If you ask me, gongfu tea is the best method for brewing many Chinese and Taiwanese loose leaf teas.

Brewing tea in the gongfu style reveals the depth and complexity of flavor inherent in quality tea, as the nature of the tea changes with each subsequent infusion. Certain types of tea in particular (pu-erh and oolong) are known for sustaining multiple brews/steeps/infusions (you’ll see these words used interchangeably). Not only that, but many teas are actually meant to be brewed/consumed in this fashion. To do otherwise is to erase all the time and effort that went into making the tea itself.

For some teas, it’s a shame to throw some leaves in a cup, drink it once, and be done with it. It’s like you’re only listening to the wind section at a symphony and ignoring the rest of the orchestra.

(Photo Credit: karlsebastianschulte)

The first article I wrote on this site was almost entirely about flavor, where I discussed the flavor wheel, what I call “thoughtful drinking”, and keeping a tea log to remember each unique tea drinking experience (brewing parameters, notes, etc.). The goal of that whole process is to build a tasting vocabulary in order to better explain and understand tea while also identifying types of favors you enjoy. I consider this piece a bit of a companion to that one. The goal in this piece is to dig a little deeper into thoughtful drinking.

(Photo credit: Hsing Wei)

Recently a buddy of mine was telling me about his experience developing his wine palate at a wine tasting class. He told me in the beginning he didn’t even get to drink wine. Instead, class started with tasting food items that embody flavors the students might encounter when drinking wine.

In place of wine, the teacher had the students tasting raw lemon, straight vinegar, and whole grapes. It might seem strange—my friend signed up for a wine tasting class, after all. He could eat raw lemon and make sour faces at home for free!