Grandpa style tea brewing is actually not as mysterious and fancy as it sounds. And I’m sure we’ve all drank tea grandpa style before, without even knowing it. Grandpa style tea brewing is very casual. A large cup, some tea leaves, hot water - that's it.
Gong Fu Cha Vs. Grandpa Style Brewing
When we are introduced to a quality loose leaf, Gong Fu Cha brewing is the undoubtedly best way to get the most out of the tea leaves. Many years of tea tastings and balancing the leaf ratio with the cup sizing and the water heating degree led to presumably the best way of extracting all of the best qualities of a loose leaf. The perfect formula that will leave you aghast.
When you travel to China you might see the majority of people putting the same loose leaf... into big cups and pouring boiling water over it, and on top of that letting it sit for preposterous amounts of time. And you might just think "How could they!?"
In fact, a big majority of people in China don’t drink their tea gong fu style. Instead, they enjoy it in the more casual grandpa style.
What Is Grandpa Style Tea?
Instead of using a gaiwan or teapot for the tea, it is brewed in a big cup. This is where many of the big mug tea lovers can rejoice! No strainers or teabags are used either. Instead, the tea leaf is dropped directly into the cup and poured over with hot water. Without much attention being given to the perfect leaf ratio or water temperature.
After 5 or 10 or 15 minutes — yes, this part doesn’t matter either — you drink the tea without discarding the tea leaf. In general, you stop drinking the tea when about 1/3 of the cup is left and then you add more water. This keeps going until you feel the taste is becoming too weak or until you don't wish to drink any more tea. And even when the taste becomes weaker, a small amount of new tea leaf can be added to the mug.
Oh, and not all tea leaves will sink to the bottom, some might float to the top. So we just try to adjust ourselves to drinking it. (Otherwise, you can gently blow them aside and let them sink with time).
Grandpa style is a good choice for when you don’t have the time for a full traditional tea ceremony or perhaps you’re on the go or at work.
Usually, only white, yellow and green teas are brewed grandpa style because they don’t require high loose leaf ratio. However, those who enjoy a strong, caffeinated brew, might give it a try with oolongs, pu-erh and red teas as well to get the best taste. There is a big community of tea drinkers that actually prefer to drink these teas grandpa style.
So if you’ve ever brewed some tea gong fu style and found you couldn’t get the taste out of it that you were hoping for, just try grandpa style! It might open new flavor profiles you weren’t expecting.
5 Easy Steps To Brew Grandpa Style Tea:
- Take a big mug and fill the bottom up with tea leaves of choice. (There is no specific ratio. You will learn of the right ratio for you along the way)
- Pour hot water over the leaves. Usually boiling water is used, however if you are drinking a very delicate tea you might want to lower the temperature.
- You may choose to cover the cup with a lid to allow for the tea to brew without any heat escaping.
- Drink the tea when it has cooled enough for you not to get burned. If you prefer a stronger tea let it brew for longer.
- Repeat until the tea starts to loose flavor. Then you can start adding a little more tea leaves if you prefer to keep drinking.