Chaozhou tea culture is another important series of Lingshi tea culture, and it is especially famous for "Gongfu tea". "Kungfu" was originally the name of tea (a medium-sized tea), and later evolved into a method of cooking tea. "A Grand View of Unofficial History of the Qing Dynasty." "The Qing Dynasty" states: "China pays great attention to cooking tea, and the three prefectures of Ting, Zhang and Quan in Fujian and Chaozhou Prefecture in Guangdong are the most popular."

Chaozhou Gongfu Tea originated in the Ming Dynasty and flourished in the Qing Dynasty. , has become a cultural phenomenon of tea drinking custom in Chaoshan area, and is an important part of Chaozhou food culture.

Chaozhou Gongfu tea is very common in the local area, regardless of elegance or vulgarity, and everyone uses tea to socialize with friends. Whether in public places or in residents' homes, on the roadside in villages or in factories and shops, people can be seen drinking long and short drinks everywhere. Drinking tea is not only for the purpose of quenching thirst, but also for connecting feelings, exchanging information, chatting and entertaining, or negotiating trade. Chaozhou Gongfu Tea contains rich cultural content. The elegant people's Gongfu tea is very particular. There is a tea boy (jokingly called "Fenglu County Magistrate") who will carry burdens, go into the mountains, float on the water, cook tea near the clear stream, observe the mountains and rivers, talk about Tao, write poems and express emotions, which has a unique taste. . Gongfu tea is an indispensable elegant thing in the life of literati and poets, so it is mentioned in many poems and articles

Characteristics

Chaozhou Gongfu tea is made with exquisite and small tea sets, Sophisticated and characterized by tea. According to Weng Huidong's "Chaozhou Tea Classic": "The special feature of Gongfu tea is not the essence of the tea, but the sophisticated tea utensils and the leisurely cooking method." Gongfu tea generally does not use black tea or green tea, but semi-fermented tea. Oolong, Qizhong and Tieguanyin do not need high-quality tea, and the tea leaves are far less sophisticated than the tea sets. The tea sets for Gongfu tea are often "multiple pieces in one set", and a tea set comes with a teapot. Tea trays, tea cups, tea mats, tea cans, water bottles, dragon jars, water bowls, red clay stoves, sand Yao, tea baskets, feather fans, etc. Generally, 12 pieces are common. If all 12 pieces are high-quality, they are called "Twelve Pieces". "Treasures", if 8 of them are high-quality products, or 4 are high-quality products, they are called "Eight Treasures" or "Four Treasures".

The tea sets pay attention to famous origins and famous manufacturers. They are fine, compact and of high quality. They are like a set of handicrafts and embody the value orientation of high taste in Chaozhou tea culture. The teapots used for Kung Fu tea are mostly cinnabar teapots produced in Yixing, Jiangsu Province. The requirements are "small, light and old", and the teapot "should be small", "small means the fragrance is dense, large means it is easy to diffuse", "consider it alone, the smaller the better"; The tea cup should also be small and shallow, like half a ping pong ball, and white as jade. If the cup is small, it will be drained in one sip, and if it is shallow, the water will not leave the bottom.

The skill of Gongfu tea lies entirely in the cooking method. Even if you have good tea leaves and tea sets, if you are not good at brewing it, all the efforts will be in vain. There are so-called "ten methods" for cooking Chaoshan Gongfu tea, namely, live fire, water with shrimp whiskers, tea picking, tea filling, scalding cup, hot pot, high brewing, foaming, pouring and low sieving. Some people also summarize the specific procedures for cooking Kung Fu tea as: "High-pressure and low-sprinkle, cover with foam and heavy eyebrows, Guan Gong patrols the city, and Han Xin orders troops." It is also called the "Eight-Step Method".

Containing utensils - the preparations before making tea, from starting a fire to boiling water and brewing tea sets;

Taking tea - dividing the tea leaves into thick and thin ones, and putting the tea leaves into them respectively For teapots, place the thicker ones at the bottom, the medium ones at the middle level, and the thinner ones at the top. Do not fill the teapot too full, only 70% to 80% is enough;

Waiting for tea - pay attention to boiling water, "Crab eye water" is the degree. As Su Dongpo said, "the crab eye has passed the fish eye level", and the first boiling water is the best for making tea;

The brewing point - pay attention to "high brewing" and boiling water Pour in from the edge of the teapot, and do not go straight into the center of the pot to prevent "breaking the tea bladder", causing the tea leaves to scatter and the tea foam to overflow, which may ruin the tea;

Scraping foam - overflowing when making tea For white tea foam, first scrape off the tea foam with the teapot lid, and then cover the teapot;

Drain the can - after the teapot is covered, rinse the lid with boiling water to wash away the overflowing tea foam. It can also be heated outside the pot;

Hot the cup - before sifting the tea, scald the cup first, which can sterilize it, and secondly, it can heat the tea cup, so that the tea will not get cold easily, and it can also make the tea fragrant;

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Sifting tea - Pay attention to "low sieving". This is the unique method of sifting tea for Chaozhou Gongfu tea. Put the spout of the teapot close to the teacups that have been neatly placed, and then sift continuously like "Guan Gong patrolling the city" Sift the tea evenly and sprinkle it into each cup. Do not fill one cup at a time to show "equal treatment." However, a pot of tea must be sieved repeatedly until all the wine is used up. The more the better, the so-called "Han Xin Order".

Chaozhou Gongfu tea is different from ordinary tea drinking. The first difference between the two is that it is not like ordinary tea drinking, where you drink it with big mouthfuls and big cups, but tastes it in small cups and small cups, which is the meaning of tea tasting. Rather than quenching thirst, it is better to say that you are savoring the fragrance of tea and expressing your love with tea. Secondly, Chaozhou Gongfu Tea pays special attention to the etiquette of drinking tea. After the tea is finished, the host and guest always give way, and then invite the elders and distinguished guests first. Taste, the rim of the cup touches your lips, the tea surface meets your nose, smell the fragrance of tea, and finish it in one sip. The etiquette of Gongfu tea is the traditional Chinese "tea ceremony".