Gong Fu Cha 101

The Basics

  • History

    A Traditional Chinese method of brewing tea

  • Use

    Used for making a "craft" cup of tea just to taste

  • Fun Fact

    Gong Fu is usally spelled Kung Fu in English, and means a mastered skill

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What is Gong Fu Cha?

Gong Fu Cha is the traditional Chinese art of brewing tea. Although it is often refered to as a ceremony, it is more like a discipline. Gong Fu, or Kung Fu as it is commonly spelled in English, means a mastered skill and Cha simply means tea. Gong Fu Cha is about mastering your technique to enjoy the best cup of tea the leaves can offer. Since the emphasis is put on making the best tea, smaller vessels are used, forcing you to sip gently and experience how the tea affects your senses.

Teaware

Essential

Gaiwan or Teapot

Gong Fu Cha typically uses either a Gaiwan, or a traditional teapot. The Gaiwan is the oldest tool used for brewing tea, and it remains mostly the same when we use it today. Both vessels are small, meant to be stuffed with leaves then brewed into small cups for tasting and enjoying the nuance flavors of tea rather than for a casual drink. This is the most essential piece in Gong Fu Brewing and can even be the only piece as historically people would drink straight from the Gaiwan.

Teacup

For Gong Fu, smaller teacups are used to encourage small sips, rather than large gulps. This is to force the one drinking to take it slow and therefore experience more of the tea. Different styles of teacup are used, which is down to the preference of the one drinking or the one brewing the tea and what they want the drinker to experience. They are mostly similar, with slightly different shapes which allow our senses to experience what we drink differently.

Gong Dao Bei

The final unique piece of equipment that is seen in most Gong Fu setups is what is called a Gong Dao Bei, which can be translated into “Justice Cup.” Essentially, it is a pitcher into which you pour tea after it finishes brewing. From this cup, it then gets poured into the teacups of those drinking. There are a couple of reasons this cup is used, but the main one being that as you pour out an infusion of tea, the tea that is poured at the beginning is going to be less strong than the tea brewed at the very end. Most of this is due to the water at the end being in contact with the leaves for longer, especially since in Gong Fu, usually there are much more leaves brewed for a much shorter amount of time. Combining them in a Gong Dao Bei makes the tea an even strength across all cups.

Kettle

In order to make tea quickly, it needs hot water. A kettle or some other form of water heater is a must in any Gong Fu setup. Having the ability to control the temperature or at least read it is useful, however some who have been brewing Gong Fu for a long time are able to feel out when the water is at the right temperature.

Additional

Tea Tray

A Tea Tray is a tray often made from bamboo which has holes or slits that allow liquid to pass through to another container below. Gong Fu is often quite messy, and water tends to spill, so tea trays can be helpful in containing a mess.

Strainer

Strainers are also used to go on top of a Gong Dao Bei, this is to help catch particles or leaves of tea from going into the drink. As the quality of the tea increases, this generally becomes less of an issue, but tea can go through a lot over its packaging and shipping process, so some small broken off bits are almost inevitable. 

Tea Scoop/Pick

A tea scoop and pick are also tools that are kept by most who practice Gong Fu, the scoop of course for taking tea out of the packaging and into the brewing vessel, and the pick for breaking up cakes of tea.

Tongs

Tongs are sometimes used when trying to be respectful and cleanly to those who drink the tea, so you aren’t touching the cups they will be drinking from.

Towel

If trying to keep things as clean as possible, a towel is used to clean spills. This is used for Gan Pao, or what is referred to as dry pouring.

Tea Pet

Tea pets are little figures made of clay which we pour our tea we don’t drink onto. They usually will change color as time goes on, a symbol of its change as it goes through the tea journey with you.

Preparation

Theory

The Chinese believe that if we cannot be our full selves without being alert and awake, then neither can tea. It makes sense, as you probably will not be at your peak when you first hear the alarm clock. If we compare it to cooking, we preheat our pots and pans before putting our ingredients in them, and it is the same here.  

Waking up our tools

To wake up our vessels, we pour hot water into each vessel before bringing out the leaves. Thicker tea ware such as celadon or unglazed clay require more time or even multiple rinses to heat up fully, where porcelain and glazed clays will heat up rather quickly. Once we add the leaves, we give it a quick rinse to wake up the tea leaves as well. 

Water

For our water, you can use the accepted temperature levels that we use on our tea guide, or you can feel it out on your own. Just remember that higher temperatures infuse the tea faster, so be careful when brewing a lighter tea. 

Ratio

Leave ratio is subjective, generally there are much more tea leaves than in western style brewing which we demonstrate in our brewing guide. Around 50% more leaves is a good place to start. You can measure your leaves or just eyeball it, whatever your preference may be.

Brewing

Theory

Brewing with Gong Fu is not like brewing in the western style, where everything is measured and done precisely. There is no standard to follow for pretty much anything, and it is all up to preference.

The Brew

To brew Gong Fu, you will take your Gaiwan or Teapot and stuff it with leaves. Measure it out or go by feel, it is up to you. As a general guide it will probably be around 50% more leaves than western style, but this depends on preference. Pour in your hot water and wait for a little while - the same water temperatures we use in our guide work well here. If you fully packed the brewing vessel, you will only need to wait a few seconds before it starts to infuse quite heavily. This depends on preference, as going down in amount of leaves but increasing the time will result in a similar effect. Ultimately, the best way to brew Gong Fu comes down to personal taste. Experiment and find what works best for you and your setup.

The Pour

Once it reaches the desired strength pour quickly into a Gong Dao Bei or direcly into your cup. Since Gong Fu uses such a large ratio of leaves, even the couple seconds of pouring will result in stronger tea at the end of the pour compared to the beginning - this is why we use the Gong Dao Bei when serving.

Tips

Although it may take time to figure out the way to best enjoy your tea, there are some tips to make the journey less daunting:

  • Start with western style and get a baseline for your tea and its flavor
  • Although Gong Fu is not meant to use precise measurements, you can brew at different set ratios to get a feel for brewing time
  • The more leaves you add, the less time it will take to fully brew 
  • High quality leaves will already brew several times with full flavor, and a higher leave ratio will increase this even more, until you feel your tea has lost its flavor 
  • Worry less about the specific variable and more about the current brew 
  • Infuse each tea at least a few times to see its depth of flavor 
  • Keep a journal to help learn about the nuances of the tea you try 
  • Adjust your setup according to what you like 

History

Where it Originated

As mentioned, this practice originates from China. More specifically, from the southeast of China around Fujian or Chaozhou and spanning back likely over a thousand years.

Significance

Gong Fu simply means a mastered skill, and Cha meaning tea. In essence Gong Fu Cha is less about any ceremony or even those who drink it, but rather about the tea itself and bringing out everything that it has to offer.

Its Use Today

Although it is often now considered as a traditional Chinese practice, it is not the only way that tea was brewed traditionally. Gong Fu Cha is a far more specialized way of brewing which tries to extract the best out of tea, and so it is easy to see how it caught on in China outside of its Originating province. Gong Fu Cha was never the only way to brew nor was it meant to be, which is how it remains today.