Thank you for all this information. I think I'm ready to explore this tea preparation method. I've been a black tea drinker for years, and have always brewed Western style. I was not aware that that method could burn the tea leaves. I have always had to add sweetener to make the tea palatable. I also enjoyed Pu Erh tea in the past, but stopped drinking it about a decade or so ago. I did most of my tea drinking at work back then, and brewing it Western style with the initial rinses proved to be too much of a hassle in that setting. I now work from home and want to get back into Pu Erh. Trying to refresh my memory on how to brew it lead me to exploring this method. I was never able to find any green or oolong teas that I liked brewed Western style. I might need to take another look at some of those styles of teas with this method as well.
Thank you for sharing your tea experience! I am glad you are going to restart Pu Erh tea and explore green & oolong from a different perspective. I don’t know what green & oolong you were buying in the past, but if the quality is good, oolong teas and black teas tend to produce a better result even if it’s brewed western style compared to other teas, but green teas can definitely be burned. If you need some advice for what kind of oolong teas to get started for gong fu cha practice and tend to produce a good result, feel free to let me know!
Thank you so much for one of the most comprehensive videos about gongfu brewing that I've ever watched. I appreciate how encouraging you are that with practice, we can improve our skills with a gaiwan. Thank you also so much for providing closed captioning considerations for the deaf and hearing impaired! 💕
Thank you for your kind words and I am so glad you find this video helpful ❤️ I hope we can improve our Gong Fu Cha skills together and brew better teas 😊
Thank you so much for this video. I especially enjoyed the “pouring” section and learned so much. I haven’t found that much information on pouring. I have a question about the 6/7 o’clock pour. You mentioned that the pour is intended to bring out the aroma of the tea. Do you mean the aroma of the wet leaves, or the aroma from the liquor? Or maybe both?
Thank you and I am glad you find the video useful 🙏 I would say it helps to release the aroma from the leaves as you brew, and thus render your tea’s fragrance stronger both in the body and in the scent
thank you for the lesson! it helped a lot. do you have a video on the ceremony itself. would like to learn more like serving and the etiquette THANK you! very good content!
Tea needle is always useful, especially some antique pots do not have filter on the inner side of the spout, so the spout can become clogged during a pour. You can solve this by using a needle after the spout has clogged, but that’s not so great as your pour is spoiled. Another way is to make a “tea nest” - which is something few people seem to know about.
I think you forgot a very important strep which is right after you heat up( or rinse ) the tea ware. You should always rinse the the leaves and throw that liquid away, then drink the next one. For shou puerh, a lot of time you should rinse twice then drink the next one. 😊
Yes I agree :) I have included that in the written instruction but didn’t show it. However, I also believe it’s a personal preference as I have come across many people who also drink the ‘rinse’ infusion since they want to be involved in every step. You should never rinse green tea though if you do practice rinsing 😊
Hi! What an amazing and insightful video and introduction! For I would like to learn about tea brewing and how to brew Gong Fu method more. I’m curious, could I buy a full tea set for the experience and method? I’m from England and I’m interested in learning the full tea brewing experience from China, the experience and how it works. Would buying a Gaiwan tea set be alright? :)
I am glad you found the video helpful! I attended a tea tasting and Chinese Gong Fu Cha ceremony school in Guang Zhou. There are many schools like that in China nowadays since a lot of people could use their certificate and work in the tea industry in China. However there’s no worldwide standardized tea sommelier training program like wine does, since tea and tea culture varies from country to country
I have a couple of more questions. 1) When are the sniffing cups (tall skinny ones) used? 2) I was reading that modern day folks in most parts of China are drinking tea in more casual ways, not so much Gongfu style (e.g. without fairness pitcher for example, without even gaiwan in some cases, just leaves in a glass jar. Is that really the case?
Thank you for your questions! 1) The sniffing cups come from the Gong Fu Cha culture in Fu Jian and Taiwan, so it's less used in Chao Zhou. You can add them as you pleased. You can pour the liquor into the sniffing cup, then set your regular drinking cup on top of the sniffing cup, then hold the sniffing cup and the drinking cup that covers it together and flip them around, remove your sniffing cup so the liquor is now in your drinking cup. Then you can sense the aroma in the sniffing cup while drinking liquor from your drinking cup. 2) Yes/no! A lot of young folks in China these days, especially the working class, don't really have the luxury of time to set up a Gong Fu table or brew Gong Fu style. So they either do a minimalistic Gong Fu style, for example, brew tea with a travel Gong Fu set or do the grandpa style. However, it is still the dominant culture of tea in China, and those who claim themselves as tea drinkers would have at least one Gong Fu set at home. It is also crucial for management level or executive level people to have a set in their office considering it's still the primary hospitable tool for formal business occasions or important guests at home/office. Another thing to consider is Gong Fu Cha historically comes from southern China, it has never been as popular or well practiced in northern China. Hope I have answered your questions :)
I often wonder if the first teas to come west were so bad that people felt that adding milk and sugar improved the taste. Otherwise, why would you! As an Englishman, I wonder how many of my countrymen have ever tasted good tea.
