Tips for a Perfect Chinese Tea Ceremony
The Asian cultures are perfectionists by definition so when performing a tea ceremony everything needs to be perfect. For each tea ceremony starts with preparing in advance the right atmosphere, the necessary tools and especially taking time to prepare your soul for the entire ritual.
When performing a traditional Chinese tea ceremony there are six important aspects to be taken into account before actually performing it.
# 1 Attitude means everything. Chinese people believe that one’s state of mind or attitude can be passed really easily to the others. That is why before actually performing the tea ceremony one needs to relax first, think about positive aspects of life and be at peace with himself or herself and with the entire Universe. The entire tea ceremony needs to be done in a calm and relaxed manner to truly create a peaceful and unique Chinese tea ceremony.
#2 Tea selection is highly important. An oolong tea variety is usually being used for the traditional tea ceremony and sometimes, more rarely, pu-erh can also be used. For the Gongfu tea ceremony green tea is usually avoided. But that isn’t all. The tea variety must be carefully selected in advance taking into account both physical and spiritual characteristics. Physical characteristics refer to fragrance, taste and shape while the spiritual ones refer to the tea’s history, name and origin.
#3 Water selection needs special attention. A perfect tea needs to be prepared with the perfect water. The best quality tea leaves prepared with inappropriate water give a bad taste to the tea. For the traditional Chinese tea ceremony only the purest and cleanest water is used to ensure not only a perfect tasting beverage, but also a tribute of respect and admiration to mother nature.
#4 Necessary tools. You cannot prepare the perfect tea without the right tools. For the tea ceremony the perfect teaware is needed to ensure the right brewing and the magical atmosphere of the entire ceremony. The items must be both practical and aesthetical, the perfect ying-yang combination. The mandatory tools are a Yixing teapot or a porcelain teapot, a tea pitcher or chahai, a brewing tray, a teaspoon, usually three small cups and a tea strainer.
#5 Don’t forget the ambiance. A peaceful and calm ceremony needs a comfortable, quiet and clean room. Chinese usually use artwork and beautiful items to enhance the overall atmosphere and to make their guests feel relaxed and fully enjoy the entire ritual.
#6 The technique needs to be perfect. The perfect tea and atmosphere aren’t perfect without a technique to match them. The manner of serving should be relaxed and graceful reflected mostly through hand movements, facial expressions and the traditional ceremonial clothing.