Knowledge
Tasting & Culture
Slurping technique, gongfu ceremony, matcha rituals, Chinese tea names, why cups have no handles.
Why do traditional tea cups have no handles?
Two reasons, one practical one philosophical. Practical: if a cup is too hot to hold, your tea is too hot to drink — the cup IS your thermometer. Holding the...
What is the gongfu cha ceremony?
Gongfu cha (功夫茶, 'skilled tea making') is a Chinese brewing approach that originated in Chaozhou and spread through Fujian and Guangdong. It's less a fixed c...
Why do Chinese teas have so many different names?
Same tea, multiple labels: the Chinese characters (鐵觀音), pinyin romanization (Tieguanyin), poetic English translation (Iron Goddess of Mercy), and sometimes ...
What's the right way to drink matcha?
Tools: a chawan (bowl), a bamboo whisk (chasen), and a small sieve. Method: sift 2g (~half a teaspoon) of matcha into the warm bowl to break clumps. Add 70ml...
Why do tea pros slurp loudly when they taste?
Slurping aerates the tea — sucking it in with air across the palate atomizes it into a fine mist that hits all your taste buds and goes up into the retronasa...