What is the Chinese tea ceremony?

Chaoshan Kung Fu Tea, also known as Chaoshan Tea Ceremony, is one of the ancient tea cultures in my country. According to research, the tea culture was very complete during the Tang Dynasty. People in the coastal areas like drinking tea very much, and it is even more popular in Chaoshan. Tea is the best etiquette for entertaining guests and is perfected. This is not only because tea has health-preserving effects in many aspects, but also because tea has the artistic conception of "treating a gentleman, purifying the mind and body" since ancient times.

The so-called Kung Fu tea is not the name of a type of tea or tea type. It’s a technique for making tea. The reason why it is called Kung Fu tea is because the way of brewing tea is extremely particular. It takes a certain amount of effort to operate, and this effort is the knowledge of brewing and the effort of tasting. Kung Fu tea originated in the Song Dynasty and was most popular in Chaozhou Prefecture in Guangdong (today's Chaoshan area) and Zhangzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian. It is the inheritance and in-depth development of the art of tea tasting since the Tang and Song Dynasties. Su Che wrote a poem: "The tea taste in the middle of Fujian is the best in the world. I devote myself to tea and don't work hard."

Taking Kung Fu tea is one of the famous customs in Chaoshan area. In Chaoshan, every household has a Kung Fu tea set. , you must drink several rounds every day. Even Chaoshan people living abroad or immigrating overseas still maintain the custom of drinking Kung Fu tea. It can be said that wherever there are Chaoshan people, there is the shadow of Kung Fu Tea.

Kung Fu tea is famous for its high concentration. It may seem bitter when you first drink it, but after you get used to it, other teas may not taste good enough. Kung Fu tea uses oolong tea leaves such as Tieguanyin, Narcissus and Phoenix tea. Oolong tea is a semi-fermented tea that is between red and green tea. Only this type of tea can produce the color, aroma and flavor required for Kung Fu tea. Phoenix tea is produced in the Fenghuang Mountain area of ??Chaozhou. The color of the tea soup is slightly brown, the tea leaves are tight and thick, and it is very resistant to brewing and can generally be brewed about 20 times. Fenghuang Dancong tea is the most famous, with the flavors of osmanthus, jasmine and honey. It once won the crown at the National Famous Tea Selection Conference held in Fuzhou.

The tea set of Kung Fu Tea, including the stove, is a small red charcoal stove, usually one foot and two inches high. The teapot is made of fine white mud. The boiler is two inches high, with a bottom as big as the mouth of a bowl, and a single handle. Nearly three inches long, the pot is as big as a tomato. It is made of Chaozhou clay pottery. The teacup is as small as a walnut and is made of porcelain with extremely thin walls.

Kung Fu Tea Tea Art

The standard Kung Fu Tea Art includes back fire, shrimp water (freshly boiled water), tea tea pouring, tea filling, hot cup, hot pot (pot) ), high pouring, low pouring, foam covering (use the lid to wipe off the foam floating on the top), and pouring. Chaoshan Kung Fu Tea usually has four guests and the host personally operates it. First, light the fire and boil the water, and put the tea leaves into the pot, accounting for 7/7 of its volume. When the water boils, pour it into the jar and cover with foam. The first cup is filled with the first-brewed tea. The purpose is to create an atmosphere full of the spirit and charm of the tea. After washing the tea, pour in the shrimp whisker water. At this time, the tea leaves have been brewed, and the tea is ready for pouring.

When pouring tea, four teacups are gathered together, and the cup is circulated between the four cups until each cup is seven minutes full. At this time, the tea in the jar should also be closed and poured out, and the remaining tea should be poured into the four cups one by one. Chaoshan people call this process "Guan Gong patrolling the city" and "Han Xin ordering troops". The amount of tea in the four cups and the color must be even and the same to achieve the best quality. Finally, the host will serve the finished tea in front of the guests in order of age and age. First, he will pay homage to the chief guest, then the other guests, and he will be the last.

Chaoshan Kungfu Tea

Chaoshan Kungfu Tea is a unique tea drinking habit in Chaoshan area of ??Guangdong. "Kung Fu Tea" is very particular about tea sets, tea leaves, water quality, tea making, tea pouring and tea drinking. The Kung Fu teapot is very small, only as big as a fist, made of thin porcelain, translucent, and the tea leaves inside the pot can be vaguely seen. The cup is only half the size of a table tennis ball. The tea leaves are oolong tea with good color, aroma and flavor, with semi-fermented tea being the best. When putting tea leaves, fill the pot full and press it tightly with your fingers. It is said that the more tightly the tea leaves are pressed, the mellower the tea will be. It is best to precipitate the water. When making tea, pour the freshly boiled water into the pot immediately and pour it out the first time or two. This is mainly for hygiene reasons. When pouring tea, put several teacups together. Don't fill one cup full and then pour that cup. Instead, you must take turns and pour back and forth to avoid the situation of being strong at first and weak at the end. When drinking, you lick it with your tongue and taste it slowly, and chat while sipping the tea. This is called Kung Fu. Kung Fu tea has strong juice and high alkalinity. When you first drink a few cups, you will feel slightly bitter. But later on, the more you drink, the more bitter and sweet you will feel. It makes people feel refreshed, especially after a big banquet. .

