It's All About Tea — chinese tea ceremony

In today's post we will discus the origins of tea in China and ancient Chinese tea drinking methods. From 2737 BCE and all the way up to modern times, let's take a look at how tea culture transformed. (Read more)

The Chinese Tea Ceremony. Gong Fu Cha. In the west, we have all developed certain connotations behind these phrases, and for most of all, the image we get when we hear Chinese tea ceremony is the same. A gaiwan or yixing teapot filled to the brim with tea leaves, some small teacups, a tea table with some tea utensils, and a tea pet. Indeed, the vast majority of us will get the same image in our minds when we hear gong fu cha. The Chinese tea ceremony is almost comparable to Chinese food in the US. Is American Chinese food the same food you will find being served in China? No. It is the same with the Chinese tea ceremony. Not everyone in China practices what we nowadays refer to by this term. Furthermore, modern day gong fu cha is not purely Chinese. (Read more) 

Chaozhou in Guangdong province is an enticing area of China holding mountains of tea traditions, literally. The city of Chaozhou is near Phoenix Mountain, the birthplace of aromatic Dan Cong Oolongs. There, the tea bushes grow semi-wild on high elevations amid fragrant fruit gardens.

Gong fu cha, the Chinese tea ceremony, originated in Chaozhou during the Song Dynasty. Even today, the province’s tea traditions are highly treasured and preserved. In other parts of China, you may find plenty of people practicing various tea brewing methods, like grandpa-style tea or western brewing. However, in Chaozhou, tea drinkers prefer to stick to their roots. If you happen to be in a local’s presence for long enough, they are likely to treat you to gongfu style tea. (Read more)

While we are not originally from a Chinese background, like many of our followers, we enjoy learning about the Chinese Tea Ceremony and everything it offers. It is easy to get carried away in the world of aromatic teas and breathtaking teaware. We are always eager to expand our knowledge of brewing techniques and proper tea preparation methods. However, today we will talk about the parts of Chinese tea ceremony culture that we don't part take in as often as we would in Gong Fu Style tea brewing. (Read more)

Nowadays, boiling tea is often seen as a way to spoil perfectly good tea leaves. However, if done right, this method of brewing tea deserves much more credit than it gets.

Boiling tea leaves is the most ancient method of making tea.
Back in the Tang Dynasty (618 to 907), when tea culture was gradually at its rise, tea leaves were boiled for prolonged periods. Sometimes they were cooked together with different spices. Different kinds of herbs, roots, fruits, and even chili and scallions weren’t uncommon accompaniments to tea leaves. (Read more)