February tea- Gong Fu Ceremony

The 11am seating SOLD OUT!!!  I opened a 9 am seating!  I am thrilled by the support.

Gong Fu tea was originally drank by labors, blacksmiths.  They lighted charcoal in a stove and had a clay pan on the stove to make the tea.  It is now in every household.

Gong Fu- means tea with skill

Cha= tea

smaller vessels give you more control in making tea - at the end of the day, it's all about the taste

I was so excited to find portable Gaiwan tea sets.  I got them for $3 each- I ordered 15 sets.  They will be perfect for my tea parties.

After a thorough washing, these sets are ready for tea!  At my tea I will show the tea ceremony and then everyone will get to try to make their own teas with the Gaiwan tea sets.

Fun facts:

The Eastern Style of brewing tea- Gong Fu- is more about the tea itself.  Where some say the Western style way of brewing is more about the sweets you have with the tea.  You are getting more tannins and bitterness with this kind of tea.

You brew tea either in the small yixing tea pot or the Gaiwan Bowl (Gaiwan has the lid- you can use your lid to stir the leaves, then hault the steep time by decanting or pouring into the fairness pot then into the smaller cups)

Tea Process....

Pour water into the teapot and tea ware that you will be using, like over the cups, smelling cup, fairness pot, and tasting bowls- this is where the tray comes in handy.  This gets the cups warm, also cleans them, and opens up the teas aroma 

open the tea container, smell the tea, examine the tea

put tea in the tea infuser with the scoop

pour water into the fairness pot for a few seconds to rinse the tea

smell the first brew, we don't drink the first brew

pour over the cups and to the tea pet

2nd brew is what you drink

your tea leaves will be bloomed- add more water - steep for maybe 15- 20 seconds.

high quality tea does not take long to brew

put the filter on the pot and transfer the tea in there- it stops the steeping

pour the teas into the tea cups- you serve your guests with the tongs- handing the cup to them using the tongs.

You put your tea in the tall smelling cup and them pour it into the tasting bowl.  

You smell the smelling cup first.

enjoy the taste- sip the tea (don't gulp) slurping loudly shows your appreciation

make the next brew...you can brew 3-5 times, it will vary, and then you start to loose the flavors

first brew is the lightest- it introduces your pallet to the tea

temp- darker the tea, the hotter the water.

Black tea- 212 degrees

green and white teas 170-185 degrees

Oolong 185-200 degrees

Pu-erh 212 degrees- if using a cake, try not to break the leaves, whole leaves usually gives higher quality infusions

the older the tea, the more valuable.

Learn more by coming to the tea class in February

Psalm 96:3
Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples!