It's All About Tea — gong fu cha

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 is a Chinese tea brewing practice that emerged in Chaozhou during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). It emphasizes small brewing vessels, a high leaf-to-water ratio, and several brief infusions using the same tea leaves. 

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. Even today, the province’s tea traditions are highly treasured and preserved, playing an integral part in the community's social life. If you happen to be in a locals' presence for long enough, they are likely to treat you to Gongfu style tea. (Read more)

The aroma cups are an essential part of gong fu cha stemming from Taiwan and Fujian province, China. Although it is not known precisely when they were first created, they became prevalent in 1980s Taiwan. When we drink tea, contrary to common belief, most of the experience comes from the smell and not the taste itself. Try drinking your favorite tea when you are sick with a stuffy nose and you will surely notice the difference! Aroma cups are used precisely for smelling the brewed tea with all its delicious delicateness! (Read more)

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)

There is one thing that almost everyone learns first when getting into the world of loose leaf teas — dump out the first brew! This is when we pour hot water over the tea leaves we are about to brew, and immediately pour it out before getting to drink it. It can also be referred to as “rinsing” your tea, “washing,” or “blanching” it. (Read more)