Hello. Thank you for such an excellent tutorial. I've been to your website in hopes of purchasing the adorable cat tray. I saw the others, but am wondering when you will get this specific tea tray back in stock. I very much want to purchase. Thank you.
I have two questions: 1) I thought that the first brew is supposed to be discarded? Is that not the case? 2) You mentioned that there aren't any rules about putting water into the teapot. If that's the case, how can I avoid burning the leaves when using a teapot instead of a gaiwan?
Hi! Sorry I responded to your ‘two more’ questions but somehow missed these two. 1). The first brew is supposed to be discarded, but some people like to taste every single brew (including me) and will keep just a cup of the first one. So it’s up to you. 2). I often use teapots for teas that aren’t as delicate. For example, I would never use teapot for green teas unless your purpose is brew the tea with the grandpa style. I usually use teapot for teas that can handle a higher water temp, such as Shu Pu Erh, medium to heavy roasted oolongs, or aged white teas. I hope this helps :)
I'm curious. Why did you only do that water seal method for the last two brewing methods and not the first two? Also I've seen other guides recommending longer steeping times like 15-30 seconds for each infusion. Is that just a preference thing? Like some people like 8 stronger infusions instead of 15 lighter ones? Or is it based on the tea itself, like was I looking at something for tightly curled oolongs that isn't applicable to like a Long jing?
Hi. I have never heard the word "gong fu cha" in China, except several times for a designated traditionnal ChaoZhou 泡茶 method, which doesn't use a GongDaoBei. Or For the GongFu HongCha red tea style. Is there a reason why we heard this word "gongfucha" so much in Western countries and not in China?
Excellent, clear intro to gongfu brewing! May we know more about the gaiwans you used here - what material, capacity and where to buy? They are so pretty!
Thank you very much and I am glad you find it helpful and like our teawares 🙏 I also own a tea business called Serene Tea, and we source all of our teaware from the birthplace of Chinese ceramics called Jing De Zhen. We change our collection every year and have a mid annual teaware presale event that you can get incredible deals for the newest collection. This year’s event is coming up next week if you want to go to our site and check it out: www.serenetea-cha.com
If Gongfu style brewing requires, "skill" to brew tea, and Western style is the opposite? It follows then that one can conclude that, Western style brewing doesn't take any, "skill." 🤪🤣😂😅
Gongfu means to do something skilfully or mindfully. Western style is a blanket term for doing a small amount of leaves in a large pot, but this too can be a “gongfu”. The style of tea referred to as gongfu is simply the most common method for those doing mindful/skillful tea making.
![Gongfu Tea 101 [Teaism]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/oQoBsxfZOMk/mqdefault.jpg)
The most comprehensive guide to Gong Fu Cha. Much appreciated.
Beautiful masterclass.
Thank you for all this information. I think I'm ready to explore this tea preparation method. I've been a black tea drinker for years, and have always brewed Western style. I was not aware that that method could burn the tea leaves. I have always had to add sweetener to make the tea palatable. I also enjoyed Pu Erh tea in the past, but stopped drinking it about a decade or so ago. I did most of my tea drinking at work back then, and brewing it Western style with the initial rinses proved to be too much of a hassle in that setting. I now work from home and want to get back into Pu Erh. Trying to refresh my memory on how to brew it lead me to exploring this method. I was never able to find any green or oolong teas that I liked brewed Western style. I might need to take another look at some of those styles of teas with this method as well.
Thank you for sharing your tea experience! I am glad you are going to restart Pu Erh tea and explore green & oolong from a different perspective. I don’t know what green & oolong you were buying in the past, but if the quality is good, oolong teas and black teas tend to produce a better result even if it’s brewed western style compared to other teas, but green teas can definitely be burned. If you need some advice for what kind of oolong teas to get started for gong fu cha practice and tend to produce a good result, feel free to let me know!
Tea funnel could be a good translation for 茶漏 and seems like it's used sometimes in English :-) I really like this video!