The tea pool is shaped like a drum and is made of porcelain. It consists of a plate as the "drum head" and a round pot similar to the "drum body". There are four small holes on the plate for water leakage. The round jar is used to contain the waste tea water that leaks from the plate. The pot (teapot) used for Kung Fu tea is not used immediately after purchase, but must be "raised" with tea water first. For a small pot, water for "tea washing" (i.e. the first tea when making tea) must be poured into it frequently, and it must be kept for more than three months before it can be officially used. Chaoshan Kung Fu Tea is a complete tea ceremony form that integrates spirit, etiquette, brewing skills, tea inspection art, and evaluation quality.

Chaoshan Kung Fu Tea is the most distinctive form of Chaoshan food and folk customs. Mr. Zhang Huayun once wrote a song in "Chaoshan Kungfu Tea Song":

Fujian and Guangdong are connected, and marriages are never broken. Wuniang is suitable for Chen San, and lychee is for cutting. Fujian tea is found in eastern Guangdong, and Tieguanyin is brewed from the stream. The young buds turn into powder, and the ropes are slim and brown. One pound is forty bubbles, and there is no shortage of three cups. Trendy people are not noble or humble, and they often become addicted to tea. Harmony, love, essence, purity, and thoughtfulness are unrivaled in the tea ceremony. Water, fire, utensils, cooking, and drinking, the aroma of tea is extremely incisive. A clear spring boils in a thin pot, and olive stones burn brightly in a clay oven.

Meng Chen is small when he pushes the pot, and it is as deep and clean as the cup. West Lake Virgin Spring, Sangpu Longquan Liquid. Use four fingers to move the flywheel, and the washing machine will be clean and hot. The soft strips are wrapped around the fine powder, and the floating foam is washed away. Guan Yu patrolled the city, and Han Xin ordered his troops. The dry tea in the jar is ripe, and no crumbs are visible after drinking it. The first punch is skin, and the fragrance overflows everywhere. Two or three punches turn into meat, and the fragrance remains on the teeth and cheeks. The clouds have reached the end of the fourth rush, and the breeze is blowing in the two armpits. The mind is full of strange thoughts, and the stomach and intestines are clear of food. The bandit alone cures thirst, summer and winter continue. If there is no day without it, all kinds of evil will be eliminated. Chaozhou people travel far and wide, leaving traces all over the world. I met people from my hometown by chance, and we were guests in a foreign land. Let's drink three or two glasses of wine and exchange news about our hometown. Nostalgia arises from mango perch, nostalgia is like glue paint. Because I know that Kung Fu tea is the most cohesive. People in the past started it, and it has been improved in the past dynasties. It has become a tea culture and has been bathed in tea culture for generations to come.

1. Tea, Phoenix Dancong

Chinese people have been drinking tea for a long time. Tea picking has been mentioned in the Book of Songs. After the Han Dynasty, tea drinking became popular, but the climax was still in the Tang Dynasty, when there were already "tea parties" and "tea banquets". Lu Yu wrote the "Tea Classic", which concentrated the theory of tea drinking, started a generation of tea drinking, and became the tea god himself. "Chaojia Fengyue Ji" says: "The cooking method of Kungfu tea is based on Lu Yu's "Tea Classic", and the utensils are more refined. There is one stove and one porcelain plate, but the number of cups depends on the number of guests. First, pour the spring water Store it in a pot, fry it with fine charcoal until it starts to boil, pour Fujian tea into the pot, cover it and pour it over it again, then pour it and sip it carefully, the aroma will be stronger and clearer than chewing plum blossoms. " It can be seen that by the Qing Dynasty, Chaoshan Kung Fu Tea was very common, and the process was very similar to that of modern Kung Fu Tea. "Put Fujian tea in a pot and brew it" refers to Tieguanyin produced in Fujian. In fact, Fenghuang Mountain in Chaozhou also produces famous tea, called "Fenghuang Dancong", but unfortunately there is no mention of it in the article. According to "Chaozhou Prefecture Chronicle": "Guangdong does not produce tea, and all the tea is produced in Fujian. There are many plants in Baihua Mountain and Fenghuang Mountain near Raoping. Baihua Mountain is also called Daizhao Mountain, so it is called Daizhao Tea. The taste is not bad. Teas are produced in Dapu, Yinna and other mountains, and the other local teas are bitter and not fragrant." It can be seen that Fenghuang tea began to be cultivated in Chaozhou at the latest in the Qing Dynasty. .

