Do you karatefy your tea?

[chrl42]

Using Gaiwan or Yixing doesn't just mean 'Gongfuing', or does it? While ignoring 'phoenix bows with head three time' or 'washing the face of saint'..

So I think I karate or taekwondofy somehow

[chad]

Using Gaiwan or Yixing doesn't just mean 'Gongfuing', or does it? While ignoring 'phoenix bows with head three time' or 'washing the face of saint'..

So I think I karate or taekwondofy somehow

I saw some instructions somewhere: Rinse 3 breathes, steep 4 breathes, etc. I think the instructions should have ended -- pass out from hyperventilation, wake up, drink cold tea!!

I appreciate the process/procedure but haven't been brought over to the dark side -- yet!

[brandon]

I voted for the "mostly gong fu" option, because I brew Japanese teas around 8 oz at a time in a traditional kyuusu.

[ABx]

I guess the definition really would be tough. If you're living somewhere where that kind of brewing is the standard, then you're only going to think of it as 'brewing tea.' At that point you might think of "gongfucha" as something much more involved. On the other hand, if you're somewhere that usually just brews with a little leaf in a lot of water, then this other way is going to seem worthy of the title "gongfu."

Whether any brewing with a small pot or gaiwan is true gongfucha or not, it definitely does take more skill to do well - skill that can and will continue to improve over a lifetime. There are a lot of factors that are taken into account with it, from the water to leaf ratio, steep times, water temp, the temp of the vessel, the temp of the cups, heat retention, matching the right vessel to the right tea, choosing the cups, pouring the water, pouring the tea, and so on and so forth. With this type of brewing the difference between an insipid cup and an oversteeped one can be just a few seconds. We may not think about these things in any meaningful way, at least not right away, but we do account for them in some way or another. Even if it's something we just stumble upon and adjust on a purely intuitive level (maybe we happen upon a different way of pouring that produces much better results and only unconsciously start pouring that way more often, only ever recognizing that we're getting better at brewing).

With all of these things accounted for, I think it probably is worthy of being called "gongfucha," even if there are more structured ways of doing it. When it comes down to it, it's all just brewing tea whether you're brewing causally or ceremonially, it's just that brewing with small vessels takes a little more skill to do well.

About using "gongfu" as a verb, it has entered the English vernacular, but referring to the martial arts, and I don't think that anyone would use it as a verb when referring to the martial art. I've never heard someone refer to a movie saying "they were kung fu'ing," or "he kung fu'ed that guy." Even when I've seen it used outside of the context of martial arts it still often gets used to mean "skill."

[Chip]

Touche, ABx.

Everybody was gong fu brewing,
those pours were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit frightning
But they brewed with expert timing

[hop_goblin]

Touche, ABx.

Everybody was gong fu brewing,
those pours were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit frightning
But they brewed with expert timing

MUAHAHAH

[trallis]

i think its fair to say you are brewing gong fu style if you are simply practicing the techniques involved which were described by hop goblin. even if you don't have all the exact equipment, and even if you arent an expert, you can still practice gong fu. yes the term means "great skill", but when we brew in that style we are practicing a style used by some of the most skillful tea masters of all time.

[Vulture]

Yah I understand this. I personally just casually brewing tea. Even though I am doing that, I believe brewing 'gong fu' is not necessarily a style but the application of your experiences with tea. As I am still new to tea my experiences are a bit light so I voted that I wasn't really 'gong fuing' at all

Good discussion topic though, helped me put a better definition to 'Gong Fu'

[wyardley]

i think its fair to say you are brewing gong fu style if you are simply practicing the techniques involved which were described by hop goblin. even if you don't have all the exact equipment,

Which techniques? Maybe I missed a post, but all I saw was:

*Gongfu Meaning* YiXing or Gaiwan and teaboat or tray. Excluding the obvious whisk and Chawan for Matcha.

