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)

One important thing to do before brewing gongfu is to rinse all your Teaware with boiling water. This is an important step not only for sanitation reasons, but a warm piece of Teaware more readily showcases the true aroma of the tea.

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

This is one of our favorite parts of the session. Add the dry tea leaves into the warmed Brew Cup or Teapot, add the lid and gently shake. After a few seconds, raise the lid slightly and give the tea a good smell, this is called waking up the tea, and consequently, the tea should provide its first breath of true fragrance.

4. Rinse the tea (xi cha)

Depending if the tea is loose or pressed into a cake, the tea should be steeped with hot water for 5-10 seconds before being decanted, this brew is not usually drunk, as it is simply washing and waking up the leaves.

While this is not essential for all types of tea (white tea can be drunk without washing), it is a traditional step that further helps clean the tea from any unknowns in its processing, storing, or transport history. Additionally, with most teas, the first infusion is not the ideal infusion to drink, as the tea leaves have not yet been fully saturated and the tea is often comparatively weaker.

5. Brew the tea (pao cha)

Finally, we can brew the tea. Remember to use appropriately hot water (boiling or near boiling for puer, oolong, and white, cooler for greens). As this is gongfu brewing, the steep times should be flash infusions, the first steep being 10 or 15 seconds, with all subsequent infusion times being extended by 5 seconds. For the numerically inclined, we have devised a handy formula for the steep times!

s = 10 + (5 x n)

Where "s" is seconds and "n" isnumber of brews.

6. Pour the tea (dao cha)

For Brew Cup users, this step can take some finesse, holding the extreme rim of the Brew Cup, while creating the smallest crescent of space between lid and bowl in order to allow the brew to flow, but no leaves to escape can be very difficult to master. If you're having trouble with a classic Brew Cup, maybe consider trying an Easy Brew Cup (like the Lone Wolf) or a teapot.

For Teapot users, there are many ways to hold and pour a teapot, check out our recent class on grips! One tip to keep in mind is to be mindful of the lid as you pour, once the teapot gets to a 90 degree angle, it is easy for the lid to fall off. This is why many of our teapots come with 'lid leashes' to help prevent disaster!

7. Drink the tea (pin cha)

Finally here we are at the true heart of gongfu tea, drinking the perfect cup. with the small 30ml teacups common to Chinese gongfu, there is a classic three sip drinking method. The first sip is a forceful slurp that aerates the tea and opens up the bouquet and allows the fragrance of the tea to rise through the soft palate. The second sip is a slower thing that allows the tea to wash over all corners of the tongue and mouth allowing one to taste the tea with every available taste but. The final sip is for pure enjoyment, accentuating whichever aspect most appealed to you.

8. Repeat steps 5, 6, and 7

Now that we have had our first cup, time has come to brew and rebrew. Be sure to keep your water at a hot enough temperature (we usually reheat the kettle between every other infusion). While there is no prescribed amount of infusions one needs to make, a general rule of thumb for oolongs is between 6 to 9 infusions, whites can be 9 to 12, while puer teas can often exceed 12 infusions! Just keep brewing until the tea has lost its flavor.

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.

ree — 5. Pour hot water into the Brew Cup

ree — 6. After a few seconds, strain tea from Brew Cup into Pour Cup

ree — 7. Serve tea from Pour Cup into Tea Cup

That's it, all you need to know about brewing tea Gongfu style! As the name implies, Gongfu requires great practice and skill, so get brewing!

How much tea do I need again?

2g tea per 50ml water - the amount of tea you need is directly dependent on the maximum volume of your brewing vessel.

How long should I steep the tea?

The first infusion should be about 15 seconds, while every infusion after that can be 5 seconds longer, thus the equation s = 10 + (5 x n) where "s" is seconds and "n" is number of brews.

When I brew Gongfu, my tea often turns out bitter.

As there are three main factors in brewing gongfu tea, a bitter brew often comes down to one of these three things being off: Brew Time, Tea to Water Ratio, Water Temperature. Try shortening the brew time, adding less dry leaf to the Brew Cup, or lowering the water temperature.

The Brew Cup gets too hot to hold comfortably.

As the design of the Brew Cup has evolved over the past 600 years, they should not be burning your fingers if you're holding them well. Remember to grip only the outermost rim of the Brew Cup, and be sure not to fill it all the way, it should only be about 80% full of water at any given time.

How should I hold the Brew Cup?

We've already made. great video on how to hold your teapot and Brew Cup to avoid burning your fingers! Check it out!

What Teas are best brewed Gongfu?

Puer teas

Oolong Teas

White Teas

These are all teas that change considerably with each infusion, while many puer teas and oolong teas can be bitter if overstepped, many white teas have a dynamic life that if brewed Western Style becomes rather muddled.

How do I know how many infusions to do?

While there is no prescribed amount of infusions one needs to make, a general rule of thumb for oolongs is between 6 to 9 infusions, whites can be 9 to 12, while puer teas can often exceed 12 infusions! Just keep brewing until the tea has lost its flavor!