http://blog.yayateahouse.co.nz/2007/10/27/gongfu-cha-the-chinese-way-of-tea/ News from the Teahouse, about tea and more Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:10:25 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.4 http://blog.yayateahouse.co.nz/2007/10/27/gongfu-cha-the-chinese-way-of-tea/#comment-126307 Tue, 20 Sep 2011 20:07:44 +0000 http://blog.yayateahouse.co.nz/2007/10/27/gongfu-cha-the-chinese-way-of-tea/#comment-126307 [...] The tea should be easy to prepare and fit our consumption habits. Another important point, since to drink a tea everyday, most people aren’t prepared to go out of their way to brew that tea. Gongfu requires time and practice and isn’t suitable for everybody all the time. Your daily tea should be easy enough to make so you don’t have to convince yourself to go through a major effort to get to the cup you are longing for. [...] […] The tea should be easy to prepare and fit our consumption habits. Another important point, since to drink a tea everyday, most people aren’t prepared to go out of their way to brew that tea. Gongfu requires time and practice and isn’t suitable for everybody all the time. Your daily tea should be easy enough to make so you don’t have to convince yourself to go through a major effort to get to the cup you are longing for. […]

]]> http://blog.yayateahouse.co.nz/2007/10/27/gongfu-cha-the-chinese-way-of-tea/#comment-126306 Tue, 20 Sep 2011 20:07:29 +0000 http://blog.yayateahouse.co.nz/2007/10/27/gongfu-cha-the-chinese-way-of-tea/#comment-126306 [...] Size: The size of a Yixing tea pot depends on a number of factors like preparation style, amount of people to serve and intended tea. Most people use their Yixing wares to prepare gong fu tea. This preparation, which usually consists of many short steepings with a relative large amount of tea leaves, requires a comparatively small pot. To prepare gong fu tea, the pot is often filled to one third or halfway with tea leaves. Using a pot that is too large can result in some very expensive gong fu sessions (of course, depending on the price of the tea you’re drinking). Most often, the same leaves are steeped for 4 to 6 (but up to 15-20) times in one session and usage of a large pot would result in excessive amounts of tea! Personally, my recommendation to a beginner would be to start with a pot in the 150-300ml range, depending on the number of people you are usually having tea with (keep in mind that the cups you are drinking from are very small, too). Larger Yixing pots (say, 500ml and up) often brew very good tea as well, but are less practical for doing gong fu. Use them to prepare tea with longer steeping times (often refered to as “British-style brewing”). Recommended use for Yixing pots: Gong fu tea, mainly oolongs and pu-erh (raw and ripe), as well as some black teas (but can be used for virtually all teas). [...] […] Size: The size of a Yixing tea pot depends on a number of factors like preparation style, amount of people to serve and intended tea. Most people use their Yixing wares to prepare gong fu tea. This preparation, which usually consists of many short steepings with a relative large amount of tea leaves, requires a comparatively small pot. To prepare gong fu tea, the pot is often filled to one third or halfway with tea leaves. Using a pot that is too large can result in some very expensive gong fu sessions (of course, depending on the price of the tea you’re drinking). Most often, the same leaves are steeped for 4 to 6 (but up to 15-20) times in one session and usage of a large pot would result in excessive amounts of tea! Personally, my recommendation to a beginner would be to start with a pot in the 150-300ml range, depending on the number of people you are usually having tea with (keep in mind that the cups you are drinking from are very small, too). Larger Yixing pots (say, 500ml and up) often brew very good tea as well, but are less practical for doing gong fu. Use them to prepare tea with longer steeping times (often refered to as “British-style brewing”). Recommended use for Yixing pots: Gong fu tea, mainly oolongs and pu-erh (raw and ripe), as well as some black teas (but can be used for virtually all teas). […]

]]> http://blog.yayateahouse.co.nz/2007/10/27/gongfu-cha-the-chinese-way-of-tea/#comment-126301 Tue, 20 Sep 2011 20:02:08 +0000 http://blog.yayateahouse.co.nz/2007/10/27/gongfu-cha-the-chinese-way-of-tea/#comment-126301 [...] 12. Brew your tea gong fu style For a detailed description of Gong Fu Tea, please read my article on the Chinese Tea Ceremony. Although I would recommend this method even for beginners, it requires a certain amount of accessories that a beginner wouldn’t own. It requires a little more time and effort than “regular” tea preparation, but the rewards are worth your while (especially if you like oolongs and pu-erhs). Basically, gong fu cha involves many short steepings with the same tea leaves in a small brewing vessel. These short infusions reveal the true soul of a tea, since you taste it at every stage of its flavour development. [...] […] 12. Brew your tea gong fu style For a detailed description of Gong Fu Tea, please read my article on the Chinese Tea Ceremony. Although I would recommend this method even for beginners, it requires a certain amount of accessories that a beginner wouldn’t own. It requires a little more time and effort than “regular” tea preparation, but the rewards are worth your while (especially if you like oolongs and pu-erhs). Basically, gong fu cha involves many short steepings with the same tea leaves in a small brewing vessel. These short infusions reveal the true soul of a tea, since you taste it at every stage of its flavour development. […]

