What is Gongfu Tea Drinking?

With a long history spanning all classes and ages, the gongfu way of drinking tea is still popular today in the East and in the West as well. Many in the West, however, have yet to discover this incredible way of enjoying tea which is utterly distinct from our own – excellent news for budding tea enthusiasts, as this can unlock an entirely new level of appreciation and enjoyment of teas, particularly Chinese teas!

So what is the gongfu style of preparing and drinking tea?

The setup

In a typical gongfu setup, there is a tray, typically wooden, which has slats and a drip tray beneath. Upon the tray is often a teapot, at least one small cup, and a lidded vessel in which tea is infused, named a gaiwan. This is the absolute minimal setup for enjoying tea gongfu style, and based on a recent experience of mine, this simplicity in itself and its focus on the sensory journey of a cup of tea can be enough to reignite the passion and curiosity of tea and its rich histories.

The philosophy in practise 

Remember, tea may be commonplace now all around the world, but this was not always the case. Gongfu tea drinking is designed to place emphasis on embracing the process of drinking tea with all senses in order to appreciate it fully: tea leaves are placed in a small gaiwan rather than hiding them in a European style teapot, meaning that the drinker is more intimately connected to the process of the leaves from their dried state, through a first infusion (often poured away immediately as it is just to ‘wake the leaves’), to a second which is consumed in a moving meditation, then this is repeated for each successive development, the changes in the taste of each infusion marked. Throughout, it is expected that the tea drinker is observing the leaves, the colour of the liquor, and the smell of the tea either from the liquor or gaiwan lid, before any tea is tasted. It is also a highly tactile process which demands sure movement and precise timings, and it is easy to become lost in the quiet beauty of being such a key element of the tea making.

There is a high leaf-to-water ratio in this method of tea drinking which results in the infusion process taking mere seconds as opposed to minutes, so the tea drinker typically will enjoy several cups of tea from the same leaves in one sitting. Through this, they can gain a very intimate assessment of the tea as it unveils nuances of flavour through several infusions. It is therefore easy to see why this is the way of drinking tea favoured by many expert tea tasters!

At Char, we have an enviable selection of Chinese teas which can be enjoyed to their fullest potential through gongfu tea drinking, so whether you are a ‘ripened’ Pu Erh drinker or a ‘newly budding’ loose leaf explorer, there is a tea for you. In our Winchester High Street shop, you can call on the expertise of our teasellers, or you can use our tea taster’s discerning online descriptions as your guide if you are farther afield.

Most importantly, enjoy your brew. Even ones which you find are not to your taste can tell yourself (and your trusted tea advisors) a lot about your preferences, so give them a go!