May 3rd, 2009
In pinyin, the term “Kung Fu” is written: gōngfu. The term really has nothing to do with martial arts, but refers to the possession of great skill. So in the world of tea, when we refer to the gong fu tea cermony, we are referring to a skillful way to prepare tea. When performing the gongfu tea ceremony there is no formal set of rules, procedures, or utensils — but there are some fundamental ideas that have grown into the tradition we now call the Gong Fu Tea Ceremony.
The first treatise on tea surfaced during the 8th century – it was Lu Yu’s “Classic of Tea,” the work described the manufacturing, brewing, and drinking of tea to great detail. He set forth these 8 guidelines for what man must do with tea:
- He must manufacture it
- He must develop a sense of selectivity and discrimination about it
- He must provide proper implements
- He must prepare the right kind of fire
- He must select a suitable water
- He must roast the tea to a turn
- He must grind it well
- He must brew it to its ultimate perfection
- He must finally, drink it
Over the years the gongfu tea ceremony has become the essence of tea culture across China and Taiwan, each tea master skillfully preparing the tea in his/her own way. There is no right or wrong when it comes to your tea ceremony as long as you are slowing down, and enjoying the tea as it should be enjoyed. Join us these next few weeks as I break down the gongfu tea ceremony in its many forms.
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Tags: brew, gongfu, loose-leaf, steeping, steeping methods, tea, tea ceremony
Posted in Steeping Methods, Teaware | 3 Comments »
April 19th, 2009
We’ve all said it, “chai tea” — the greatest redundancy in the world of tea. In the Hindi language, “chai” means “tea”, so saying “chai tea” is the same as saying “tea tea.” Just think about that the next time you are in a coffeeshop and hear someone order a “chai tea latte” — whatever that is. Granted the popularized form of “chai tea” in America is syrup or powder based anyway – so calling what most drink in America “masala chai” would be a bastardization. Masala refers to a mixture of spices; in masala chai, usually cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and black pepper. Thus “masala chai” means “spice tea.” While on the subject of masala chai, here are some guidelines to make great masala chai from loose leaf:
1. Prepare a 3:1 mixture of milk to water (some recipes call for a 1:1 ratio).
2. Add masala chai to the mixture and heat for 15 minutes.
3. Add sugar to taste, start with adding 1.5 teaspoons for each cup of liquid used.
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Tags: chai, hindi, masala, steeping methods
Posted in Black Tea, Steeping Methods | 5 Comments »
March 15th, 2009
Tea bags are a product of convenience; they are easy, cheap, and clean. But if you’ve only ever drank tea that was a product of a tea-bag, you are missing out. Tea-bags used to only be filled with dust and fannings which are all the little pieces leftover from different processing methods. Through the years, tea companies have been putting higher and higher quality tea in bags. But no matter how nice the tea, or how innovative the bag is (see nylon bag below), they fail for one fundamental reason: tea leaves must be allowed to flow freely within the brewing vessel. Tea leaves expand while brewing, and being stuffed in a bag only allows them to expand a small amount.
 Tea bag before steeping |
 Same tea bag after steeping |
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The same rules apply for tea balls and fancy tea infusers: if the tea cannot flow freely in the steeping vessel, you are not enjoying the tea at its full potential. |
We’ve seen how much the high quality black tea expanded in the above tea bag image, now lets take a look at what happens to loose leaf oolong when it is allowed to flow freely in a glass tea-cup.
 Teaspoon of oolong before steeping |
 Same teaspoon after steeping |
If the leaves are able to flow freely, we allow for more of the leaves to be in contact with water-and the more contact the leaves have with the water – the better chance we have to extract the full flavor of the tea.
If the above oolong leaves were stuck in a bag or in an infuser, they would not have the chance to expand the way they do when allowed to flow freely. Steeping tea doesn’t have to be difficult, achieving great tea can be simple if you have the right equipment.
What the Twitterverse had to say about Tea Bags:
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Tags: oolong, steeping methods, tea-bags, tea-infusers
Posted in Steeping Methods | 13 Comments »
Great post Tony.
It’s a good way to enjoy time with friends.
What kind of water do you use Tony? people said water is the mother of tea, but for now there are hard to find good water in city.
ultimate perfection! mmm – nice site tony!
Thanks for that entry, Tony. I know that formally Kung fu wushu is the martial art we often think of, wushu literally meaning “martial art.” Guess that makes kung fu wushu mean “possessing great martial art skill,” which I never knew. Thanks! Excited to see what you bring forward these next few weeks. I would love to practice gong fu.