Gongfu tea ceremony

A gongfu tea ceremony or kung fu tea ceremony (Chinese: or 功夫茶; POJ: Kang Hu Te) is a type of Chinese tea ceremony, a Chaozhou and Min Nan way of preparing tea with great skill.

Origin

The first known treatise on the subject of gongfu cha was first mentioned in Lu Yu's "The Classic of Tea" (8th century) and has been popular since the Qing Dynasty. In gongfu tea (literally meaning "tea brewed with great skill") rather than focusing on symbolic hand gestures such as that of the Japanese tea ceremony, the taste of the tea is paramount. Although gongfu cha brewing method does have uncompromising steps, it is important to note that the various Asian tea consuming cultures have added local styles and equipment; adding to the richness of the Asian tea culture.

Chemistry and physics behind gongfu cha

In essence, what is desired in gongfu cha is a brew that tastes great and is satisfying to the soul. Tea masters in China and other Asian tea cultures will study for years perfecting this method in order to do so. However, method alone will not determine whether a great cup of tea will be produced. It has been suggested that the chemistry and physics behind Gong fu cha is what makes this method far more superior than any other when brewing Chinese teas. Essentially, two things have to be taken into consideration: chemistry and temperature.

Chemistry

Water should be given careful consideration when conducting Gongfu Cha. Water which tastes and/or smells bad will adversely affect the brew as tea is 99.99% water. However, distilled or extremely soft water should never be utilized as they are deficient in crucial minerals and so can result in a "flat" tasting liquor. For these reasons, most tea masters will use a good clean local source of spring water. If this natural spring water is not available, bottled spring water will suffice. Hard water should be avoided at all cost, even after it has been filtered.

Temperature

During the process of brewing Gongfu cha, the tea master will first determine what is the appropriate temperature for the tea being used in order to extract the essential oils of the tea. An optimal temperature must be reached and maintained.

Tools/equipment/utensils

# A small Yixing clay teapot, around 150 ml in volume (maximum) called a Cha hu (茶壺, literally meaning "tea vessel")
# Three cups, each 30 ml, called cha bei (茶杯, literally, "tea cup")
# Fresh water. Tap water should be filtered; hard water should be avoided.
# A kettle (preferably made of clay or glass, in order to determine the temperature of the boiling water).
# A stove or a hob, to boil water
# A pail or container to dispense water, called a cha gang (茶缸)
# A water dispensing tray or a bowl for tea pot during water pouring, called a cha pan (茶盤)
# Table
# Seats for guests
# A clean cotton cloth to wipe off any excess water on the table

There are several extra utensils required in the Taiwan-style Gongfu tea ceremony:
# A wooden tea spoon to measure the amount of tea leaves required, called a cha chi (茶匙)
# A tea pitcher (to ensure the consistency of the flavor of the tea)
# A tea strainer called a lou dou (漏斗)
# An aroma pitcher
# A tweezer, called a giab (挾) in both the Chaozhou and Min Nan dialects

Boiling water

The boiling water temperature depends on the type of tea used.
* 95°C for Oolong tea
* 100°C (boiling) for compressed teas, such as Pu-erh tea
* Note: Green tea is usually not used for a Gongfu tea ceremony.

The temperature of the water can be determined by timing, as well as the size and the sizzling sound of the air bubbles.
* At 75-85°C, the bubbles formed are known as "crab eyes" and are about 3 mm in diameter. They are accompanied by rapid and loud sizzling sounds.
* At 90-95°C, the bubbles, which are now around 8 mm in diameter and accompanied by less frequent sizzling sounds and a lower sizzling pitch, are dubbed "fish eyes".
* When the water is boiling, neither the formation of air bubbles nor sizzling sounds occurs.

The above rules cannot be applied in highlands as the water will boil at lower temperatures in higher altitudes.

Ceremony procedures

Surroundings

A suitable space must be provided. A table large enough to hold the tea-making utensils, the drip tray, and the water is the minimum necessary. Ideally the surroundings should be peaceful and conducive to relaxation and socialization. Incense, flowers, and low, soft, traditional music will all add to the ambience, as will songbirds.

Preparation

# Lay the serving cups on the table. Warm and sterilize the cups with hot water. Pour away excess water.
# Fill up the teapot with tea. For the 150 ml tea pot, you will need at least 15 grams of tea leaves.
# Put the teapot into a water tray or a bowl.
# Boil the water to preferable temperature as described above in the Boiling water section.
# Fill up the teapot with water until it overflows.
# Scoop away any bubbles or debris floating on top of the teapot and close the lid.
# Pour and drain the water from the teapot as soon as possible into all the serving cups. (If done in the Taiwan style, fill up the pitcher as well.)
# Pour away the water from the cups. (You may use wooden tweezers instead of your bare hands.)

Brewing

# In Chinese it's called (高沖低斟) gao1 chong1 di1 zhen1.
# Fill up the teapot again with boiling water until it covers the top. Replace the teapot lid.
# Pour hot water, or use the water from the serving cups from the preparation process, on the surface of the teapot.

erving

# In Chinese it's called (關公巡城 [关公巡城] ) Guan1 gong1 xun2 cheng2
# Wait for 20 to 50 seconds, depending on the type and quantity of the tea used.
# Boiling water should be poured into the tea pot, until it is overflowing, and then the lid is used to remove the froth. Replace the lid on the pot and pour boiling water over the tea pot. This process is called in Chinese (刮沫淋蓋 [刮沫淋盖] ) gua1 mo4 lin2 gai4.
# Pour the tea in the serving cups in a circulating form evenly. (For a Taiwan-style ceremony, pour all the liquor into the pitcher before serving)
# Serve the guests.
# The second brewing yields the most delicious tea. It should have a beautiful scent / aroma and a wonderful bittersweet taste.
# A quality oolong tea is good for anywhere from 4 to 8 brewings. Each subsequent pot follows the same procedure, but requires a slightly longer infusion time.

:In Taiwan-style serving, a tall slender cup is sometimes used as the aroma cup. The tea is poured into this vessel and then poured into the shorter, wider drinking vessel. The drinker can then smell the aroma of the tea by bringing the aroma cup up to the nose and not risk spilling any tea on themselves. The tea is then drunk from the smaller, wider vessel.

End of ceremony

# Put the used tea leaves in a clean bowl for your guests to appreciate the tea you have used. They will smell the tea leaves and compliment you on your choice of excellent tea.

Cleaning up

Cleaning up is an important step in the ritual.

# Brewed tea and tea leaves should not remain in the teapot after the ritual. It must be cleaned up thoroughly and rinsed with hot tea.
# Utensils must be sterilized with boiling water.
# The tea pot should be rinsed with hot tea and the outside of the pot should be rubbed / polished with a good linen cloth; never rinsed with water. Allow the tea pot to dry naturally.
# Let the utensils and serving cups air dry on a tea tray.

See also

* Chinese tea culture
* Taiwanese tea ceremony
* Tea Ceremony
* Tea Masters
* Perennial Tea Ceremony

External links

* [http://teaarts.blogspot.com/2005/07/tea-culture-monthly-271-part-2.html Lu-Yu Small Pot Tea Laws, (陸羽小壺茶法)]
* [http://home.kimo.com.tw/luyu0001/27001.htm Demonstration, Chinese and English]
* [http://www.teahub.com/chayi.htm A collection of Chinese tea ceremony photos]
* [http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001915chinese_tea_ceremony.php] Chinese Tea Brewing