The Most Basic Chinese Tea Ceremony

This is a demonstration of the most simple tea ceremony, with the least amount of teaware required. Learn more about tea ceremony at:
tealao.com/ru/tea-school/tea-...

[@brydon10]

My tea ceremony involves me dipping a cheap green tea bag into my mug! This looks so nice.

[@TeaLao]

You are more than welcome to join the dark side and brew tea with us ;) I promise to translate all the articles to English this year Thank you for kind words!

[@waaagh3203]

Unfortunately, I want to get into tea ceremony and brewing, but the wife won't let me buy loose leaf or a proper set until after we move in a week :(

[@itabakoga7332]

@@waaagh3203 🍵

[@Nonopenah]

Same 🤣🤣

[@georgyekimov4577]

@@TeaLao What tea do you use

[@kalynnation8205]

This has been the most easiest tea ceremony preperation I have seen in the whole week I havs been searching! I have a project concluding this tea ceremony and I can definitely use this. Really amazing, really simple and nice.

[@TeaLao]

Thanks :) I am glad to be helpful!

[@TeaLao]

By the way, you can use video and music for demonstration. We have made both, so they are not under any licence and I will be happy if that can help somebody else :)

[@claraketterer1332]

I have made it my personal little ceremony to watch this video as soon as I get up in the morning whilst enjoying my own cup of Chinese green tea. It is so peaceful and yet at the same time energizing - there's something about this particular video that touches me in deeply emotional ways that I can't quite name...so thank you for this ritual, it has been helping me find my focus and resilience now throughout the past weeks and I am planning on continuing this new routine.

[@TeaLao]

Your comment is filled with kindness. Thank you!

[@JaymeeKay]

I like your idea!

[@arunasharma748]

It was the most relaxing tea ceremony. Although I don't know much about all this, but it's great to watch and do it. I feel like having a little cup of my own and the kettle to pour the tea. It would be so soothing but I guess I'll have to makeshift that haha.

[@leonardpearlman4017]

That wasn't too bad! I've just watched a bunch of these where there was twice as much apparatus, and the person seemed very busy, and there's water and tea everywhere! I once saw this in person, and it was kind of a wonder, especially since we just got more and more tea! It was compressed tea, very dense and hard. We drank six little cups each, and made a seventh infusion but just couldn't drink any more. I wish there was a teahouse where you could get five little cups of tea instead of one big one, you'd think someone would do that.

[@TeaLao]

I'l take it as a compliment :) I am pretty sure, there is such tea house in most of the cities! In Europe they are not as common as coffee houses, but still there is an audience

[@erinzhang1222]

Great video with the right background music and speed of steps to follow, makes the audience want to learn more.

[@TeaLao]

Thank you for your kind words! :)

[@WoRN808]

Marvelous. Thank you!

[@KellyBurnett304]

Beautiful music! ❤

[@ringscircles142]

breathtaking in complexity

[@Buonarotti10]

Warm tea ware, 20 second infusion, pour into individual cups. What types of tea was used? It looks like there are a lot that is not shown.

[@QAhri]

I appreciate your video very much but even more is your replied to comments. Such eyes opening. Thanks.

[@TeaLao]

Thank you :) Pleasure is mine!

[@KuruGDI]

*A journey of a thousand li starts with one step* I got interested and asked Wikipedia: _"Li [...] also known as the Chinese mile [...] varied considerably over time but was usually about one third of an English mile and now has a standardized length of a half-kilometer (500 meters or 1,640 feet)."_ So 1'000 li are 500 kilometers (-1.64 million miles- ~310.7 miles; UPDATE: thanks to Davi for pointing it out)

[@davidmorgan744]

312.5 miles x

[@charlie-obrien]

The actual distance doesn't really matter. Proverbs such as that refer to the journey of a lifetime. Each step you take everyday is that first step.

[@kayleighya]

Please forgive my ignorance everybody. I have only just started an interest into the way of tea. Can you please tell me why they poor the water into the cups and then over and back into the pot?... And why they also pour the left over water from the jug? I am very curious to know more if anyone can help me understand. Thank you very much

[@ruffethereal1904]

From what I've seen, it seems to be both a way to clean the cups and to warm them up as well. If it's a cold day and the porcelain has chilled as a result, the tea might lose temperature too fast while steeping leading to a less than ideal experience.

[@TeaLao]

Two reasons: 1. Warm-up tea utensils This allows you to keep brewing temperature constant and keep the drink warm. Cold drink doesn't have much aroma 2. Purify them We purify tea utensils not because they are dirty, but because of respect towards the guest. Also, while looking at purification of physical objects, your guest will remember to purify his thoughts and mind

[@nca521]

That look tasty 😄👏👏

[@allmendoubt4784]

感觉一杯特别好喝。好看。

[@TeaLao]

謝謝你的客氣話

[@XFHU]

When i went to my father's friend in china he has a huge tea table, with fancies little buddahs statues that changed color with hot water, the first thing i thought was damn so much waste of water 😂

[@TeaLao]

Ha-ha! Yeah, I had the same first impression :)

[@77cha-com]

Chinese people are used to serving tea to guests and have formed a corresponding tea etiquette. For example, when inviting a guest to drink tea, the cup should be placed on the tray and offered with both hands. The cup should be placed in front of the guest's right hand. When talking and drinking, the guest should be provided with water in time. The guest should be good at "taste", sipping tea slowly and taking small mouthfuls instead of gulping it down.

