and make payments, and the waiter is only responsible for serving the dishes.

I ordered crab roe soup dumplings, lion's head, stir fried pork belly, as well as bean skin and bean paste buns.
I feel that the crab roe soup dumplings are still delicious in Yiyuan, and the straw paired with Ye Chun is too small to even suck up the soup.

The soup of the lion's head is too oily. I couldn't eat the meatball inside after taking two bites. Stir fried pork belly is also super oily, but both buns are good.

Yechun recommendation index: 3.5 stars

Comment: The environment in Yechun is good, there is no need to share tables, but you still have to queue up to place orders and pay. During peak periods, you may have to wait for a long time. Personally, I don't think its products can compare to Yiyuan and Fuchun.

4. Garden Tea House

The Garden Tea House has many branches that locals often visit.

I arrived at the Garden Tea House near the homestay at around 9am and found that the long queue had already arrived at the door. I went into the store and took a look. It's not big inside, and there's also a queue for ordering and payment, and there's only one ordering counter.

The dining environment is average and I don't want to queue up, so I decided to buy a few steamed buns from the takeaway window at the door. The elder sister at the delivery window has a very positive attitude. When asked what kind of package the mixed colored small cage is, she said I am very busy and don't have time to explain to you. Because she has to take care of the customers who place orders in the store alone, they come to her to pick up buns and then find a seat to sit, which makes it difficult for her.

Garden Tea House Recommendation Index: 3*

Comment: Personally, I think the garden teahouse is just a breakfast Dim sum shop. It's necessary to queue up there for a long time to order

5. Recommended index for nine furnace seating: 3*

This is also a century old brand with many branches.

After strolling around Heyuan in the afternoon, I happened to see this Nine Furnace Branch nearby and went in for a Chinese afternoon tea.
Originally, this was their main store. At around 4 pm, there were only one or two diners inside, and a few local uncles were playing cards.

The hot dried silk and crab roe Xiaolongbao were ordered. The hot dried silk sold well, the sauce was not salty, and it tasted delicious. The Xiaolongbao was average, and there was little soup in it.

I have been to several tea houses in Yangzhou for a few days, and I feel that the taste is similar. The products are not particularly outstanding, which makes me feel amazed. If you really have to choose one or two, it's still Yiyuan and Fuchun.

I think Yangzhou tea houses need to keep up with the times. It would be better to adopt the method of scanning codes, ordering and payment, or to set up more counters for ordering and payment, otherwise all the time would be wasted queuing up for ordering and payment.

The deepest feeling is that Yangzhou tea snacks are really not expensive. Steamed buns cost 3-4 yuan each, and hot dried silk costs 6-7 yuan, which is very affordable.

Compared to Guangzhou morning tea, I still prefer Guangzhou morning tea. I feel that Guangzhou morning tea has a wide variety and is more exquisite, and the service is also good. Trying Yangzhou morning tea once or twice is enough.