My experience with Gong Fu

[MarshalN]

You're poisoned I see

Isn't it a little early though to start your daughter on the addiction?

[Geekgirl]

Welcome to the dark side!

[henley]

Isn't it a little early though to start your daughter on the addiction?

she doesn't drink too much.. just green & white tea, I think no harm in drinking 2-3 small cups at most in a day.. The cups are around 1oz.

Shoot, tea parties w/my then 3 yr old dtr is what got me into this mess! Before that, I had never cared for hot tea. Now it looks like a tea shop exploded in my kitchen/dining room (especially since the arrival of the oolong box pass). IMO, as long as it's in moderation, it's much better than candy, ice cream, soda, chocolate milk, etc that kids eat & drink.

Plus, since she's been drinking tea since such an early age, she know exactly how to handle my fine china & I don't think twice about taking her to tearooms w/me.

Cgencer, hope you & your dtr make as many special memories as we've made.

[Thirsty Daruma]

The part that intimidates me about gong fu is finding out what those times, weights and volumes are supposed to be. If a merchant includes standard brewing instructions, it usually means they don't have any provisions on gong fu style brewing. Sure, you can experiment, and I do with the more inexpensive teas, but the fancy-shmancy leaf can get disappointing when you throw $3.00 worth of leaf into a cup and get tasteless or syrupy tea.

[wyardley]

Sorry if any of the below sounds trite or corny, but hopefully it'll be useful to someone...

The part that intimidates me about gong fu is finding out what those times, weights and volumes are supposed to be. If a merchant includes standard brewing instructions, it usually means they don't have any provisions on gong fu style brewing. Sure, you can experiment, and I do with the more inexpensive teas, but the fancy-shmancy leaf can get disappointing when you throw $3.00 worth of leaf into a cup and get tasteless or syrupy tea.

That's called tuition. Wasting tea is inevitable, and it's how you learn. Using small pots or gaiwans means that even if you fill them all the way full, you're not wasting *that* much tea (unless you're drinking some seriously expensive stuff), and if a given brew comes out too weak or too strong, you can try adjusting your brewing parameters on the next one (try a little less water, or a longer infusion time if the previous brew was too weak, for example). Have a sense of curiosity about it, and don't be so upset if the tea doesn't taste like you expected it to (or even if it doesn't taste "good"). If my experiences are any guide, I think you'll probably lose more money from tea that you bought but don't end up liking than you will from that wasted $3.00 of leaf.

As most definitions of gōng fu imply, a lot of time, patience, and practice (and a lot of mistakes and happy accidents along the way) are needed to achieve skill.
http://www.nciku.com/search/zh/detail/% ... %AB/101148

A lot of people (myself included) will say that it's better to rely on your senses and memory than on scales, thermometers, and other gadgets. I do have a scale, but I rarely use it when brewing tea.

No matter how exact you try to be, only practice will bring you a little closer towards the goal of being able to achieve consistent results. I will suggest that you try brewing any tea a couple of times before you come to any conclusions about it.

[chrl42]

Sorry if any of the below sounds trite or corny, but hopefully it'll be useful to someone...

The part that intimidates me about gong fu is finding out what those times, weights and volumes are supposed to be. If a merchant includes standard brewing instructions, it usually means they don't have any provisions on gong fu style brewing. Sure, you can experiment, and I do with the more inexpensive teas, but the fancy-shmancy leaf can get disappointing when you throw $3.00 worth of leaf into a cup and get tasteless or syrupy tea.

That's called tuition. Wasting tea is inevitable, and it's how you learn. Using small pots or gaiwans means that even if you fill them all the way full, you're not wasting *that* much tea (unless you're drinking some seriously expensive stuff), and if a given brew comes out too weak or too strong, you can try adjusting your brewing parameters on the next one (try a little less water, or a longer infusion time if the previous brew was too weak, for example). Have a sense of curiosity about it, and don't be so upset if the tea doesn't taste like you expected it to (or even if it doesn't taste "good"). If my experiences are any guide, I think you'll probably lose more money from tea that you bought but don't end up liking than you will from that wasted $3.00 of leaf.

As most definitions of gōng fu imply, a lot of time, patience, and practice (and a lot of mistakes and happy accidents along the way) are needed to achieve skill.
http://www.nciku.com/search/zh/detail/% ... %AB/101148

A lot of people (myself included) will say that it's better to rely on your senses and memory than on scales, thermometers, and other gadgets. I do have a scale, but I rarely use it when brewing tea.

No matter how exact you try to be, only practice will bring you a little closer towards the goal of being able to achieve consistent results. I will suggest that you try brewing any tea a couple of times before you come to any conclusions about it.

Yes, Gong Fu 功夫 is same letter as Kung Fu, just matter of pronunciation as many of you might know.

Which means, you become Bruce Lee or Jet Li on tea ceremony!

[heavydoom]

you guys really think that some dude up there in the mountains of yunnan who has been drinking pu erh teas when you were still inside your mom's womb, that he is going to carefully weigh his teas, control his water temperature and other parameters when he drinks tea? i doubt it. yes, he goes by tuition, he knows after many many years of drinking tea. i know by eye now how much to use for certain cakes for such amount of water for such a length steeping time. i don't need a weighing scale. i don't need a wooden spoon made out of bamboo. just grab some teas, throw in the pot, pour water and steep and then sip the wonderful tea.

peace.

[hop_goblin]

Oh man, it is going to turn from interest into passion!

[hop_goblin]

you guys really think that some dude up there in the mountains of yunnan who has been drinking pu erh teas when you were still inside your mom's womb, that he is going to carefully weigh his teas, control his water temperature and other parameters when he drinks tea? i doubt it. yes, he goes by tuition, he knows after many many years of drinking tea. i know by eye now how much to use for certain cakes for such amount of water for such a length steeping time. i don't need a weighing scale. i don't need a wooden spoon made out of bamboo. just grab some teas, throw in the pot, pour water and steep and then sip the wonderful tea.

peace.

Heavy, you are indeed correct. However, I also believe that having a scale is also advantageous. For instance, if you buy and expensive sample, let's say 10g well, you want to make sure that one, they didn't cheat you and two that you can get 2 5g sessions out of it.

[heavydoom]

sure. being human and living in a democratic society, we make choices. some buy very nice teas, some are happy with the regular stuff. it makes perfect sense to use a scale for the really mega rare/expensive stuff.

[Proinsias]

Even when buying expensive stuff I let my experience tell me if it was worth the money, not my scales. Done out of 1.5 grams but had two mindblowing gong-fu sessions, who cares.

I have friends who insist on weighing other things bought by the gram, I've never really seen the point.

Looks about right? Had a good night? All is well.

Scales say yes? Night was rubbish? All is not well.

Again it's horses for courses some people just like measuring stuff and some don't. I don't even get the three breaths and whatnot, my breathing varies far more than my tea tastes.

Where's Tenuki? He's usually good for a scale rant.

[heavydoom]

Even when buying expensive stuff I let my experience tell me if it was worth the money, not my scales. Done out of 1.5 grams but had two mindblowing gong-fu sessions, who cares.

I have friends who insist on weighing other things bought by the gram, I've never really seen the point.

Looks about right? Had a good night? All is well.

Scales say yes? Night was rubbish? All is not well.

Again it's horses for courses some people just like measuring stuff and some don't. I don't even get the three breaths and whatnot, my breathing varies far more than my tea tastes.

Where's Tenuki? He's usually good for a scale rant.

great men think alike methinks....or not. who cares. lolz.