POT TEAPOT
A story on Chinese yixing teapot–The art of brewing that cuppa
Drinking Chinese tea is an elaborate affair, which involves everything from choosing the right pot to pouring the tea out the right way, an expert from China tells GUAN LIBING.
DRINKING tea is not just a matter of gulping it down.
Mr Zhu Changde, a tea expert from Jiangsu province, China, has a whole set of rules governing the brewing and serving of Chinese tea -and even the choice of teapots.
The 45-year-old is now in Singapore to demonstrate his skills at the Takashimaya SC Shopping Centre in Ngee Ann City. His twice-daily Chinese tea-brewing demonstrations end today.
While here, Mr Zhu aims to give people a better understanding of the famous Zisha teapots, which are handcrafted and produced in Jiangsu.
So before you go into the kitchen to make a cuppa, here are some tips:
- In the brewing of Chinese tea, the most important factor is the choice of teapot and tea leaves. Next comes the use of tea cups, says Mr Zhu.
The self-trained expert in the art of brewing Chinese tea says the Chinese from northern China prefer to use big teapots and cups, while the southerners go for small pots and cups.
- Explains Mr Zhu in fluent Mandarin: “There is a golden rule in brewing Chinese tea — never mix the teapots when using different tea leaves. This means that there is no such a thing as a common teapot, because it will mar the flavour of the tea.
- “When you brew tea like Wulong or Baolei, you should use boiling water about 100 deg C and this should be poured into the pot from a higher level, so as to flush out any particles from the tea leaves.”
- Another golden rule is that the first round of tea made is never consumed.
Says Mr Zhu: “This is used to pour over the teapot and cups for a better shine.
“The second round of tea should stay in the pot for at least 30 seconds before serving. This is to give the tea leaves some time to release their flavour. For each subsequent round, the timing should be increased.”
However, he warns that for a better cuppa, the tea leaves should not be used for more than five brews. Otherwise, they will loose their flavour.
It is also important to remember that in each round, all the tea down to the last drop must be poured out before brewing a new pot.
Mr Zhu has another set of rules for serving tea:
- The tea should be poured from a lower angle into each cup, to avoid spilling, “particularly for the more expensive tea”, he says.
- Each brew should be divided equally among the number of cups. He says that such skills have to be acquired through much practice.
He adds: “Certain parts of China have their own customs when serving tea. In the Swatow area, for example, the tea has to be divided equally, down to the last drop. But in Taiwan, there is an extra cup, which serves as the reserve.
“The tea novice should remember that all the cups and teapots should be rinsed in hot water and preferably be kept warm before being used. This helps to give the tea a fuller body,” says Mr Zhu.
Zhu Changde’s tea-brewing demonstration is on at Basement 2 of Takashimaya SC Shopping Centre today at 12.30 2 pm and 6 8 pm.
POT SHOTS
MR ZHU CHANGDE, married with an 11-year-old daughter, runs a business dealing in Zisha teapots.
Born in Jiangsu province, he was first exposed to the art of brewing Chinese tea as a child, through sessions with a granduncle.
To date, he has given numerous tea-brewing demonstrations in Hongkong.
But he laments that the people living in Yixing, his hometown, do not pay much attention to brewing tea.
“Despite living in Yixing, which is the main producer of Zisha teapots, many of the people make tea from plastic teapots. That is the irony!
About the Author
Offers handmade yixing teapots,also called zisha teapot, is known as the best in Chinese teapots or China teapots, and accessories from Yixing, China.
POT TEAPOT Q & A
Does the kind of teapot you use really have an impact on the taste?
If so, what material do you recommend the pot to be made from?
Enamelware is best for boiling the water; bone china or some other fine ceramic, like porcelain is fine for steeping the leaves, or tea bags.
Figure 7 oz. of water per person, with an extra 14 oz. added for good measure and for preparing your teapot.
Once the water is hot (don’t boil it, just bring to a simmer), take off heat and let sit for a couple minutes while you get your teapot down from the cupboard and prepare the tea.
If your teapot has a built-in strainer in the spout, you can use loose tea; otherwise, you’ll have to use a tea ball or just regular tea bags. 1 tea bag or 1 Tbsp. tea for each serving – don’t skimp on this or tea will have to steep longer and will have a bitter aftertaste caused by the over-development of the tannins in the tea.
Prepare your tea pot by pre-heating it with about 2/3 cup of the water you heated. Swish it around in the pot for 10-20 seconds and then pour it out. Immediately add your pre-measured tea, followed by the hot water. Let steep for five minutes until it’s fragrant enough that you can smell it from across the room.
Hot tea should be served in warmed tea cups, so at serving time, swish out each cup with one or two tablespoons hot water, the same way you did with the teapot. Place the cups on napkins on their saucers (insulates the tea a bit to keep it warm longer and also stops the cup from rattling on the saucer). Fill your sugar cubes and a milk server and set these on the table so people can can help themselves. Taylor’s of Harrogate Yorkshire brand of tea makes a good cuppa and it’s reasonably priced. (Available thru Amazon.com)
Signed,
The Tea Lady 
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