Gongfu Cha is an interesting, and fun, Chinese tea ceremony. It allows you to appreciate the teas through the way you brew them. It’s also a fun social time.
Michelle has an interesting array of items for her ceremony – but the most amusing to us was “Pee boy”. You can see him in the bottom right corner of the picture. It was amusing because Nathan had found the same boy when he was in China – he was 2 at the time. We bought a few in the market he would line them up to pour water on them – at the right temperature…well you can see how he got his name. Nathan thought it was hilarious. He still sits in our kitchen window sill.
The wooden table is neat – it catches the water and tea – and yes you are supposed to pour them on it – I was wondering at first.
Michelle knows her teas! My brain was overloaded and so I only have a few snippets of what I could remember. She knew the history of each tea we tried. Each had its own aroma and was brewed in a specific order – at its proper temperature!
It’s quite the process. Some of the steps:
- warm the tea-ware
- pour water all over your tray – I think this part is just for fun…
- rinse the tea – this when you think you are getting your first taste – but it gets poured onto the tray after sitting for about 5 seconds
- create the first infusion
- after steeping about 20 s pour it into the tasting cups – they look small but by the end of the night you have had a lot of tea!
- serve the eldest first
- smell the aroma
- slurp loudly while drinking!
- do the second infusion
- taste again
- rinse everything
- introduce the next tea
- and of course ask questions, have fun, tell a few stories
I wasn’t sure what to expect from a Gongfu Cha ceremony – I ‘m a coffee drinker…but it was a lot of fum. Thank you Michelle!
And it was really neat to see the picture for when Mona and Nathan were attending one of your outdoor ceremonies – and to see the rubber duck he had somehow snuck into the picture. This is why we love the duck theme – we find them everywhere know – it was Nathan’s conversation piece and it has become pours. Many treats from this night! Thank you!!!