Attend a traditional tea ceremony in China

“In my first trip to China, our group was treated to the Gongfu Tea ceremony by various Tea Masters. At one ceremony, we sat around a table made of what looked like highly polished old wood while the Tea Master prepared the tea. Every gesture of the ceremony has a purpose and meaning. There are specific tools and utensils just for tea-making. As a Westerner who has always enjoyed tea of every kind, I was riveted. At another GongFu Tea Ceremony, the Tea Master’s assistant played a traditional piece of music of the guqin (the ancient Chinese string instrument related to the zither), and the delicate plucking and sliding of the musician’s fingers made a haunting music that reminds me of luscious green fields of tea plants in a vast countryside.”

“The experience with oolong tea, a semi-fermented, semi-oxidized tea (delicately fermented compared to black tea or Pu-erh tea from Yunnan) is distinct. Its infusions display a richer straw-yellow color and a taste with more pronounced floral notes than the white tea, offering a completely different sensory and gustatory experience. Each new infusion is served in small, delicate teacups — almost like the ones made for dolls — transports me into a new universe of aromas and sensations. It reveals the subtleties and mysteries of Chinese tea in a way completely different from a standard 200 ml cup of tea, whether it be green or black, prepared in the typical European style.”