Gongfu Tea: Drink This, Grasshopper!

Jackie Chan in his 2010 remake of The Karate Kid uttered a classic line.  It took place after endlessly drilling Jaden Smith on hanging up his coat.  Over and over he tells him, “Take coat off…put on ground…pick up…put coat on…”  Smith’s character finally loses it and starts yelling.  Then Jackie utters the memorable line, “Gongfu found in everything.”  That’s it.  Okay, so maybe you’re weren't as inspired by those words as I was but it made me think about tea.  Of course, just about everything that doesn't make me think about food makes me think about tea.  Since I haven’t heard of Gongfu Pork Chops, I guess we have to go with tea, here.    

Those of us from places like the U.S. think of gongfu as Chinese Martial Arts:  Twirling kicks, forceful punches, boards breaking, opponents being tossed across the room, defying the laws of physics you get the idea.  But once again you’re asking the question what does all this have to do with tea?  The term gongfu, as used in China and Taiwan, really refers to any skill that is achieved through hard work and practice.  Gongfu tea doesn't have anything to do with breaking the teapot or anything like that.

Gongfu tea is a method of serving tea in Taiwan.  It is something you do to show hospitality and care for guests in your home or business.  When we bought our car and were waiting for the paperwork to be completed the salesman/dealership owner served us tea, in the gongfu way.  If you have a company that does business with Taiwanese businessmen it would help your relationship with them to learn to perform gongfu tea.  It would also help to have a high-quality Taiwanese grown tea available.  Taiwanese tea is some of the finest tea available in the world.

Probably the finest aspect of the tea culture is Gongfu Tea.  Tea Masters understand how tea is grown, when it’s best to pick, what age of plant produces the best tea, how to brew each type of tea for the best result, brewing temperatures, brewing times and how to serve tea in a way that makes people feel good, and highlights the flavor of the tea.  All of these things and much more contribute to the Gongfu tea experience.

Being relaxed is helpful in experiencing the subtle differences between the tea flavors and fragrances.  A friend who took me to a tea shop for the first time is a somewhat high-energy person, who has kind of a nervous personality.  He constantly fidgets and talks fast.  His hands have to be doing something at all times.  As we were talking about the tea, with the owner, my friend remarked that he couldn't tell the difference between the different teas we were drinking.  The owner told him, “That’s because you’re heart beats too fast, you have to learn to relax to appreciate the tea.”  That, in essence is what the gongfu tea method is supposed to do, relax you so that you can enjoy the different teas.

The conversation centers on tea.  Talk flows around the growing location, altitude and temperature variations, all of which affect the flavor of the tea.  It can also touch on processes and oven temperatures, which are contributors to the color and flavor of the tea.

In short, the gongfu experience is all about the tea and relationships.  I have found those times when I have been treated to this type of experience to be interesting, informative and relaxing.  The end result, and really this is the primary goal of gongfu is the building of relationship.  Time is taken to understand tea, but time is taken with your guest as well.  It is to show the sincerity of your care for guests and desire to build your relationship with that person.  I recently had an American friend visit me in Taiwan and I served him tea in the gongfu style.  After his return to America, he sent me a brief note saying he was craving “sincere tea.”  I guess I did it the right way.  

Other posts you may be interested in:

The Origins of Wulong Tea?
Taiwanese Tea:  Union Tea Company
Taiwanese Traditions:  Selling and Brewing Tea

Photos:  Chris Banducci

The Origins of Wulong Tea?

Look at the beautiful, clear yellow of the Wulong Tea.

The word Wulong (Oolong; in Chinese 烏龍) is literally translated as black dragon.  So what we call Wulong tea means Black Dragon Tea.  I've pondered this many times.  Wulong tea is closer to a green tea type tea.  It looks like a green tea when brewed as it has a beautiful clear golden yellow color.  It also looks like a green tea in its prior to brewing.  So why call it Black Dragon Tea.

Because the origin of Wulong tea is shrouded in the mists of antiquity there are three theories about how Wulong Tea came to have that name.  But in my mind, one seems more likely from a historical perspective.

The first theory is that it was first cultivated in the Wuyi Mountains(武夷山) of Fujian Province in China during the Ming Dynasty.  Evidence comes in the form of two poems published during the Qing Dynasty which followed.  The Qing Dynasty started in 1644 and ended with the Xin Hai revolution in 1912, when the empress dowager abdicated the throne on behalf of her son the emperor.

The first is called the Wuyi Tea Song by Yi Chaogun

In the fifteenth century

Tea fields were abandoned

As some of the rock tea starts to grow

The love it when the North wind

Starts to blow on a sunny day

But not the South wind or rain

The fragrance dissipates

The beautiful Plum and Orchid Aroma

Come from the final baking process

The second is called Tea Tale by Wang Chaotang

Wuyi Tea is left to sun in a bamboo basket

Then roasted and baked

Longjing tea is pure because it is roasted but not withered

Only Wuyi tea is roasted and withered

Half green and half red

Roasted green and withered red

Left to wither then shaken

When the fragrance emerges; it is roasted

The timing has to be precious

This theory seems most plausible to me as these poems seem to chronicle the processing of Wulong Tea.  The process for preparing Wulong Tea is still the same today:

1. It’s picked by hand.
2. Left in a basket in the sun to oxidize.
3. It’s rolled into balls
4. Baked in an oven

Black Tea (front) is in leaf form, the Wulong Tea (rear) is rolled into balls.

It’s important to know that Green, Black and Wulong Tea come from the same plant.  The differences are in the fermenting or oxidizing of the leaves.  Green Tea is not oxidized, and black tea is fully oxidized.  Wulong tea is partially oxidized.  So as the poem says it’s “half green and half red.”  Black tea in Chinese is called Hong Cha (紅茶) Hong means red in Mandarin.