]]> http://blog.yayateahouse.co.nz/2007/10/27/gongfu-cha-the-chinese-way-of-tea/#comment-125917 Mon, 12 Sep 2011 22:13:22 +0000 http://blog.yayateahouse.co.nz/2007/10/27/gongfu-cha-the-chinese-way-of-tea/#comment-125917 [...] It is recommended that you use the small, traditional, porous Yixing teapot for gong fu tea. According to folklore, if you use one of these teapots for 20 years, you will be able to brew tea just by pouring in hot water! The folks over at Ya-Ya’s Tea-Board describe how to create your own gong fu tea ceremony: 1. Heat fresh water to the desired temperature (~85°C/185°F for most oolongs, boiling for most pu-erhs) and display the dry leaves (optional) [...] […] It is recommended that you use the small, traditional, porous Yixing teapot for gong fu tea. According to folklore, if you use one of these teapots for 20 years, you will be able to brew tea just by pouring in hot water! The folks over at Ya-Ya’s Tea-Board describe how to create your own gong fu tea ceremony: 1. Heat fresh water to the desired temperature (~85°C/185°F for most oolongs, boiling for most pu-erhs) and display the dry leaves (optional) […]

]]> http://blog.yayateahouse.co.nz/2007/10/27/gongfu-cha-the-chinese-way-of-tea/#comment-27161 Sat, 22 Nov 2008 16:23:09 +0000 http://blog.yayateahouse.co.nz/2007/10/27/gongfu-cha-the-chinese-way-of-tea/#comment-27161 [...] Gongfu cha - the Chinese way of tea | Ya-Yas Tea-Board reddit_url='http://www.baby-parenting.com/lma/directory/Kids_&_Teens/School_Time/Social_Studies/World_Cultures/Asia/Japan/Food/Tea_Ceremony/Tea_Ceremony.html' reddit_title='Website Directory - Tea Ceremony' [...] […] Gongfu cha - the Chinese way of tea | Ya-Yas Tea-Board reddit_url=’http://www.baby-parenting.com/lma/directory/Kids_&_Teens/School_Time/Social_Studies/World_Cultures/Asia/Japan/Food/Tea_Ceremony/Tea_Ceremony.html’ reddit_title=’Website Directory - Tea Ceremony’ […]

]]> http://blog.yayateahouse.co.nz/2007/10/27/gongfu-cha-the-chinese-way-of-tea/#comment-16604 Fri, 23 May 2008 16:48:45 +0000 http://blog.yayateahouse.co.nz/2007/10/27/gongfu-cha-the-chinese-way-of-tea/#comment-16604 [...] It is recommended that you use the small, traditional, porous Yixing teapot for gong fu tea. According to folklore, if you use one of these teapots for 20 years, you will be able to brew tea just by pouring in hot water! The folks over at Ya-Ya’s Tea-Board describe how to create your own gong fu tea ceremony: 1. Heat fresh water to the desired temperature (~85°C/185°F for most oolongs, boiling for most pu-erhs) and display the dry leaves (optional) [...] […] It is recommended that you use the small, traditional, porous Yixing teapot for gong fu tea. According to folklore, if you use one of these teapots for 20 years, you will be able to brew tea just by pouring in hot water! The folks over at Ya-Ya’s Tea-Board describe how to create your own gong fu tea ceremony: 1. Heat fresh water to the desired temperature (~85°C/185°F for most oolongs, boiling for most pu-erhs) and display the dry leaves (optional) […]