[@christellecuencia-bretana8645]

Hi! Thank you for this very soothing and educational video. I am new to this and have spent hours looking for a good site/store to buy quality tea in China. I am from the Philippines by the way, do you have any recommendations?

[@TeaLao]

Hey! Thank you for your kind comment. Let me check if we can add shipment to Philippines at tealao.com ! I'll get back to you once confirmed

[@garimanagpal6218]

Hey. This is my first time watching a tea ceremony video. Could you tell me if one is to follow the same process for enjoying a cup of tea alone or is this meant for sharing it with guests ( As I read in the comments and those 3 cute cups)

[@TeaLao]

Good question! Steps to prepare the tea are going to remain the same. What you see in this video are very basic steps and it's perfectly fine to do something similar for oneself. However, the full act of making tea is meant to be shared with others and in some schools is even prohibited to perform or practice without the guest.

[@georgyekimov4577]

Drinking tea allone sucks

[@Maria_iz_sibiri]

Медитативная атмосфера 🏮

[@Merryyy203]

This was wonderful!! Could you explain the reason behind some of the steps? Why "waste" the water to wash the teapot? Why the three mini cups? Why the dragging of the lid? Thanks!

[@noname__7]

You wash the teapot to make it warm. It's a nice thing to have warm teapot and cups, and this may take time, since they are made from thick china. He/she uses three mini cups because he/she has 2 guests

[@ondrejjarolim4589]

Is there a name/genere for the great background music?

[@user-eh5xr1mh6w]

Guqin chinese traditional music

[@TeaLao]

We have created an album of tea music. You can find it on Spotify and iTunes: TeaLao Music. Enjoy! :)

[@TheUltimateChaos1]

Whats this type of teapot called?

[@vinireads]

Can someone please tell me how the tea is sieved ? Is it dirty tea or is the sieve inside the kettle itself ?

[@TeaLao]

The tea undergoes the frying or steaming, during which any pathogens are killed. After that, the tea undergoes the distribution process. It can be manual or automated, but the main goal is to separate high-quality uniform leaves from the rest. Usually, that would result in at least 3 piles: first-grade tea, second-grade tea and discard. First-grade tea would have all the leaves intact and uniform. High-quality leaves that could be slightly damaged or picked a little too early or too late - they would make the second-grade tea. Burnt, damaged, broken, uneven leaves would be discarded. Hope that helps :)

[@Blue_Lugia]

Defenitly more complicated then how I drink tea. I just warm the water and put a tea bag in a mug , dip it and then I drink the tea. 😅😅🤣🤣🤣🙈🙈🙈

[@TeaLao]

That's one way to do it :)

[@mrsmac4739]

What kind of tea are you using here?

[@TeaLao]

Song Zhen Dian Hong (松针滇红) - Yunnan Pine Needle This is a red tea from Yunnan, China. One of my favorites actually :) tealao.com/en/tea/gong-fu-song-zhen-dian-hong

[@multimolti]

And I always thought the first infusion of water is to wash the tea and will not be used?

[@bojunliu1211]

justanothername u r right

[@TeaLao]

It depends. It is always the case for pu-erh tea and Da Hong Pao and others alike. For high grade red teas with "fur" - you usually steep tea slightly longer, but you do drink that first infusion, which is reach in taste. The main reason we "wash" the tea is not because it might have dirt or dust in it. We discard the first infusion, because the taste has not developed yet and not rich enough to offer for the guest, which is the case for the majority of teas

[@vampyre4me]

​@@TeaLaothank you for explaining, that makes a lot of sense! 🙏

[@LizabettRusso]

Is the song available anywhere online?

[@TeaLao]

We have created an entire album of music for tea. Feel free to check it out on Spotify and iTunes: TeaLao Music :)

[@godbexyou8784]

🤔 correct me if I’m wrong. But aren’t u Not Suppose to drink the first round of tea?

[@TeaLao]

That depends on what tea you are making. In most cases you do discard the first brew, because it is considered "empty" or lacking flavour. The first brew may also contain small particles, that are ... not very pleasent. Some believe that the reason to discard the first brew is tea being dirty, but that is a myth, which is so easy to believe - it stuck. If the tea is actually dirty, you probably should't drink it at all. You want to discard the first round of tea in most cases, except for some delicate teas, especially young green teas. If it is fresh, full of flavour and high quality - there is no reason to discard it.

[@matthewgabbard6415]

Do they not let the tea steep very long or was just just for time constraints?

