I've been learning what I can about gong fu brewing methods in some posts here and on other websites, and there I some things I am curious about:
1) The idea of using lots of leaves with less water + less brewing time seems only to apply to oolongs and puerhs, why not greens or blacks? Is there something about oolongs and puerhs that just comes out better by using more leaves, or is this simply a way to get more infusions (in which case this should work for ANY tea)?
2) Do you reheat the water at each infusion? I find this to be pretty tiresome. 10-12 infusions seems to mean re-boiling water 10-12 times and making sure the temperature is OK. Are there tricks for getting around this? Maybe putting a lot of water in a thermos once the desired temperature is met?
that's all for now!
I always keep the water at boiling temperature. I have an electric kettle that has a hold temperature mode, so it does it automatically. If you find it a bit tiresome, I have one advise for you 
When I do Gong Fu I make time for it. For me, when I'm drinking tea it is more than just the tea, it is relaxation. Put on some nice relaxing music you like and just enjoy a quiet moment. That works for me at least 
When I do Gong Fu I make time for it. For me, when I'm drinking tea it is more than just the tea, it is relaxation. Put on some nice relaxing music you like and just enjoy a quiet moment. That works for me at least Aug 22nd, '08, 08:52
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Personal preference is paramount.
I tend to gong fu pretty much all my tea, if I'm very lazy I'll just chuck some random leaves into my kyusu and top it up as I drink but that's not very often at all. Better no tea than badly done tea.
I use a partially vaccumed kettle thing. Normal spout, normal top but the walls are double lined and sealed. I tend to do several infusions before reboiling but it really depends on the tea, how motivated I am and how fast the tea is being consumed. Recently I've been brewing for 3+ poeple fairly regularly and this means a whole kettle can vanish in no time.
I wouldn't reboil the same water ten or twelve times. Complicated chemically type things happen which has the effect of the tea tasting crap. I would use fresh water after 2 or 3 reboils at the most.
The gong fu thing is more to appreciate the development of the tea over many infusions than just getting all the characteristics of the tea in one large melting, tea, pot.
I tend to gong fu pretty much all my tea, if I'm very lazy I'll just chuck some random leaves into my kyusu and top it up as I drink but that's not very often at all. Better no tea than badly done tea.
I use a partially vaccumed kettle thing. Normal spout, normal top but the walls are double lined and sealed. I tend to do several infusions before reboiling but it really depends on the tea, how motivated I am and how fast the tea is being consumed. Recently I've been brewing for 3+ poeple fairly regularly and this means a whole kettle can vanish in no time.
I wouldn't reboil the same water ten or twelve times. Complicated chemically type things happen which has the effect of the tea tasting crap. I would use fresh water after 2 or 3 reboils at the most.
The gong fu thing is more to appreciate the development of the tea over many infusions than just getting all the characteristics of the tea in one large melting, tea, pot.
I don't have an electric kettle, but sometimes (for gongfu) I use a steel kettle on a stand with three small candles inside, to keep the water warm enough after several infusions. Candles don't actually keep it at the boiling point, but rather slow down the cooling so much, that it never drops below 90 degrees (celsius). Near the end, when there is little water left inside the kettle, the candles do not only keep it from cooling - but actually warm it up again and it can reach boiling point for the last infusion or so.
It was a bit strange at first, but now that I got used to the candles.. and gained some feeling how the temperature is changing inside, it's quite helpful.
For the extra heat (if you need water around boiling temp.) candles can easily be replaced by an alcohol burner.
It was a bit strange at first, but now that I got used to the candles.. and gained some feeling how the temperature is changing inside, it's quite helpful.
For the extra heat (if you need water around boiling temp.) candles can easily be replaced by an alcohol burner.
Aug 22nd, '08, 10:32
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Aug 22nd, '08, 13:21
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I'll just note that Chinese green and red (aka black) teas definitely are gongfu'ed. Gongfu brewing is the traditional Chinese method of brewing, and so most tea in China is made by tea is made for gongfu'ing. The only ones I wouldn't try would be the ones that aren't full leaf that would just pour out with the infusion (like some Keemun I've seen). Teas from other countries (Japanese greens, black teas from Darjeeling, Assam, Ceylon, etc.) are made to be brewed in different teaware. Of course there's nothing saying you can't do it anyway
One thing that I found about gongfu was that the more I researched it, the more intimidating it became (that is, the more I felt that I needed to know more to do it right). In reality it's really quite easy; you just steep for seconds rather than minutes. Just get a small gaiwan, throw in enough to cover the bottom, steep for 20-30 seconds, and go from there. Hopefully your very first attempts will be slightly under-steeped so you can increase the steep time little by little until you get it where you want it. A small gaiwan will not only produce better results but also reduce the amount of leaf you use while experimenting. Then as you go on and get more comfortable you'll naturally start making small variations.