That's what I was thinking
Thank you so much for one of the most comprehensive videos about gongfu brewing that I've ever watched. I appreciate how encouraging you are that with practice, we can improve our skills with a gaiwan. Thank you also so much for providing closed captioning considerations for the deaf and hearing impaired! 💕
Thank you for your kind words and I am so glad you find this video helpful ❤️ I hope we can improve our Gong Fu Cha skills together and brew better teas 😊
Thank you for the amazing video❤
45 minutes well spent!
The Gaiwan is so beautiful 😻
Oh wow very detailed very a m great full that you showed something very special well done! 🤗
Thank you for sharing. Recently was introduced to gongfu tea ceremony. Your video is very informative. Love it!
Best video I have seen, thank you 🌷
This was a helpful video! Thank you!
Thank you! I am glad you find it helpful 😊
9:40 Perhaps chá lòu is short for 茶漏斗 chá lòudǒu, a tea funnel. Hard to tell without the hanzi.
Usually we call it 茶漏 in Chinese, which could be the shorter version of 茶漏斗, the 斗 part might be a bit redundant so there’s no need for it
Great information! Thank You!
I believe that the cha lou in english is called a funnel. thank you for this video
Thank you so much for this video. I especially enjoyed the “pouring” section and learned so much. I haven’t found that much information on pouring. I have a question about the 6/7 o’clock pour. You mentioned that the pour is intended to bring out the aroma of the tea. Do you mean the aroma of the wet leaves, or the aroma from the liquor? Or maybe both?
Thank you and I am glad you find the video useful 🙏 I would say it helps to release the aroma from the leaves as you brew, and thus render your tea’s fragrance stronger both in the body and in the scent
thank you for the lesson! it helped a lot. do you have a video on the ceremony itself. would like to learn more like serving and the etiquette
THANK you! very good content!
Thank you and I am glad you find it helpful 😊 That’s a very good suggestion for the next video! I will make one that talks about ceremony itself soon!
Welcome back!
Thank you!! 😉
Amazing video! 💕
Isn't the tea needle a needed part of the 6 gentlemen, as some people are drinking Gongfu Cha style using Tea cakes ?
Tea needle is always useful, especially some antique pots do not have filter on the inner side of the spout, so the spout can become clogged during a pour. You can solve this by using a needle after the spout has clogged, but that’s not so great as your pour is spoiled. Another way is to make a “tea nest” - which is something few people seem to know about.
21:23 isn't spinning it counter clockwise a way to ask your guests to leave?
Amazing!!
I think you forgot a very important strep which is right after you heat up( or rinse ) the tea ware. You should always rinse the the leaves and throw that liquid away, then drink the next one. For shou puerh, a lot of time you should rinse twice then drink the next one. 😊
Yes I agree :) I have included that in the written instruction but didn’t show it. However, I also believe it’s a personal preference as I have come across many people who also drink the ‘rinse’ infusion since they want to be involved in every step. You should never rinse green tea though if you do practice rinsing 😊
As far as I know, that's only for highly oxidized teas like Oolong and some black teas
Tea class ❤
This video was incredibly insightful and helpful!
I was wondering if you had any tips to storing loose leaf tea that is more traditional?
Hi! What an amazing and insightful video and introduction! For I would like to learn about tea brewing and how to brew Gong Fu method more. I’m curious, could I buy a full tea set for the experience and method? I’m from England and I’m interested in learning the full tea brewing experience from China, the experience and how it works. Would buying a Gaiwan tea set be alright? :)
♥ TEA GONG FU STYLE ♥
Awesome video, thank you for sharing your experience!
What school in China have you attended? 🙏
I am glad you found the video helpful! I attended a tea tasting and Chinese Gong Fu Cha ceremony school in Guang Zhou. There are many schools like that in China nowadays since a lot of people could use their certificate and work in the tea industry in China. However there’s no worldwide standardized tea sommelier training program like wine does, since tea and tea culture varies from country to country
I have a couple of more questions. 1) When are the sniffing cups (tall skinny ones) used? 2) I was reading that modern day folks in most parts of China are drinking tea in more casual ways, not so much Gongfu style (e.g. without fairness pitcher for example, without even gaiwan in some cases, just leaves in a glass jar. Is that really the case?
