www.youtube.com/.../watch?v=S8bIDQP0zG0

We take 5 grams of tea
for 100ml of water

So if the capacity of our gaiwan is 100ml,
we put 5g

For a small gaiwan of 60ml,
which is around half

We will put around 3g

When we prepare tea
the "gong fu cha" way

It's a very relaxing activity

It's a way to come back to the moment

In this video we will start with the basics by
comparing it with what we know

We will see the 3 differences in-between
gong fu cha and tea bags or big tea pots

We will see the teaware
we need, in details

And we will see how to
brew the gong fu way

So the first difference is
about the infusions

When we prepare our tea
in a big tea pot

We put few tea leaves with a lot of water
and we brew it for 2-3min

So then we have a lot of tea to drink

When brewing "gong fu cha"
we have a lot of leaves

A bit of water and very
short infusions of 10-15s

So we can make many infusions

And it's quite enjoyable

Because for each infusion it's
like an adventure

At each infusion the taste
is changing, the tea evolve

And we can make 5,6 or a dozen of infusions
depending of the quality of the tea

So it's an activity by itself

We can spend 30min-1h
or even 2h per session

We can spend a lot of time in this activity

The second difference
is about our movements

As we can see it's a sequence of movements
which are quite enjoyable to do

It's very relaxing

And to have all these movements make
it once again, an activity by itself

It's not about adding a tea bag, pouring
some water and I'm done

But It's a sequence of movements

And the 3d difference is about
the taste and the sensations

And here I'm doing the
comparison with tea bags

When we are brewing the gong fu way
we use complete tea leaves

Not broken leaves or dust of leaves

The difference is that the taste is way
more powerful as a symphony

We don't have this astringent sensation
of broken tea leaves

Because when the tea leaves are complete
it takes more time to diffuse

And we have something more complete

And about the sensation we feel way
more things with full tea leaves

And before talking about teaware
I'd like to end up with this :

For those who don't know much about tea

We have a very large range of taste

We have green, white,
oolong and black tea

And the taste can be of honey,
pastries, chocolate

More woody or fruity

Or mineral

We have all types of taste

And about the sensations I'd like to talk about
a type of tea that we don't know much in Europe

It's Pu Erh

Pu Erh are growing in the south west
of China in high mountains

These tea trees are often
very ancient and gigantic

Pu Erh is a tea that we can
ferment with time, like wine

Teas as green, black etc. are better to be
consumed within few years

But Pu Erh is like wine,
it gets better with time

You have raw and ripe pu erh

Raw Pu Erh are more minerals

Ripe Pu Erh are more woody/earthy

I won't go into details but
it's about the sensations

I've noticed that green, oolong, black teas,
all these tastes are quite nice

But as soon as we go back to Pu Erh
there is a whole new sensaiton coming up

It's hard to describe but
we feel a yin energy

So this video has also this purpose, to put
some light on Pu Erh tea

As it's a type of tea that may interest you

The other advantages of gong fu cha
are the social aspect

We can gather together and
spend a peaceful time

And an other advantage is
the discovery, the adventure side

There is always something new to try,
always something to learn

It's a very vast world

Let's now talk about teaware

Let's start with the kettle

And to begin we can do with what we have

With time it's better to have a kettle
where we can control the temperature

For most teas it's 90°C

But for green and white teas
they are more sensitive

And it's better to brew it at 80°C

To not have a bitter taste

If we don't have a kettle like that we
can use a thermometer like this

We put it like this and we can see
the temperature of the water

We can also see it with our eyes

80°C is when there is small bubbles at the
bottom and it becomes agitated at the top

90°C is when we have big bubbles at the bottom
and it starts to be way more agitated

All the kettles I know stop
automatically at 100°C

This is when it's boiling a lot

That's it for the kettle

About the gaiwan I recommend a
capacity around 90-100-110ml

This is enough for 1 or 2 persons

About the cups 30-40ml is enough

Small cups for the temperature of
the water to go down quickly

It's all about this process of having
many infusions, and we drink in the flow

It's an activity where we are in the moment
and these little cups helps with that

Something else I've noticed
is the quality of the material

For example here we have quite thick
porcelain and the taste is very different

Compared to cups like this

The porcelain is thinner and if we
put tea in these 2 cups to compare it

It's not the same taste at all

This is something to remember

Here I have a taste rounder, smoother,
more "woody" and warm

And in the thinner cup I have a taste
more mineral, the other side of the spectrum

