Thoughts on Brewing Tea....

It is all about ratio, the volume of tea to water, the size of the vessel, and how long the brew is.

Many people choose to brew tea the easy way, the safe way, and foolproof way....To me, using less tea leaves and longer steep is like brewing tea bags, you can not go wrong, just lesser steepings and muted taste. Perhaps 30% of the tea true flavor?

The whole idea of Kung-Fu tea brewing is to maximize full potential of a good tea, pushing its limits, extracting the best essences and energy. Comparable to brewing coffee, how a master coffee brewer could pull a cup of espresso out from a fine machine with the right pressure, temperature and crema. You will never see them using less or underfilled coffee grind for a proper serving, that's like making diner's coffee! My point is, if its not challenging, why Kung-Fu? All good tea should be challenging, it is an adventure, they need full attention and mental focus. It is the least we could give back to them.


Finding the right balance of this practice is just the beginning. Pushing its limit, improving the skill, educating the palate, and listening to the brew is a life long dedication. The reward is both physical and mental harmony.