Thank you for your questions! 1) The sniffing cups come from the Gong Fu Cha culture in Fu Jian and Taiwan, so it's less used in Chao Zhou. You can add them as you pleased. You can pour the liquor into the sniffing cup, then set your regular drinking cup on top of the sniffing cup, then hold the sniffing cup and the drinking cup that covers it together and flip them around, remove your sniffing cup so the liquor is now in your drinking cup. Then you can sense the aroma in the sniffing cup while drinking liquor from your drinking cup. 2) Yes/no! A lot of young folks in China these days, especially the working class, don't really have the luxury of time to set up a Gong Fu table or brew Gong Fu style. So they either do a minimalistic Gong Fu style, for example, brew tea with a travel Gong Fu set or do the grandpa style. However, it is still the dominant culture of tea in China, and those who claim themselves as tea drinkers would have at least one Gong Fu set at home. It is also crucial for management level or executive level people to have a set in their office considering it's still the primary hospitable tool for formal business occasions or important guests at home/office. Another thing to consider is Gong Fu Cha historically comes from southern China, it has never been as popular or well practiced in northern China.
Hope I have answered your questions :)
Great video! Also noted some really useful tips :)
BTW, which one would be more appropriate to baimudan? the 2nd?
I often wonder if the first teas to come west were so bad that people felt that adding milk and sugar improved the taste. Otherwise, why would you!
As an Englishman, I wonder how many of my countrymen have ever tasted good tea.
Hello. Thank you for such an excellent tutorial. I've been to your website in hopes of purchasing the adorable cat tray. I saw the others, but am wondering when you will get this specific tea tray back in stock. I very much want to purchase. Thank you.
I have two questions: 1) I thought that the first brew is supposed to be discarded? Is that not the case? 2) You mentioned that there aren't any rules about putting water into the teapot. If that's the case, how can I avoid burning the leaves when using a teapot instead of a gaiwan?
Hi! Sorry I responded to your ‘two more’ questions but somehow missed these two. 1). The first brew is supposed to be discarded, but some people like to taste every single brew (including me) and will keep just a cup of the first one. So it’s up to you. 2). I often use teapots for teas that aren’t as delicate. For example, I would never use teapot for green teas unless your purpose is brew the tea with the grandpa style. I usually use teapot for teas that can handle a higher water temp, such as Shu Pu Erh, medium to heavy roasted oolongs, or aged white teas. I hope this helps :)
Can i steap black tea for 4 minutes? In a gaiwan
I'm curious. Why did you only do that water seal method for the last two brewing methods and not the first two? Also I've seen other guides recommending longer steeping times like 15-30 seconds for each infusion. Is that just a preference thing? Like some people like 8 stronger infusions instead of 15 lighter ones? Or is it based on the tea itself, like was I looking at something for tightly curled oolongs that isn't applicable to like a Long jing?
Hi. I have never heard the word "gong fu cha" in China, except several times for a designated traditionnal ChaoZhou 泡茶 method, which doesn't use a GongDaoBei. Or For the GongFu HongCha red tea style. Is there a reason why we heard this word "gongfucha" so much in Western countries and not in China?
Hi!
Thank you for your work, can i ask whats different Gon Fu Cha and Pin Cha?
Excellent, clear intro to gongfu brewing! May we know more about the gaiwans you used here - what material, capacity and where to buy? They are so pretty!
Thank you very much and I am glad you find it helpful and like our teawares 🙏 I also own a tea business called Serene Tea, and we source all of our teaware from the birthplace of Chinese ceramics called Jing De Zhen. We change our collection every year and have a mid annual teaware presale event that you can get incredible deals for the newest collection. This year’s event is coming up next week if you want to go to our site and check it out: www.serenetea-cha.com
میڈم چائینز سچ پوچھیں تو چاہے پینے کو اب دل کر رہا ہے لیکن کہاں سے پیوں اس وقت اس لیے سوری مزید نہیں دیکھا جا رہا چاہے کو خوش رہیں
lol... You're probably wondering if you should get everything here and the answer is yes... For The full experience yes of course 😆
I prefer coffee
Thank you
You are very welcome! ❤️
It's called a funnel
Xue xie
Xie xie
I hit the wrong button
You are very welcome! ❤️
If Gongfu style brewing requires, "skill" to brew tea, and Western style is the opposite? It follows then that one can conclude that, Western style brewing doesn't take any, "skill." 🤪🤣😂😅
skill issue tbh
Gongfu means to do something skilfully or mindfully. Western style is a blanket term for doing a small amount of leaves in a large pot, but this too can be a “gongfu”. The style of tea referred to as gongfu is simply the most common method for those doing mindful/skillful tea making.
@@deltapi6880 I get your point, and understand it. Really, I do. Clearly you don't get mine.
You shouldn't serve Tea for kids.