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 Brewing
methods of Chinese tea are closely related to everyday life. On this huge
piece of land called China, 1.3 billion people use more than a
couple of brewing methods to get their teas done. It's not
like looking into a reference book and you can find them all
because there are methods so casual that books don't care to
tell.
Here, Kam
shares a few methods he has come across and has practiced. You
can choose your brewing method from the list base on what tea
ware you have, the class
of Chinese tea you want to brew, degree of convenience, occasion, etc.
Kam drinks
Oolong and green tea mostly. His most used brewing methods are
Kung Fu Cha (big & small) and glass brewing (see below).
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The Serious Methods |
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the brewing methods that all tea books and tea sites have to
mention. They are cool ways of doing tea. If you don't mind
the trouble of setting up a few things and you want more
flavor from your tea, pick one from below.
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| Kung
Fu Cha (small pot) |
Kung
Fu Cha (big pot) |
GaiWan
(small) |
 Tea ware
- YiXing teapot <= 6 oz, teacups |
Tea ware
- YiXing teapot > 6 oz, teacups |
Tea ware
- porcelain GaiWan <= 4oz, teacups |
| Tea
class - best for Oolong, NOT for green tea |
Tea
class - best for Oolong, NOT for green tea |
Tea
class - ALL, ok for Oolong |
| Convenience
- low (very inconvenient in fact) |
Convenience
- medium |
Convenience
- medium |
| Occasion
- serious tea drinking, want to get the best flavor out of your Oolong, tea
friend meeting, when you have time to kill |
Occasion
- when you are working but still want to drink a nice
cup of Oolong. Kam likes to make a big mug of Oolong in
a couple of brews and drink it throughout the day in office. |
Occasion
- casual tea friend meetings, or non tea friend meetings. |
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The
Casual & Other Methods |
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| These are
done purely for the sake of making Chinese tea to drink.
Period. No one
would demonstrate these in front of you and make a fuss about
them - just like you wouldn't show a friend how to turn on a
TV and expect a round of applause.
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| GaiWan
(Large) or Porcelain Teacup |
Glass |
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| Tea ware
- GaiWan>4oz |
Tea ware
- water glass, it's ok if it's got Winnie the Pooh
printed on it. Kam sometimes use a Bodum coffee press
for convenience. |
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| Tea
class - Green, ALL other teas OK |
Tea
class - best for green, flower, ALL other teas are ok |
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| Convenience
- high |
Convenience
- super high |
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| Occasion
- in upscale restaurants, friend meetings, wedding
ceremonies (served by younger generation to older to
show respect) |
Occasion
- when you have only 3 minutes |
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Teapot says
"don't click me. There is no link here!" |
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| Porcelain
Teapot |
Kettle |
| Tea ware - porcelain
teapot |
Tea ware
- kettle, bowl |
| Tea
class - ALL, usually used for low grade teas. |
Tea
class - compressed tea |
| Convenience
- high |
Convenience
- super high |
| Occasion
- Dim-Summing in Chinese restaurants; in a casual
meeting - too little time, too many friends |
Occasion
- everyday serving for southern western Chinese (e.g.
Tibetans) |
| There
is no detailed web page for this method. You simply
infuse whenever you like and pour whenever you like. You
don't care if the tea gets bitter
because you are too busy eating Dim Sum. Tea is simply
not the prime concern here. |
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| For
more information on Chinese tea, please check chinese-tea.net. |
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