[@TeaLao]

This way of brewing tea called Gongfu Cha. It involves using a small teapot, large amounts of tea and multiple quick steeping. For 200ml teapot, one may use 10-12g of tea. Depending on the tea, you may steep 7-12 times. It is the most common way to brew tea in China. Give it a try, it is so common for a reason :)

[@martinflaskamp2398]

@@TeaLao that was the information i was searching for. I was Gifted sind Chinese tea and the package Said "try the Chinese tea ceremony". I did not know what to so i turned to KZbin :D

[@vampyre4me]

​@@TeaLaoI cannot believe how much I am learning just from reading your comments. Thank you! 😊

[@Fallenfantasy174]

Is this an attempt to prove there's no poison? The whole thing feels like it's trying to prove the tea is safe. From pouring the water into a clear jug and cleaning out the pot to showing each peice of tea before it's added. Though we don't get to see where the second lot of water's coming from.

[@TeaLao]

Huh, this is a keen observation. As far as ,I know in China there is an intention to demonstrate how clean the water is, although I didn't show it here. The primary focus however is on "fairness". The ceremony basically shows: "Look, we are drinking exactly the same tea, from exactly the same teaware, using the same water. And yet, our experience is different". Having said that, in certain cases, you do need to demonstrate the safety of the tea. in Japan, if you are making tea for a noble person, you need to use a bowl with a metal rim. The story goes that there used to be a common poison that would leave a dark mark on the metal. After having a tea you would examine the bowl. This way you would know if you were poisoned. There is also a golden leaf on the bottom of the tea container, which is examined at the end of the ceremony. Can't say which part of this is a story and which is a legend, but I hope this was interesting :)

[@arunasharma748]

Yeah, it's actually quite interesting I am really fascinated by all this sometimes. Thanks for giving such interesting answers/replies to the questions. :D @@TeaLao

[@yamiyobi]

Why cant you just poor directly from the kettle into the cups?

[@tv82832]

Maarten Smit Because if there is still water left in the pot it will continue to brew. And that will result in a bitter brew.

[@TeaLao]

Timo is correct. You want to have equally brewed tea in every cup, that's why you poor into the pitcher first. Also, this allows you to have all the small parts, that are going to be in the tea inevitably, to stay in the bottom of the pitcher

[@brandon3872]

@@TeaLao Great video! Do you leave the tea leaves and hot water in the teapot or a few minutes to infuse before pouring out the tea, or pour it out immediately like in the video?

[@Eiroth]

@@brandon3872 9 months later, but with this style of brewing you use a much higher leaf to water ratio, which lets you get more flavourful brews in much shorter time. It also lets you rebrew the leaves multiple times, and see how the tea changes.

[@brandon3872]

@@Eiroth Ok, thanks. Once I had green tea in a Chinese cafe and they left the tea bags in the pot. The first cup was nice, but the second cup was really bitter because it infused for too long.

[@jpda7encruza]

What de song using in the vídeo?

[@TeaLao]

We have written the soundtrack for this video. Have you enjoyed it?

[@TeaLao]

Also, feel free to check other tracks on Spotify and iTunes: TeaLao Music :)

[@imsaubia]

If you don't mind me asking, why is it called a tea ceremony?

[@TeaLao]

This is a fantastic question! That's what it is called in Europe. In China and Japan, it is usually described as tea practice, gathering, performance or event. There is a huge debate on whether the term "ceremony" is appropriate. Some argue that this practice is deeply rooted in Buddhism and religious ceremony. Others believe that tea practice is accessible to everyone and can be performed throughout the day, without a formal ritual or even artistic components. Both are valid points. Personally, I don't have a strong opinion on this and use whichever term would be better understood.

[@imsaubia]

@@TeaLao so is it like a sacred thing in your culture? What significance does the tea practice hold? I'm sorry I am just curious. 😅

[@gegedtea]

nice

[@apunktspunktkpunkt4271]

😗You're serving your guests the first steep ?

[@TeaLao]

That depends on the tea, but in most cases - first steep is discarded.

[@ColdBrew90]

Bruh..

[@nemethferenc8265]

Red tea I know Chinese do not drink can not be called a Chinese tea ceremony

[@HasanAmmori]

Red tea was invented in China, in Fujian province in 1730s

[@yewsoonfatt]

we drink red tea, its just that we dont drink it in the British way (with sugar) . we dont like sugar with tea. there are dozens type of red tea in China.

[@livmashupmansen191]

@@yewsoonfattI don't like sugar in my teas, only sometimes, but I'm very content with no sugar.

[@lishange1449]

I think I understand your confusion! What we in the West call "black tea" is known as "red tea" in China.

[@priyal1815]

Too slow just put the damn leave in pot already

[@TeaLao]

Thank you both ^_^

[@Rosasazules1]

You're making a mess.

[@tv82832]

Its a chinese tea ceremony, this is how its supposed to be. And there is also a tea tray that catches the water. It may not be the most fast and useful way to brew tea but it is traditional and a part of Chinese culture.

[@TeaLao]

Thanks ;)