My ex actually started doing some rudimentary gongfu on her own without knowing anything about it, and it turned out great. I started when I got a Zojirushi and put a small tray under it just to catch spills. I didn't really start until I pushed most of the info I had gathered out of mind and just looked at it as brewing tea in small pots.
With that said, however, this site has some good info on Chinese tea/ware:
http://www.chineseteas101.com/
One thing that I found about gongfu was that the more I researched it, the more intimidating it became (that is, the more I felt that I needed to know more to do it right). In reality it's really quite easy; you just steep for seconds rather than minutes. Just get a small gaiwan, throw in enough to cover the bottom, steep for 20-30 seconds, and go from there. Hopefully your very first attempts will be slightly under-steeped so you can increase the steep time little by little until you get it where you want it. A small gaiwan will not only produce better results but also reduce the amount of leaf you use while experimenting. Then as you go on and get more comfortable you'll naturally start making small variations.
My ex actually started doing some rudimentary gongfu on her own without knowing anything about it, and it turned out great. I started when I got a Zojirushi and put a small tray under it just to catch spills. I didn't really start until I pushed most of the info I had gathered out of mind and just looked at it as brewing tea in small pots.
With that said, however, this site has some good info on Chinese tea/ware:
http://www.chineseteas101.com/
Well it's a traditional method of brewing, one that's most popular in parts of South China. However, it's certainly not the only method, and percentage-wise, probably not the most popular way to prepare tea by a long shot.ABx wrote:I'll just note that Chinese green and red (aka black) teas definitely are gongfu'ed. Gongfu brewing is the traditional Chinese method of brewing
And can I just state my general objection to the use of the term as a verb?
Aug 22nd, '08, 15:10
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But it is soooo tempting to verbify it!wyardley wrote: And can I just state my general objection to the use of the term as a verb?
I am always particularly uneasy with the term gong fu when it gets too close to green tea, but I did just learn from Proinsias a sort of gong fu-esque (sorry, Will!) style for greens: lots of tea, short steeps, but cool water.
Also, it's always tempting (and always wrong) to generalize about China, but the fact is that nothing about tea seems to be the same from one province to another there. A young woman from Fuzhou that I know tells me that tea drinking in Fujian Province (home of TGY and Wuyi) is mostly for "older people," an evaluation that really threw me for a loop. So there's regional, generational, and even social class variation that make for a complex tea reality over there.
Aug 22nd, '08, 15:50
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Thank you, ABx! That site looks very interesting. I'll explore it over the weekendABx wrote:With that said, however, this site has some good info on Chinese tea/ware:
http://www.chineseteas101.com/
______________________
"Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cosy, doesn't try it on."
- Billy Connolly
"Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cosy, doesn't try it on."
- Billy Connolly
I have found green, black, and even whites to work very well gong fu style. The greens and whites may need to be done in a gaiwan, though, if you don't own an Yixing that works well with these lighter teas.
The majority of people I know who came from mainland China just throw the leaves in a cup. Some of them think it's quite funny that I actually use Yixings to brew Chinese tea. They do acknowledge the gong fu process exists, they just seem to feel it's a waste of time.
I can think of only two friends from the mainland that use Yixings to brew tea. One does only gong fu style brewing and is the person who told me the basics of it. The other brews the normal way, but drinks directly from the pot's spout. She says this is common where she came from.
The majority of people I know who came from mainland China just throw the leaves in a cup. Some of them think it's quite funny that I actually use Yixings to brew Chinese tea. They do acknowledge the gong fu process exists, they just seem to feel it's a waste of time.
I can think of only two friends from the mainland that use Yixings to brew tea. One does only gong fu style brewing and is the person who told me the basics of it. The other brews the normal way, but drinks directly from the pot's spout. She says this is common where she came from.
