It's All About Tea — gong fu cha

Start drinking tea slowly, without rush, start paying attention to tea, and you start staying more in the moment, and by paying more attention to the present, you gradually become more mindful. By becoming more conscious, you start getting rid of bad habits and begin cultivating a healthier lifestyle and healthier relationship with the world around you. 

By allowing yourself to pause and relax, you are allowing yourself to calm down, become kinder, more balanced and make better decisions (Read more)

If you are on the path of brewing loose-leaf teas and learning Gong Fu Cha, you have undoubtedly heard of yixing clay teapots. You start browsing the subject and find bits and pieces of information full of marketing hype, often conflicting, leaving you even more confused. 

We hope this article will help you better understand yixing clay, figure out which type of yixing teapot you need, why you need it, and what to pay attention to when shopping for one. (Read more)

Gong Fu Cha (工夫茶), or Gongfu Tea, is a Chinese way of brewing tea with a small vessel, a generous amount of leaves, and many short infusions. Instead of making one large pot, you brew the same leaves again and again, watching the flavor change from one steep to the next.

The name is often translated as “tea made with skill” or “making tea with effort.” In practice, it means paying attention to teaware, the water, the timing, the changes in tea, and how the tea makes you feel.

Compared with Western-style brewing, Gong Fu Cha uses more leaf and less water. A session may begin with a 5–10 second infusion, then continue for many rounds. This method is useful for loose-leaf teas that can reveal different layers over time.

You do not need a large or expensive setup to begin. A gaiwan or small teapot, a sharing pitcher, a few cups, and good tea are enough. The rest can come later. (Read more)

Many Gong Fu tea brewers divide into two categories: the ones who prefer to only use gaiwan; and the ones who stick with the trusty dusty teapot. Of course, there's also a third category — those who use both. We see ourselves as the third category. 

When using the gaiwan some things which may be intimidating are the hot water temperature and the unusual way of gripping this tea vessel. Sure, using a teapot will usually ensure that your fingers don't get burned. However, if you follow the steps to properly using a gaiwan, the chances of burning yourself are just as minimal as with a teapot! (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)