It's All About Tea — gong fu cha

Teacups! They come in so many different shapes and sizes. Growing up in the west, I was always used to drinking tea from giant mugs. And the more absurdly giant the cup was — the better! I still remember like it was yesterday, the day I first tried tea from a tiny teacup, which barely fit in my fingers. It seemed it wasn’t even enough tea for half a sip. However, that half a sip was incomparable to any of the giant tea gulps I’ve had before! 

There exist many different styles of teacups used for both the tea ceremony and casual tea drinking. Let’s take a look at each one. (Read more) 

There are many ways of making a delicious cup of quality loose leaf tea. Luckily for us, the methods required to brew the perfect cup have been meticulously studied over the past centuries. Listed are the 5 main methods of brewing loose leaf teas. (Read more)

Gong fu translates as right effort. We wish to emphasize just that. While there are specific steps generally taken during a traditional Chinese tea ceremony, they are by no means the only right way of brewing tea. It is indeed about your own right effort, your own way of honoring the tea. (Read more)

As much variations as there are within tea categories, it is the same with teaware. It is to no surprise that there is an ideal teapot or gaiwan for each type of tea there is. Many find these through experimenting on their own, while some knowledge is more widespread. However, in general there are a few things that are best to keep in mind when choosing the right teaware for a particular type of tea. Whether it's for gong fu or more casual tea drinking. (Read more)

Yixing teaware has gained immense popularity. By many it is considered the only possible option for gong fu style tea, beating porcelain, glass, and even other clay types. However, the steep price has tea drinkers questioning if it's really superior to other types of unglazed clay teapots. (Read more)