]]> http://blog.yayateahouse.co.nz/2007/10/27/gongfu-cha-the-chinese-way-of-tea/#comment-12813 Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:06:10 +0000 http://blog.yayateahouse.co.nz/2007/10/27/gongfu-cha-the-chinese-way-of-tea/#comment-12813 [...] So what does all this have to do with tea… … you may ask. Well, I believe there really is much we can learn from tea in this regard. A tea is said to be patient when it stands up to many infusions. Generally, these patient teas have a lot of depth and subtle beauty to them. They don’t “show off” in the early infusions like, say a Lapsang Souchong would with all its thrills of overwhelming flavour. Patient teas actually require the tea drinker to bring some time, to be patient as well, to grant the tea the deserved attention to detail. The reward to be gained can be substantial, but it can’t be reached by any shortcuts. For example, many better shou pu-erhs produce the most delicious cup in later infusions, after some of the more distracting flavours have been eliminated in the early infusions. To get to the later steepings, there is no other way as to be patient and go through the initial infusions, knowing of the treasure waiting. Tea preparation also has an inherent aspect of slowing down, of exerting patience. Carefully preparing the pot, measuring the tea leaves, heating the water to the desired temperature, washing the leaves, going through multiple infusions: all highly enjoyable tasks once you commit yourself to them. Proper tea preparation is much more involved than pouring boiling water over a teabag, but again, the rewards are far greater than the hassle (if you regard it as such). [...] […] So what does all this have to do with tea… … you may ask. Well, I believe there really is much we can learn from tea in this regard. A tea is said to be patient when it stands up to many infusions. Generally, these patient teas have a lot of depth and subtle beauty to them. They don’t “show off” in the early infusions like, say a Lapsang Souchong would with all its thrills of overwhelming flavour. Patient teas actually require the tea drinker to bring some time, to be patient as well, to grant the tea the deserved attention to detail. The reward to be gained can be substantial, but it can’t be reached by any shortcuts. For example, many better shou pu-erhs produce the most delicious cup in later infusions, after some of the more distracting flavours have been eliminated in the early infusions. To get to the later steepings, there is no other way as to be patient and go through the initial infusions, knowing of the treasure waiting. Tea preparation also has an inherent aspect of slowing down, of exerting patience. Carefully preparing the pot, measuring the tea leaves, heating the water to the desired temperature, washing the leaves, going through multiple infusions: all highly enjoyable tasks once you commit yourself to them. Proper tea preparation is much more involved than pouring boiling water over a teabag, but again, the rewards are far greater than the hassle (if you regard it as such). […]

]]> http://blog.yayateahouse.co.nz/2007/10/27/gongfu-cha-the-chinese-way-of-tea/#comment-11595 Wed, 16 Jan 2008 09:20:44 +0000 http://blog.yayateahouse.co.nz/2007/10/27/gongfu-cha-the-chinese-way-of-tea/#comment-11595 [...] The other article that left me with a newly gained insight was Aaron’s conversation with Master Ling Ping Xiang about gong fu cha. I wrote an article on the gong fu tea ceremony here on this blog a while back, but I was focusing on the technicalities involved in the process. Master Ling’s advice doesn’t delve into the usual subjects of temperature, teaware or leaf amount but rather guides the focus to the person preparing the tea as the main vessel for the tea. Inner peace has as much of an influence as the preparation of the tea; and so does the company one enjoys the tea with. I can personally relate well to this concept although my science-trained brain doesn’t make it easy to accept these non-tangible influences. For years I have wondered why my favourite Darjeelings only sporadically produced the ethereal cup that I came to look for even though I didn’t alter the brewing parameters. After approaching the problem from a scientific angle (adhering strictly to brewing parameters) without any improvement, I attributed the lack of substance to different levels of humidity or air pressure (some more scientific stuff). In the back of my mind I suspected it had more to do with my level of comfort, concentration on the tea preparation and other, more emotional factors; but somehow I never allowed myself to fully believe in that idea. This article helped me change my mind and I will make sure from now on that my mind and heart is fully with the tea preparation. [...] […] The other article that left me with a newly gained insight was Aaron’s conversation with Master Ling Ping Xiang about gong fu cha. I wrote an article on the gong fu tea ceremony here on this blog a while back, but I was focusing on the technicalities involved in the process. Master Ling’s advice doesn’t delve into the usual subjects of temperature, teaware or leaf amount but rather guides the focus to the person preparing the tea as the main vessel for the tea. Inner peace has as much of an influence as the preparation of the tea; and so does the company one enjoys the tea with. I can personally relate well to this concept although my science-trained brain doesn’t make it easy to accept these non-tangible influences. For years I have wondered why my favourite Darjeelings only sporadically produced the ethereal cup that I came to look for even though I didn’t alter the brewing parameters. After approaching the problem from a scientific angle (adhering strictly to brewing parameters) without any improvement, I attributed the lack of substance to different levels of humidity or air pressure (some more scientific stuff). In the back of my mind I suspected it had more to do with my level of comfort, concentration on the tea preparation and other, more emotional factors; but somehow I never allowed myself to fully believe in that idea. This article helped me change my mind and I will make sure from now on that my mind and heart is fully with the tea preparation. […]

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