# 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. Find out more about traditional Chinese tea ceremony in the second part of the article.
The art of drinking and serving tea is an important and special event in China. It is a time to relax and enjoy the taste and the smell of the tea.
The Chinese tea ceremony is all about the tea. The smells and taste are the most important parts of the ceremony, so the rules for making and pouring the tea are not always the same.
In most areas of China the tea is made in small clay teapots. The pot is rinsed with boiling water and then the tea leaves are added to the pot using chopsticks or a bamboo scoop. The tea leaves are rinsed in hot water in the pot and then hot water is added to the leaves to make the tea.
The temperature of the water is important. It needs to be hot but if it is too hot it can spoil the taste. The art of preparing and making tea is called Cha Dao.
In less than a minute, the server pours the tea into small narrow cups but he doesn't pour one cup at a time. Instead the cups are arranged in a circle and the server pours the tea in all of them in one go.
He fills the cups just over half way. The Chinese believe that the rest of the cup is filled with friendship and affection.
The server passes a cup to each guest and invites him or her to smell the tea first. You should thank him by tapping on the table three times with your finger. Next each guest pours their tea into a drinking cup and they are asked to smell the empty narrow cup. Finally they drink the tea.
It is most polite to empty the cup in three swallows.
When you drink tea in a teahouse or restaurant is it called Yum Cha, yum is to drink and cha is tea.