Kungfu tea

Author: Ye Yuqingchuan
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Gongfu Tea, brewing method based on Lu Yu's The Classic of Tea, with more refined utensils. The tea used in Gongfu Tea is limited to Oolong Tea. Oolong Tea is primarily produced in three provinces of China: Fujian, Guangdong, and Taiwan. Oolong Tea is generally divided into Northern Fujian Oolong, Southern Fujian Oolong, Guangdong Oolong, and Taiwan Oolong. Traditionally, Fujian Oolong is considered the best for brewing Gongfu Tea, with Wuyi Rock Tea or Southern Fujian Stream Tea being preferred. Oolong Tea from Fenghuang Mountain in Guangdong Chaozhou is favored by Chaozhou people and Southeast Asian Chinese. Taiwan-produced Oolong Tea is the most heavily fermented variety of Oolong, closest to black tea, and includes many high-quality teas that enjoy a reputation in the international market and are also excellent for brewing Gongfu Tea. People in Fujian, Guangdong, and Taiwan all love drinking Oolong Tea, especially the people of Southern Fujian and Chaozhou in Guangdong, who take great care in drinking it. Due to the meticulous effort involved in brewing, it is called "Gongfu Tea." Gongfu Tea places extreme emphasis on tea utensils, tea leaves, and brewing methods, with very strict requirements. Authentic Chaozhou Gongfu Tea requires water from mountain gullies and stone crevices, and fire must be sourced from olive kernels. It also selects the finest Oolong Tea, which is then brewed scientifically to fully bring out its unique color, aroma, and flavor. Today in China, drinking Gongfu Tea is not only popular in Southern Fujian and eastern Guangdong Chaozhou but also in Taiwan, Guangzhou, Hainan, and other regions in Lingnan. Many overseas Chinese from Southeast Asia and Hong Kong and Macau regard Gongfu Tea as a symbol of their attachment to their homeland. The art of Gongfu Tea is a gem in China's tea culture. Some scholars even call "Chaozhou Gongfu Tea" the "living fossil of Chinese tea culture." Although Gongfu Tea is a drinking custom of Southern Fujian and Chaozhou, its essence is a direct continuation of Lu Yu's tea brewing method from the Tang Dynasty. Chaozhou Gongfu Tea is Chinese Gongfu Tea, the direct inheritor of Chinese tea culture, and the modern version of Chinese tea culture. Lu Yu wrote in The Classic of Tea: "Tea as a beverage originated with Shennong and was known to the Duke of Lu and the Duke of Zhou." In this regard alone, tea has been intertwined with Chinese culture for 5,000 years. In the cup of time, tea unfurls its leaves, floats and sinks freely, releases its fragrance, and nurtures the unique branch of Chinese culture—tea culture. Su Dongpo once wrote a biography of tea, comparing it to "Mr. Ye Jia," a native of Fujian whose ancestors lived in Shanggu. He was of noble character, reluctant to serve as an official, and loved traveling to famous mountains. Later, he chose the Wuyi area as his home. This shows the close relationship between tea, tea culture, and Fujian. In the old days, tea was called "tea rice" by tea connoisseurs in Southern Fujian and Chaozhou, placing it on par with rice. At that time, the tea culture in Chaozhou was: "Whether at grand gatherings or quiet solitude, in shops or workshops, or even on street corners and under bean and gourd pavilions, amidst busy schedules or leisurely moments, people would use clay stoves and sand kettles, holding cups and pouring tea, sipping long or short, to enjoy a happy life." This tradition remains strong today, even more so. As a representative of Chinese tea culture, Gongfu Tea for the people of Southern Fujian and Chaozhou is both a physical need and a need for aesthetic pleasure: both an aesthetic process and a moral cultivation; both regulated yet unbound. The brewing and drinking of Gongfu Tea allow the material and spiritual effects of tea to be fully realized.