And it's very interesting to compare

Also be careful with cups in glass

The intensity is very diminished

I don't recommend cups
and gaiwans in glass

From what I've tried it makes a
huge difference with the taste

Each one of us can make
its own experiences

Now we have the gongdaobei which
is in-between the gaiwan and the cup

We brew the tea in the gaiwan,
we pour it in the gongdaobei

A capacity of 250-300ml is enough

It can be in glass or an other type
it doesn't make any difference

In glass It's nice because
you can see through

But I would rather be
very careful at the head

It has to be sharp so when
we pour it's enjoyable

When it's not as sharp it's quite
messy and not comfortable to use

About the filter, we do with
what we can find

This is a filter in porcelain and
we have a grid inside

It's helping to remove the broken
leaves and keep a clean tea

And a last thing before we
are done with teaware

When we travel we can keep it
very minimalist like this

A small gaiwan of 60ml

And a cup of around 50ml

We fill it up, we pour it there

And it's perfect for 1 person

It's very practical to travel

Just this, is enough to enjoy our tea

And activate the full power through
the gong fu cha brewing style

With a lot of leaves and a bit of water

WIth our gaiwan

We also have small tea pots

It's something that I don't use much because we
don't have all these movements that I enjoy

With a tea pot we just pour it one time
and there is a lack of magic

Even if it's very interesting
as it affect the taste

But talking about the activity
itself I prefer a gaiwan

To really come back to the moment

(from my point of view)

We can now speak about how to brew

So you will either have tea
in bags like that

Or if you have a pu erh it will be like this

They are cakes, the tea has been
compressed to ferment

It looks like this

And if we open it

It looks like that

To brew it the gong fu way we
need 5g of tea for 100ml of water

So if our gaiwan has a capacity of 100ml

(if we are not sure we fill it up with water
and check on a scale)

For 100ml, 5g

For a small gaiwan like this of 60ml

Which is almost half

We would put around 3g

5g for 100ml is a common rule

To count it we use a small kitchen scale

We put the leaves in the gaiwan
and check how many grams

Then we boil the water at 90°C

I boiled it just before starting
the video so it still warm

A detail is that for a Pu Erh
we use a pick to open a cake

When we buy a cake a pick is
often recommended next to it

So It's easier to open the cake

So we put 5g

We fill up our gaiwan
with water at 90°C

80°C if It's green or white tea

We brew it 10s for the 1st infusion

And then for each infusion
we add around 5s

(I already did some infusions here)

The 2nd infusion would be around
15s, then 20s for the 3d etc.

But the main indicator is the taste

Meaning :

If the taste is too strong

It means that 1) The infusion
was too long

2) The water was too hot and the
infusion has been accelerated

(so maybe try with cooler water)

3)

3) There is too much leaves in the gawain

These 3 parameters are helping us
to balance the tea

So for example, let's say this
infusion is too strong

For the next infusion I will
reduce the brewing time

If there is not enough taste because
I did many infusions before

Then it's the opposite, at the next
infusion I'll brew it longer

A detail, when we brew a Pu Erh

At the first infusion

(and this is why we have this)

This is to throw it away

The 1st infusion is to warm up our
gongdaobei and warm up the cups

Then we throw it away

We start drinking from the 2nd infusion

The reason is that these Pu Erh
has been kept for many years

And there is maybe some dust

So It's always good to
rinse the first infusion

And drink from the second one

That's it for the preparation

I'll end up with some ressources
if you're looking for more

If you want to know more there is a
lot of ressources on internet

There is many books too

I've noticed a youtube channel which is
very consistent for many years

It's the channel of Mei Leaf

It's in English but the person
behind is very conscientious

And very passionate about the subject

It's very interesting to
follow what he's doing

He's doing videos about
how to prepare the tea

But also videos where
he's in China finding tea

So we can have a look at this all
universe through the channel of Mei Leaf

He has been consistent for many years

There is many other people in this field

But Mei Leaf are the one I've
been following for many years

Then, about the places to buy teas

I'd recommend to start
looking at your town

Maybe there is tea shops selling true teas,
and maybe some Pu Erh

I think it's a good thing if
we can find something locally

Now on the internet, I was talking
about the youtube channel of Mei Leaf

But they also have a shop
in London and online

So you can buy it online and
the quality is really nice

I also recommend to use google and
search what's available in your country

I don't have addresses to give as
I'm living in Laos, next to China

And the Pu Erh I have are from
Chinese people I knew here

Who are living in Yunnan where
these Pu Erh grows

I've tried many teas of
Mei Leaf and they are good

I've tried a few more from
other french website

But I didn't try enough teas to
really be able to recommend it

So I'd recommend to try a few and
make your own judgment

If you have questions you can ask me

I have a lot of passion for this subject

I try to keep it simple because the
moment is the most important

This is an activity where we don't have to think
anymore and we can come back to the moment

This is the main reason I do this

And It's also my dream to one day
find a place to practice publicly this activity

So people can come to slow down a bit

I resonate a lot with tea and if
you have questions, if you are curious

You can leave questions under the
video and I'll do my best

That's it for this video

There is many other things to say
about tea but I try to keep this video short

To have a simple introduction

My name is Gilbert and I see
you soon in a next video

Thank you