I'm so glad everything arrived unscathed (it did, right?). In case you haven't figured it out yet, it's a tea set - technically, a Chinese 工夫茶 gong fu cha set, which translates to something like "labor-intensive" or "time-consuming" tea, which you'll soon understand...but it's so much fun! Drinking the tea is great, but it's a wee part of the whole deal.
Below is a picture of how you might want to set everything up initially. There's no right or wrong way, really; it depends on what's the most comfortable for you to use.
The parts:
The big bowl with a saucer and lid is the gaiwan - the actual brewing pot.
The pitcher-looking thing is called a cha hai or "fair cup."
The hand holds your filter.
The "beast" is your tea pet :)
The tongs are, well...tongs.
The wooden contraption is the tea table/tray.
The brown cloth is your tea towel.
The balls in a silver pouch are raw/green pu'er tea.
The discs in paper are ripe pu'er tea.
...and you have two pin ming (read: "bright taste", aka "small and cute") cups and coasters.
To use:
First, prep: Boil some hot water - a kettle that you can bring out to the tea set is best. Do everything over the tea table (except the drinking, of course!) as a lot of excess water/tea will drain into it. Put the tea into the gaiwan (never touch the tea - use the tongs). Pour hot water over the tea (enough so that the gaiwan overflows), put the lid on, put the filter temporarily over the fair cup, grip the gaiwan with your thumb and middle finger around the ridges and your pointer finger on the lid, and pour the tea through the filter into the fair cup - all very quickly (the tea should actually not "brew" for more than a few seconds at a time), and carefully, because it's hot! Remove the filter and pour the tea into the cups - let them overflow, too, then use the tongs to pick up the cups and dump this water over the tea pet for its "bath". (This particular little guy is a mythological creature with one of China's old-style coins in his mouth - believed to bring the owners money.) Don't drink this pour; this is called "washing the tea" and is used to warm the utensils and make an offering to the tea pet.
The actual tea drinking part: Pour fresh hot water over the tea and repeat everything except the tea pet's bath - this time, when you pour the tea into the cups, fill to a few millimeters below the lip and serve them on the coasters (using the tongs). The tea is ready for drinking! Usually people use their thumb and middle finger to lightly grip the cup, forefinger in the air. Notice the smell and color as well as the taste. It should take about three sips to finish the cup, and noise should be made to show enjoyment. Cups shouldn't be empty - refill them as soon as the tea is drunk; to show thanks for a refill, tap your middle finger on the table three times softly. If the water runs out or gets cold, boil more. You can repeat this process over and over until the tea starts to taste watered down, then make one more pot and offer it to the tea pet - depending on your taste and the type of tea, this can be anywhere from 4-10 fills of the gaiwan. The tea towel can be used to clean up any spills or wipe the bottom of the tea cups before you set them on the coasters.
Housekeeping: To clean the set, dump out the leaves in the trash and run through everything again with boiling water, then empty the tray wherever you like to drain things and let everything dry in the air. If stains start to appear on the dishes, clean them with toothpaste - it's believed that dish detergent of any sort will taint the taste of your tea (my tastebuds aren't that good, but I believe Kitty). Your tea pet should never be cleaned with anything but boiling water...otherwise, face his wrath and subsequent financial ruin! Store your tea set in a pretty place where it can be seen by curious guests.
Yes, it's a lot to drink tea out of tiny little cups...but remember the tea is just a small part of it! It's worth noting that the original Chinese phrase is "tasting tea" rather than "drinking tea"...
The process is clumsy at first, but eventually one learns to do it elegantly. It requires concentration and focus and really helps one to be in the moment. It's good for relaxing or a stimulating chat. This is the kind of tea set used in a traditional Chinese tea ceremony, but many people (including a lot of my friends and now me) use them on a daily basis, both at home and in public tea houses. Because it's not made from clay (like the other style of Chinese tea pot, yixing, that looks like our preconceived notion of a tea pot and doesn't come with all the accessories) you can use it with any type of tea. You'll never want to drink tea from a thermos again.
The two types of pu'er tea (which can be spelled a number of ways) included in the package are exclusively from Yunnan Province, China. Pu'er is really popular all over China, though I've never seen it anywhere else, to my knowledge. It's very different from all other types of tea - the raw would be closest to green or oolong, as it's light-colored and a little bitter, while the ripe would be closest to fermented black tea and is a dark, muddy brown with a smoother flavor. Rather than loose-leaf, pu'er is usually found in hard shapes, including massive bricks that have to be picked apart with a dagger (I spared you that), and can be stored for years. It has a litany of health benefits that no one can ever explain clearly to me in any consistent manner. Aficionados can get very into this and describe the tea in poetic terms, comparing years, aging process, leaf quality, artwork of shape, manufacturer, etc., as well as water temperature and brewing time. Almost like wine...
And of course...no sugar or milk in the tea. Ever.
I hope you enjoy your set as much as I love mine! It's a unique China memento.
Photos courtesy of Day and his fancy camera!
No comments:
Post a Comment