The second Theory is based on the Tribute Tea.  This is tea that was grown and processed for emperors, and dates back to the Song Dynasty.  The emperors of that time set up the Beiyun Tea Garden again in Fujian Province.  The tea produced there was in the form of a hard cake called the Dragon-Phoenix Tea Cake.  But as the Song Dynasty became the Ming Dynasty this teacake fell out of favor.  The Beiyun Gard changed its process to loose tea.  The result was a glossy, dark loose-leaf tea.  Called Bvlack Dragon Tea.

This version seems less likely to me as Wulong tea is not a dark colored tea leaf, the color is a green that turns to a yellow color as it brews.

The final theory is based on a legend as are a lot of Chinese Traditions.  According to the legend a man named Long, who was particularly dark skinned and called WuLong (Black Dragon) was hunting.  He was distracted by a deer and followed after it.  By the time he had returned to the tea stored in his bag it was halfway oxidized.  The tea became popular and was called Black Dragon Tea after this man.

This legend while an interesting story seems the least likely explanation for the name.  In any case I drink Wulong Tea far more often than any other kind.

Other posts you may be interested in:

Taiwanese Traditions:  the Selling and Brewing of Tea
Taiwanese Tea:  The Union Tea Company

 Photo credit:  http://www.tealula.com/blog/13/a-look-at-the-source:-wuyi-mountains

Source:  http://www.amazing-green-tea.com/oolong-tea-history.html

Taiwanese Tea: Union Tea Company

The weather is finally starting to turn towards winter.  In Taiwan, it’s hot from April until about the beginning of December, sometimes even longer.  But here we are in the last week of November and the weather is starting to become like winter weather.  That means it’s time to start brewing hot tea again.

Cha Li Wang the Tea of Kings

I don’t like to drink hot tea in the summer.  I want something cold and refreshing, so I usually drink Cha Li Wang brand tea.  (Cha Li Wang means Tea Inside King).  It’s not like the tea that you find in stores in the U.S.  I like to get unsweetened oolong tea, but you can hardly find that in the States.  All the bottled teas have fake lemon flavor or too much sugar or Aspartame in them.  They have a sweet after taste.  But here you can get unsweetened bottled tea that contains nothing but that delicious Oolong goodness.  I love to drink that in the summer.  Think of it; a cold sweating bottle of clear crisp Oolong Tea without the additives and sugar.  It’s delicious.

But when the weather starts to turn cooler and wetter, I want hot tea.  That’s the way I started to feel last week, so I took a trip to Union Tea Company in Bade, Taiwan.  Bade (pronounced Bah Duh) is right next to Taoyuan City and it is the location of the Home Office of Union Tea.

Taiwan grows some of the finest tea in the world.  Conditions in the mountains are perfect for growing tea.  A good oolong tea is grown above 2800 meters (9100 feet) and the air temperature must fluctuate ten degrees Celsius between afternoon and night.

Buying tea in the U.S. is nothing special.  You walk into Walmart or your local grocery store and pick up a pack right off the shelf.  The tea is usually blended and in bags.  It’s also fairly low quality.  I have never liked tea bag tea.  But in Taiwan buying tea is special.  You walk into the shop tell the shopkeeper whether you want green, black or oolong tea and they brew a number of teas for you to try so you can select the tea you prefer. A trip to the tea dealer is a fun and interesting time.

The process of tasting tea is interesting.  First the shopkeeper pours hot water over all of the evaluation cups and spoons.  An evaluation cup is a shallow white cup.  It is important to be able to see the color of the tea.  Warming the cups up allows the flavor of the tea to be quickly released. 

Front:  Black Tea leaves:  Rear: Notice the way the Green Tea is rolled

The she will pour the tea leaves to be evaluated into a brewing cup.  Green and oolong tea are usually rolled into tight balls, while black tea is in the leaf shape.  When the vacuum seal bag of tea is opened sometimes the dealer will offer it to you to smell.  Finally one hundred degree Celsius water is poured into the evaluation cup.  And the tea is allowed to brew for a short time.  While it is brewing the dealer will take a ceramic spoon and dip it into the tea and offer it to you to sniff and smell the fragrance of the brewed tea.  As it finishes brewing she will spoon some of the tea into the evaluation cup and then use the spoon to hold the leaves out and pour in the rest.  The color may be evaluated at this point.  Black tea, which is called Hong Cha, in Chinese, (red tea), should be a red color in the evaluation cup.  Green and oolong tea will be yellow in the evaluation cup but can be more of a honey color depending on the oven temperature during the curing process:  The higher the oven temperature the deeper the color. 

Notice the beautiful red color of the tea on the left.

Then you taste the tea and decide which you would like to purchase.  The process usually lasts around an hour and is very enjoyable. 

I don’t think a company like Union tea can survive just on customers like my wife and I.  They sell tea in large quantities to exporters and the like.  In fact, on our last visit we met a man who is the biggest exporter of Taiwanese tea to the nation of Brazil, as well as Malaysia and other Asian countries.  If you’re in the market for high-quality tea, Union Tea has a wide variety of types and prices.  Good quality tea sells for about $30.00 USD for six hundred grams.  High quality tea can be brewed about four times.

"The Best in the World"  $90,000 USD for 600 grams

 Union Tea does have a tea that was voted, “Best in the World” in a competition involving tea from sixty-five countries.  That tea is available to be purchased for about Three Million NTD or $90,000 USD for 600 grams.  I love to drink tea, but I think I'm going to have to pass on the $90,000 tea.  

Keep Watching the Taiwan Adventure for an exciting announcement.

Michell Lu with the tools of her trade:  Union Tea Company

Other posts you may be interested in:


Taiwanese Traditions:  Selling and Brewing Tea
The Union Tea Company Website