How to Brew Chinese Tea the Right Way

How do you make tea? Chances are you’ve been doing it wrong.

For many people in China, brewing tea is a ritual akin to meditation. And there is a proper ceremony called gongfu cha.

Gongfu means skill, and cha means tea. It’s a form of Chinese tea service that dates back to the 14th century in Fujian. It places emphasis on the tea’s taste, temperature, and quality.

In this video, we’ll run you through how to do the tea ceremony correctly.

If you liked this video, we have more stories about Chinese culture, including,

How to Make Green and Black Tea From Scratch

Learn How to Play Chinese Mahjong Step by Step

#china #tea #gongfucha

Producer and Videographer: Clarissa Wei
Animator: Annie Hall
Editor and Mastering: Joel Roche

Music: Audio Network

[Goldthread]

Hi folks! We have 3 tea sets to give away to the most liked comments! The tea sets are travel-friendly and pack into a neat carrying case. You get a gaiwan, two tea cups, and a little holder for tea leaves (the small brown container you see in the video to the left). Like it? We'll look at the 3 most-liked comments on midnight April 8, EST. 🍵

[anderspedersen]

A friend of mine gifted me a jar of expensive tea he brought home from a business trip to China. I wouldn’t dare start brewing without knowing the hows and whys.

[tofuking]

One of the main reasons for the gongdao cup is so that the tea can sit in it without being over-steeped when you're not pouring out the whole teapot's/gaiwan's worth of tea!

[kennyc]

This is a great educational video. Not only educational but also shows our Chinese culture. Great job.

[Sonia-frvp]

When i was China i was able to see some professionals doing it, they were wearing chinese traditional hanfu and they had many things on the table it was really a beautiful experience! I loved it and i even tasted it

[mylifeisazn]

"No tea bags, and no flower-infused blends please. The leaves in tea bags are inferior in quality..." I definitely agree but I just love how bluntly and matter-of-factly she says it haha. Loose-leaf all the way!




Also this is perfect timing during all the quarantining - I've been wanting to learn to make boba better, and that definitely starts with the tea!

[sevenmillionhobbies]

Welp.... this is going to be another new obsession with me. It went from colored pencils to fountain pens, to tea brewing. I think my body is trying to tell me that I need to meditate 🤔

[joeltan]

This is how my dad brew his favourite tea (Oolong). He learned this from his dad, then he thought me how to do it. Now i'm passing this tradition to my son. Thank you for posting this.

[hananokuni]

The leaf crumbs found in tea bags are much like the leaf for _konacha_ (粉茶) produced in Japan. _Konacha_ is made from the crumbs that are left behind during tea leaf processing. The crumbs left behind from the processing of high-quality green tea leaf, whether _sencha_ (煎茶) or _gyokuro_ (玉露), provide an inexpensive way to enjoy the flavor of high-quality leaf. In Japanese sushi bars, the green tea provided is usually made from _konacha_ and sometimes sushi establishment owners pay high prices for crumbs from the best green tea leaf.

Since the small particle size means large surface area, the flavor is released very quickly. Thus, the best way to brew tea from leaf crumbs is to put some in a fine-mesh strainer (a couple of grams) and pour very hot water through the strainer and into a coffee mug or other drinking vessel. Let cool a bit and enjoy. It is possible to repeat once or twice before discarding the wet leaf crumbs.

[clee]

Tea has been a great comfort for me recently (especially recently). Even beyond the taste and depth, I love the ritual of it that forces you to make time and take a breather. I know for others, coffee does the same thing. But for me? Loose leaf tea. Always.

[fireinthesun]

My Chinese flatmate gave me some tea as I’m English we exchanged to try the difference. I opened it a few you days later and I thought it was a bag of weed lol. Thank you for this!

[kc]

Meanwhile all I do is toss loose leaf into a tea cup and just keep adding hot water all day.

[addictionsucks]

My slow transition to becoming Iroh has greatly benefited from your teaching. I sincerely appreciate your lesson. Thank you

[vijfacht]

such a useful video, I received a cake of black tea from a Chinese visitor and he explained to me to wash the tea before use which startled me but now I can see how it is done. I love the little cups too, this is a totally different experience from my normal british cuppa.

[Eiroth]

Very informative video! Just four infusions is selling it short though, with a high ratio of leaves to water you can easily go beyond six. I've often had brews that last beyond 12 infusions, although that depends on a multitude of factors (type of tea, temperature, brew time, amount of tea, how much you like the leaf, how much you feel like drinking, etc.)

[elisel]

Chinese tea culture is so rich and complicated, I have been wanting to learn it for years. Thank you for sharing

[martinjohnson]

I couldn't agree more with you regarding teabags. Once one has tasted good Chinese teas, drinking tea from a teabag is akin to someone who likes gourmet coffee drinking instant coffee. I do have to admit, however, that on a hot, steamy summer afternoon I enjoy a cup of Jasmine tea.

[mynameiskailyn]

The gongdoa cup isn't super necessary especially if you're serving tea to a group, hence why its often exclude in travel sets and sometimes actual nice sets.
Its mostly there so you dont have the tea over steep since some people don't like their teas too dark, or if you have guests who drink tea kinda fast so you have some ready.
I'm not sure if its my region specific but after someone pours you a cup of tea you tap the table twice as a thank you.
I actually have the teacups for that geiwei, its so cool since it looks like theres holes in the cups but there arent.

[dyscea]

I’ve heard of this, but never seen it. Makes more sense now.

[dryoutube]

As a doctor, I drink loose leaf tea at work all the time with my flask - I find the later brews I make are stronger.