The Art of Tea Brewing

We promote the Art of Tea Drinking as a way to connect one's spiritual practice with one's daily routines. We select Premium Tiequanyin Tea to fulfill our task because Premium Tieguanyin is the highest-grade green oolong tea. Premium Tieguanyin is a slightly fermented “green tea” with a neutral nature. It has a uniquely subtle but profound natural floral flavor that is well appreciated by everyone.

According to Chinese medicine, the fermented teas such as yellow, red, and black have “hot” tendency that enhances the “hot element” in the body. On the other hand, unfermented teas, or all green teas have “cold” tendency that enhance the “cold element” in the body. In a healthy human body, the “hot and cold elements” are well balanced. When the balance is off, we feel discomfort or become sick. This balance is normally achieved or maintained by a good diet, rest, and exercise.

In recent decades, doctors and health professionals have acknowledged the importance of food and drink for life regarding nutrition values, chemical analyses, and calorie calculations. In more traditional cultures, food and drink still are considered medicinal remedies. In the Chinese daily life practices, if you are constipated, you will be often recommended to eat kiwi, and stay away from Bing cherries; drink green tea instead of red or black tea. Likewise, if you have diarrhea, you should eat Bing cherries and drink red or black teas.

However, our body balance is not static but in a constant flow of changes, from “hot” to “cold,” “cold” to “hot” like a yo-yo, depending on our emotion, diet, rest, exercise, and weather conditions. Since Premium Tiequanyin Tea has a neutral nature, it is able to balance “hot” and “cold” both ways in our body. Accordingly, Premium Tieguanyin Tea becomes an ideal regulator to maintain our body's balance.

Under the current social conditions, emotional, psychological, and physiological stresses become the number one obstruction to our striving for our body balance. To release the mental and physical stresses, and to relax the mind and the body thus are the essential and fundamental concerns in achieving our body balance.

When we spend time to brew tea properly, we naturally take time to enjoy the tea we make. In the process of brewing tea and drinking tea, we get a chance to slow down mentally and physically. The medicinal calming effect of tea and our conscious effort to slow down our mind and body will liberate our spirit. As a result, our spirit frees energy and creativity back to our body and mind. Spending 30 minutes drinking a pot of well-brewed tea is miraculously equivalent to 30 minutes of spiritual cultivation.

When we say “the art of tea brewing,” our intention is to make some good tea. We will not be so strenuously spiritual like the Japanese Tea Ceremony, nor will we sloppily throw a tea bag in a coffee mug for the quick convenience, because either way we will not make good tea. The key concept of making good tea is the idea “brewing.” Brewing tea is not just about soaking tea leaves in hot water, nor the ritualistic steps, but brewing. A process normally takes no more than a few minutes during which time tea leaves, water, water temperature, and the timing, respond in a perfect unison in the brewer—a proper Yixing Zisha teapot.

Directions to Make Good Tea

• You must have an authentic Yixing Zisha Teapot to make Good Tea.
• You must have all natural loose teas to make Good Tea.
• You must use spring or purified water to make Good Tea.

Step 1

You may rinse your small and large teapots with hot water if necessary.

Step 2

Fill the small teapot with enough tea to occupy approximately 1/3-1/5 of the teapot's total volume, depending on your preference of stronger or weaker tea.

Step 3

Pour freshly boiled spring water into the small pot until it is full, and immediately pour out into the larger teapot through the strainer. The water kettle should be held 5-7 inched above the teapot, and the water stream should be even and smooth. Immediately pour the first time brew from the large teapot into the teacups.

Step 4

Fill the small teapot with water again, and replace the lid. Then pour the first-time brewed tea that has been in the teacups over both teapots, and any remaining tea into your brush cup.

Step 5

After no more than 15-60 seconds (depending on quality of your tea) pour the second-time brewed tea into the large teapot through the strainer.

Step 6

Once 2 or 3 brewed teapots are in the large teapot; you are ready to serve the tea. Fill the teacups 70%-80% full, and tea is served according to hierarchy. Place the teacup on a tea tray and using both hands give it to the person of highest rank. Proceed accordingly, using both hands as a display of courtesy and as an invitation to welcome people to drink your tea.

Repeat step 5 for subsequent brews.

The brew-time is important, and depends on the amount of tea and the size of your teapot, and the type of tea you are using. Use caution not to over-heat the brew pot and “cook” the tea. This requires control of the temperature through attention to the pacing, the use of the lid, and brew times. Brew times are in constant fluctuation and require an attentive mind. With each subsequent infusion, the amount of time the leaves remain in contact with the water should be increased by approximately 30-60 seconds. Good tea will produce a minimum of five infusions.

Brush your teapots during your tea making. While your tea is brewing is a good time to brush your teapots. Use your left hand to dip your brush in the brush cup and paint your pots, using your right hand to steady the teapot.

It is important that you maintain a peaceful state of mind before you begin the tea ceremony and throughout the tea making process. Conversation should be lighthearted and pleasant, loud voices and quick movements are to be avoided, and emotions should be kept under control.

Note on Boiled Water

For Tie Guan Yin tea and green tea, make sure only to bring water to the point just before a rapid boil, watch for the small bubbles. For black or red tea, bring water to a rapid boil.

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