Okay, so the other day I was like, let’s try this “gong fu tea” thing. I kept seeing it pop up, and it sounded fancy. I thought maybe there was a special tea for it, but nah, it’s more about how you make the tea, not the tea itself. Turns out “gong fu” means something like doing it with skill and care.

First off, I had to get the stuff for it. I found out you need a bunch of things: a gaiwan, which is like a little cup with a lid, a small teapot, a pitcher to share the tea, and tiny cups. And usually, people put all this on a special tea table.

I didn’t have all that, so I made do with what I had. I used a small teapot I already owned, some tiny espresso cups, and a regular mug as a pitcher. No special table, just my regular kitchen counter.

I also learned this way of making tea started over a hundred years ago in some place called Chaozhou in China. Apparently, they have some special oolong tea there, and that’s what they made with this method. I just used some regular oolong I had at home.

So, I started by heating up some water. Then, I put some tea leaves in my makeshift gaiwan and poured a bit of hot water over them. I let it sit for a few seconds and then poured that water out. This is supposed to “wake up” the tea leaves, or something. I did it a couple times, just to be sure.

Next, I poured more hot water over the leaves and let it steep for a little longer this time. Then, I carefully poured the tea into my mug (acting as a pitcher) and then into the little cups. I made a bit of a mess, to be honest, spilling some tea on the counter. It takes practice, I guess.

• Warm up the teapot: I poured some hot water in the teapot just to warm it up, then dumped that water.
• Add tea leaves: I put a pinch of oolong into the teapot.
• First steep: I added hot water to the pot, let it sit for about 10 seconds, and poured it into the pitcher and then into the tiny cups.
• Enjoy: We sipped the tea, and it was actually pretty good! It tasted stronger and had more flavor than when I usually make tea.
• Repeat: I kept adding hot water to the same leaves and steeping, over and over. Each time, the tea tasted a bit different.

I tried to do it like they do in China. I read somewhere that guys are supposed to hold their fists a certain way, and women put their palms together and bow. I didn’t do all that, but I did try to hand the cups to my friend with both hands, which is supposed to be respectful. It felt a bit awkward, but hey, I was trying.

We kept refilling the teapot with the same leaves and steeping it over and over. It was kinda cool how the flavor changed a bit each time. I think we did it like five or six times before the tea started to taste weak.

All in all, it was a fun little experiment. It felt like a more mindful way of drinking tea, and it definitely made the tea taste better. I’m not sure I’ll do it every day, but maybe when I have friends over and want to do something a bit different, or even for a little ritual for myself. It’s like a little treat for yourself, you know?

If you are interested in tea or just want to try something new, I would say give it a shot. You don’t need all the fancy gear. Just make do with what you have and have fun with it. But be careful not to spill the hot water!