CHINESE TEA TASTING: A LIVING ART FORM
Gong Fu Cha - Origin of Tea Tasting Traditions
The Art Of Chinese Tea Tasting
Chinese Tea Tasting Revives the Mind, Body & Spirit.
Water Is the Mother, and Teapot the Father. Fire the Master.
Discover Gong Fu Cha – Origin of Chinese Tea Tasting Traditions.
Using the same Camellia sinensis plant, Chinese tea masters invented six types of tea. Through various processing techniques, each tea offers unique aroma, flavors, and texture, not to mention health benefits.
The six types of tea are:
- White tea
- Yellow tea
- Green tea
- Oolong tea
- Black tea
- Pu erh Tea (or Dark Tea, Hei Cha)
Chinese Tea Tasting Culture Expands Globally
Similar to tea-making, the art of tea-drinking also evolved throughout the millennia in China. As tea flowed out to different parts of the world, tea-drinking was adopted and tailored to local culture. Here are the major tea-drinking traditions, starting from ancient times to present days.
EVOLUTION OF TEA TASTING TRADITIONS
- Cooked Tea: In pre-Tang Dynasty (6th century) China, tea was boiled with ginger, mint, scallions, citrus peel, etc.
- Powdered Tea: Lu Yu, the greatest tea sage in Chinese tea culture, promoted Powdered tea.
- Whipped tea: Around the 10th century, in the Song dynasty in China, Whipped tea became fashionable. Japan adopted Whipped tea as Matcha 500 years later, giving birth to Chado, or Chanoyu, also known as the Japanese Tea Ceremony.
- Steeped tea: This tea-drinking method resulted from the invention of loose leaf tea, which happened in the Ming dynasty of China. Read more about how tea is made.
- Zen Tea Ceremony: This tea tasting tradition originated at the Mount Tai temple in Shandong province in China. The practice spread throughout China and overseas. We filmed the Zen Tea Ceremony in Wuyi Shan’s Mother Temple.
- Gong Fu Cha or Gong Fu Tea: The Gong Fu Cha Ceremony, was invented specifically to taste Oolong tea, a semi-fermented tea invented by the Buddhist monks at the Mother Temple Wuyi Mountains.
- Japanese Tea Ceremony or Chado: Also called Chanoyu, or The Way of Tea. This ceremony started in the 1500s using Whipped Green tea. Read the fascinating story of how tea came to Japan.
- Afternoon Tea: Introduced in England by the Duchess of Bedford in 1840. Afternoon tea brewing was initially a time for women to get together in their boudoirs. This social event then moved to the hotels of London in the mid-1800s. It grew into a quintessential English custom beloved by people around the world today.
Origin of Gong Fu Cha
The most renowned Chinese tea tasting tradition is Gong Fu Tea. This ancient custom was invented by the Buddhist monks to taste Oolong tea, which is invented in the Wuyi Moutains. A beautiful and tranquil tea tasting tradition, Gong Fu Cha tea tasting is accompanied by a host of exquisite Chinese tea things.
Oolong tea is the most complex tea type ever invented by Chinese Buddhist monks in the 16th century. A semi-fermented tea, Oolong tastes exquisite, awakening your senses like a springtime walk in the mountains. Oolong tea abounds with healthy qualities, like weight loss for example.
To fully experience the majesty of this artisan tea, the monks invented a ceremony called Gong Fu Cha. This Zen Tea tradition offers tea drinkers not only a tea-tasting experience but also elevated spirituality and connectivity with others. Oolong’s origin story is fascinating.
Throughout the ages, tea immortalized countless tea connoisseurs in China. Emperors, artists, and poets worshiped the charm of this humble beverage.
Tang dynasty poet Lu Tong penned the famous “7 Cups,” while he was tasting tea. Legend has it that he was tasting Wuyi Rock tea, renowned for its long-lasting brews.
Wuyi Rock tea or Wuyi Oolong tea inspired countless poets in China during the Tang Dynasty (over 2000 years ago.)
One of the most famous tea poems is SEVEN CUPS by Lu Tong. Here is the English translation.
7 Cups
The first cup moistens my lips and throat;
The second cup breaks my loneliness;
The third cup searches my barren entrails but to find therein some five thousand scrolls;
The fourth cup raises a slight perspiration, and all life’s inequities pass out through my pores;
The fifth cup purifies my flesh and bones;
The sixth cup calls me to the immortals;
The seventh cup could not be drunk, only the breath of the cool breeze raises in my sleeves.
– Lu Tong (790-835 A.D.)
Experience the art and beauty of Chinese tea tasting tradition - GONG FU CHA. This ancient tea ritual was invented by the Buddhist monks in Wuyi mountains to taste Oolong Tea.
ART OF TEA BOOK | PREMIER EDITION
Made For Tea Lovers! You’ll love this exclusive First Edition of the Art Of Tea Book collection, accompanying the Tea Documentary. Journey through forbidden tea regions, restored paintings, and behind-the-scenes magic in this one-of-a-kind Art Of Tea Book.
