Gongfu chadao (tea ceremony)

Gongfu chadao (tea ceremony)
The Gongfu chadao also known as "Gongfucha" or the "Kung Fu Tea Ceremony" is a relatively famous tradition of Minnan and Chaozhou or Chaoshan. It makes use of small Yixing tea wares teapot of about 100 – 150 ml (4 or 5 fl. oz.) to enhance the aesthetics, and more importantly "round out" the taste of the tea being brewed. Yixing teapot brewing sides towards the formal, and is used for private enjoyment of the tea as well as for welcoming guests. The following steps are one popular way to brew tea in a form considered to be a kind of art. Depending on the region of China the steps may differ, as will the tools used in the making of tea (e.g. Taiwanese-style Gongfu cha which makes use of several additional instruments including tweezers and a tea strainer). This procedure is mostly applicable to Oolong teas only although some use it to make Pu'erh and other double-fermented teas.
A Gongfu Tea (Cha) method
1. Boil water.
2. Rinse the teapot with hot water.
3. Fill the teapot with tea leaves up to one third of the height of the pot.
4. Rinse the tea leaves by filling the pot with hot water up to half full and draining the water immediately leaving only tea leaves behind. (This step, and all subsequent steps involving pouring water, should be performed in a large bowl to catch any overflow.)
5. Pour more hot water into the teapot and pour water over the teapot in the large bowl. Bubbles should not be permitted to be formed in the teapot. The infusion should not be steeped for too long: 30 seconds is an appropriate maximum.
6. Pour the first infusion into small serving cups within a minute by continuously moving the teapot around over the cups. Each cup of tea is expected to have the same flavor, aroma and color. The nature of this procedure almost mandates the use of some form of drip tray to catch further spillage.
7. Pour excess tea from the first infusion, and all tea from further infusions, into a second teapot after steeping. It is possible to draw five or six good infusions from a single pot of tea, but subsequent infusions must be extended somewhat in duration to extract maximum flavor: the second infusion extended by approximately ten seconds to 40 seconds, the third extended to 45, etc.