Among the teas produced in Chaoshan, Phoenix Tea is world-famous for its fragrant smell, resistance to brewing and steeping, and its unique natural floral aroma. This is closely related to the natural geographical conditions of Phoenix Mountain. Fenghuang Mountain is located in the northeast of Chaozhou, at the junction of Raoping, Fengshun and Dabu counties, near the Tropic of Cancer. It is surrounded by clouds and mist all year round and has undulating mountains. There are more than a dozen peaks with an altitude of more than 1,000 meters, including Fenghuang Wuji, the highest peak in eastern Guangdong, and Wudangding, the second highest peak. Famous tea is mostly produced above the clouds and mists on the peaks. Secondly, Phoenix tea has a unique production method. The tea production here is divided into five procedures: "withering, fermentation, curing, kneading, and baking." Each procedure has strict operating methods.

There are many varieties and flavors of Phoenix tea, and the quality varies with the seasons. Among them, "Phoenix Dancong" is the best. "Phoenix Dancong" refers to those high-quality tea trees that have been identified as having various natural floral aromas after years of tasting. During the production process, individual plants are picked, individual plants are initially made, and individual plants are dried. Its production is particularly particular. It must be picked between 1 and 4 o'clock in the afternoon on a sunny and cool day in spring. After picking, the plants must be divided and piled in a cool place before being processed. If picked in rainy days, morning fog or afternoon shade, the fragrance of Dancong tea will not be produced. Among Fenghuang Dancong tea, Fenghuangshan Wudangding Dancong tea has the best quality and has always been known as the "four wonders" of beautiful shape, green color, rich fragrance and sweet taste. When brewing, you can smell the aroma from a few steps away, and the aftertaste of drinking it is endless.

Brewing process

1. Appreciation of fragrant tea: When using tea, take out a pot of tea leaves from the tea storage, place them in a tea appreciation tray, and appreciate them.

2. Mengchen Linlin: The purpose of pouring boiling water on the body of the pot is to heat the body, which is the so-called "warming pot".

3. Oolong into the palace: Dial the tea leaves into the teapot with a teaspoon. The order of loading is first thin, then thick and then stem.

4. Hang the pot and pour it high: Pour water into the Mengchen jar until the mouth of the pot is full.

5. The spring breeze blows on your face: Use the lid to scrape the foam off the mouth of the pot.

6. Fume and wash the beauty: Quickly pour water from the pot to wash the tea, with the purpose of washing away the dust on the surface of the tea leaves.

7. Ruochen comes out of the bath: He takes the first step to make tea and scald the cup, also known as warming the cup. Turning the cup body is like a flywheel spinning, or like dancing flowers.

8. Return the jade liquid to the pot: Use the high-flush method to fill the pot with boiling water again.

9. Touring the mountains and rivers: Hold the pot and move it around the tea boat to remove the water droplets from the bottom of the pot to prevent them from falling into the cup.

10. Guan Gong patrols the city: He pours tea in a circular manner, and the teapot is like Guan Yu patrolling the city. The purpose is to make the concentration of tea in the cup consistent, and to pour it low so that the aroma will not be lost too much.

11. Han Xin ordered his troops: Patrol the city until the tea soup is almost gone, pour the remaining tea in the pot into each cup. These are the essence of the whole pot of tea soup and should be divided evenly drop by drop. Note, so it is called Han Xin's command of troops.

12. Respect the fragrant tea: first respect the guest of honor, or the elderly and the young in order.

13. Appreciate the rhyme when drinking tea: smell the aroma first, then drink the tea. When drinking tea, hold the rim of the cup with your thumb and index finger, and hold the bottom of the cup with your middle finger. This is commonly known as "Three Dragons Protect the Cauldron" . Drinking is divided into three sips, "Three sips will reveal the taste, and three times you will be tempted." The tea soup is mellow, sweet and refreshing, with endless aftertaste.

14. High brew and low sieve: brew the second tea and repeat steps nine, ten and eleven.

15. Ruochen resumes bathing: Same as Ruochen getting out of the bath.

16. Pour the wonderful fragrance again: Repeat steps nine, ten, and eleven.

17. Recognize the melody: repeat the thirteen steps.

18. Three cups of Liuxia: brew the third cup of tea.