Recently, people have been asking me how they can start brewing gong fu tea. They are used to putting some leaves in a big teapot and letting it steep for a couple of minutes. However, gong fu brewing has caught their attention because it has the potential to get everything out of the leaves. Before knowing how to brew gong fu tea, it’s better to know what you need. That’s why I decided to write a short article.
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Two Must-haves for Gong Fu Tea
You can go as far as you want, but in order to brew gong fu tea, you only need two tools: a brewing vessel and a cup. Of course, you also need tea, but this post won’t be about tea itself. A lot of people think that gong fu tea is difficult and complicated. The fun thing is that it can be as complicated as you want (it can be very complicated), but it doesn’t have to be. It’s as simple as taking a lot of tea, letting it steep for a short time in a brewing vessel and pouring it in a cup, bowl or glass.
Brewing Vessel
The first, and perhaps most important tool to brew gong fu tea is a brewing vessel. You have two basic options: a teapot or a gaiwan. If you’re just starting out, I suggest going for a gaiwan because you can get these really cheap and they are quite easy to use. If you browse the internet for a while, you can get one for less than €10. I suggest going for one of around 100ml. This is a good size when you’re starting out.
Gaiwan means ‘lidded bowl’, so it’s actually a cup/bowl with a lid. In the past, people even drank tea straight from the gaiwan. Nowadays, it’s only used to brew tea, not drink it.
A teapot is another kind of brewing vessel that can add a whole other dimension to your tea experience. However, a gaiwan is better if you’re starting out, in my opinion. That’s why I will not discuss teapots further in this article.
Cup
The second thing you need for gong fu tea is a cup, bowl or even a simple glass will work. It’s something to pour the tea into after it has steeped long enough in the gaiwan. You just pour the water in the cup, bowl or glass and you’re good to go! Wasn’t so complicated, was it?
Don’t know where to buy tea online? I made a page on the website with over 200 online shops and I keep updating it regularly. You can check it over here.
What’s next?
Now you know what you need for gong fu tea brewing, the next step will be to discover how to do it to get everything out of those precious tea leaves. I plan to write an article about that very soon, so keep an eye on the blog in the coming weeks to find out more.