(which I think was added later). That doesn't describe any techniques, just equipment. And I'm not quite sure if he's implying that Japanese tea ceremony falls under this definition of gong fu or not with the last comment.

And I think most people would probably not consider, for example, brewing a small amount of Jasmine tea for yourself in a 400 ml yixing pot, on top of your tea tray, and gulping it from a massive tasting cup, to be gong fu style brewing. And yet adding requirements like "small teapot", "lots of leaf", "small sips" kind of misses the point too. Maybe it's just one of those "I know it when I see it" kind of things.

And, of course, if we're talking about the brewer, rather than the tea / equipment, it could be argued that any type of tea brewing with any sort of equipment could involve gong fu.

I do agree with the general points of your comment.

[Chip]

State of mind is key. Can one truly prepare tea gong fu style, while not focusing on the great skill. Another words, it cannot be entered into too lightly. The interaction and balance the elements, the tea leaf with the teaware, water, and just as importantly, the participants.

Otherwise, it is just brewing with a lot of leaf.

For several of these reasons, I prepare in more of a semi gong fu style most of the time.

[hop_goblin]

i think its fair to say you are brewing gong fu style if you are simply practicing the techniques involved which were described by hop goblin. even if you don't have all the exact equipment,

Which techniques? Maybe I missed a post, but all I saw was:

*Gongfu Meaning* YiXing or Gaiwan and teaboat or tray. Excluding the obvious whisk and Chawan for Matcha.

(which I think was added later). That doesn't describe any techniques, just equipment. And I'm not quite sure if he's implying that Japanese tea ceremony falls under this definition of gong fu or not with the last comment.

And I think most people would probably not consider, for example, brewing a small amount of Jasmine tea for yourself in a 400 ml yixing pot, on top of your tea tray, and gulping it from a massive tasting cup, to be gong fu style brewing. And yet adding requirements like "small teapot", "lots of leaf", "small sips" kind of misses the point too. Maybe it's just one of those "I know it when I see it" kind of things.

And, of course, if we're talking about the brewer, rather than the tea / equipment, it could be argued that any type of tea brewing with any sort of equipment could involve gong fu.

I do agree with the general points of your comment.

Wyardley,

I think you are just trying to insult the intelligence of the contributors in this forum. People understand exactly what is meant by the word gongfu when a YiXing or Gaiwan and tea tray or tea boat are involved. Furthermore, we all know that Gongfu means "with skill" and that Gongfucha can be a tremendously philosophical discussion within itself. However, and for the most part, the meaning of gongfu in Tea Chat parlance is using a YiXing or Gaiwan, rinse with multiple infusions. I suggest you play your semantic game in a different forum if you can't understand this VERY simple concept.

[trallis]

wyardley,
i guess you're right that he wasn't very specific. I was just assuming he was referring to the techniques commonly described here when gong fu is discussed. I have also been familiar with alot of hop's previous posts, in which he has demonstrated significant gong fu knowledge. that probably influenced me to later say he had described techniques. however, the techniques that i referred to in this post are the ones i was talking about

[gingkoseto]

Hey, I thought coffee made people flight and fight, and tea made people relax and rest

With emotional factors filtrated, I don't think it's meaningless to clarify what gongfu style exactly means. Just from posts so far, I can see people who go gongfu style go for very different directions. Or maybe it helps for everyone to describe his own "gongfu" definition when answering the vote question. Otherwise other people may not get a message from the answer about his brewing preference.

Besides, origin of the word "gongfu" for tea has almost nothing to do with the word "gongfu" for the action movie kind. So no harsh factors involved in gongfu tea

[Vulture]

Hey, I thought coffee made people flight and fight, and tea made people relax and rest

Tell that to Augy about tea.... be funny to see her mellow out

[ABx]

Everybody was gong fu brewing,
those pours were fast as lightning
In fact it was a little bit frightning
But they brewed with expert timing

That's it, I'm never coming back!