How To Brew The Gongfu Way

Gongfu isn’t just a fancy ritual — it’s about making tea with intention, attention, and an experience available from a simple peasant to an Empress or Emperor. This Chinese method uses a lot of leaf, small brews, and multiple infusions to pull out every layer of flavor your tea has to offer. Whether you’re into oolong, puerh, or high mountain green, Gongfu gives you the chance to slow down and actually taste what’s in your cup — not just sip and forget. And no, it’s not just a ceremony (unless you want it to be). It’s simply the best way to drink real tea without wasting a drop. Are you ready to assume the Mandate of Heaven?

WHAT DO YOU NEED?

• Gaiwan or tiny teapot (100–150ml)
• Kettle with temp control (or vibes-based intuition, or a stylish thermos)
• Gongfu tray or a decent towel
• Fairness pitcher (optional, but classy)
• Teacups (tiny, preferably cute)
• Good loose leaf tea: oolong, puerh, white, green, red, yellow (yes, real teas)
• Feketeleves Tea Water (because you deserve better than tap)

STEP 1 — GET THE RATIOS RIGHT

• 5–6g of tea per 100ml water (more leaf than Western-style)
• You’re not brewing soup. You’re steeping intensity.

STEP 2 — HEAT THE VESSELS

• Pour hot water into your gaiwan/teapot and cups to preheat them
• Then toss that water out — it’s just foreplay

STEP 3 — WAKE THE LEAVES

• Add your tea to the gaiwan
• Do a quick rinse: pour in hot water, steep 2–5 sec, pour out
• This isn’t waste — it opens the leaf and rinses tea dust

STEP 4 — FIRST STEEP

• Water temp depends on tea:
• Oolong / Puerh / Red / Black: 95–100°C
• White / Yellow / Green: 85–90°C (you don’t want bitterness)
• Steep 5–10 seconds for the first infusion
• Pour into your fairness pitcher, then serve into cups

STEP 5 — KEEP GOING

• Gongfu means many short infusions — this is a conversation, not a one-night stand
• Add 5–10 seconds to each round
• Some teas give 6–8 steeps, some go 15+ (especially good shou or oolong)

TIPS & VIBES

• If the tea hits too hard, shorten steep time
• If it’s weak, go hotter or longer
• Smell the lid of the gaiwan after pouring — it’s where the soul lives
• Don’t stress it — it’s tea, not taxes

WATER MATTERS

• Use Feketeleves Tea Water
• Clean minerals = clean flavor = more depth and layering
• Tap water? There are many ways to disrespect your tea, and tap water ranks just below adding sugar

NOW WHAT?

• Try it with rolled oolongs, aged shou puerh, white buds, or a high mountain green
• The same method, tweaked for temp and time, works for nearly every real tea
• The more you brew, the better you get — and the weirder your teaware collection becomes

Still confused?

You can always contact us for real human help. Or just vibe your way into it. Gongfu is a lifestyle.