Chinese Tea Culture

Recently we were introduced to Chinese tea culture. ⁣
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The hotel owner invited us to sit with him and enjoy tea. For the first time we saw a Gongfu tea table, as pictured. The process of tea drinking seemed intricate and far from the mug of tea I get at home. ⁣
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Tea is big in China, every restaurant or cafe will give you tea…or sometimes just hot water, which makes me wonder if customers bring their own tea with them? It’s loose leaf tea, not instant like we have in England. Often green and it’s never served with milk. ⁣
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The availability of tea in China didn’t surprise me and I was familiar with its importance in the culture. I was familiar with the proverb: “Man can do without food for three days, but without tea, not for one”. You may know that China has a deep history in tea – planting and brewing. Naturally it’s a big part of their culture. ⁣
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Since we saw our first Gonfu tea table we’ve seen several. But only once did we get to participate in the tea culture.⁣
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Here’s how it went…first, using the tea table pictured, the tiny bowls (our drinking vessels) were boiled in a pan whilst the kettle boiled. The table was electronic, so the tap on the left turned at the press of a button, this allowed you to add water to either the kettle or the pan without physically moving anything. The pan and kettle sat on a ceramic stove and our host was able to control the temperature at the touch of a button.⁣
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The tea pots were warmed with boiling water, which was then discarded. Tea leaves were added to the teapot, water from the kettle poured on top, then the tea was poured into another jug for distribution. Any water that needed to be wasted was poured into the table, this drained through a pipe into a waste bowl under the table.⁣
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Our bowls sat on a coaster and our host filled our bowls several times. When the first round was poured, we waited with anticipation; both unaware of the customs. Our host gave us the go ahead to drink and so we did – and we enjoyed the tea together with google translate to help us chat. @ Daibu, Yunnan, China