Brewing Gongfu | A Simple Guide

dposkin5
Jan 5, 2023
2 min read

Now that you know all about what Gongfu tea is, let's talk details!

As mentioned in our previous blog post, Gongfu tea is a way to brew a large amount of tea leaves in a small brew cup or teapot many many times.

Let's look again at the equipment we need to brew gongfu!

These are the three essential pieces of Teaware we need: the Brew Cup, the Pour Cup, and the Tea Cup, however to brew Gongfu tea, teaware is not enough, we also need tea. When selecting your tea, be sure to choose loose-leaf, mostly unbroken tea, as broken tea leaves will run the risk of oversteeping and can be difficult to filter without a fine mesh strainer. One interesting point of fact is that gongfu tea has the rare virtue of making a low quality tea more palatable, so choosing the finest possible tea for your session is not as imperative as one might think!

Let's make a clear list of everything we need:

A Brew Cup or Tea Pot (Gaiwan, Chahu)
A Pour Cup (Gong Dao bei)
2-3 Teacups (Cha Bei)
2 grams of tea per every 50ml water*
Very hot water (185 - 212 degrees Fahrenheit)
Kitchen scale for measuring tea (optional)

*note: the gram to ml ratio is our suggestion, taken from our common tea practice, there is no set required ratio for gongfu tea.

Let's break down that tea-to-water ratio real quick. If your Pour Cup or Teapot is 150ml, you should be using about 6 grams of tea. Since the final shape of every tea type is so differently shaped, be it rolled into pearls, processed into strips, or pressed into cakes, it's difficult to gauge the weight by eye, so we suggest using a scale or another measuring means.

Now that we have everything, let's get brewing!

1. Weigh out your tea (cheng cha)

Let's break down that tea-to-water ratio real quick. If your Pour Cup or Teapot is 150ml, you should be using about 6 grams of tea. Since the final shape of every tea type is so differently shaped, be it rolled into pearls, processed into strips, or pressed into cakes, it's difficult to gauge the weight by the naked eye, so we suggest using a scale or another measuring means.

2. Rinse all the brewing vessels (wen bei)

3. Add tea to warmed Brew Cup (xing cha)

4. Rinse the tea (xi cha)

5. Brew the tea (pao cha)

6. Pour the tea (dao cha)

7. Drink the tea (pin cha)

8. Repeat steps 5, 6, and 7

Every tea has its moods, its favorite leaf to water ratio, its ideal water temperature and steep time, so be sure to listen to the leaves in order to draw out the best expression of the tea from the processed leaves.