Tea Ceremony (Part 1)

After Chu Chen entered, he asked a mature and charming woman in her thirties behind the reception counter:

"Sister Xin, is Uncle Fu here?"

The woman looked up and, seeing Chu Chen, smiled. "Oh, it's Xiao Chen. My dad is upstairs. He said to find him when you got here."

"Alright, Sister Xin, you're busy. I'll head upstairs now." Chu Chen greeted Sister Xin and went straight to the second floor.

The second floor was divided into two rooms, one small and one large. The smaller room was for displaying antiques. After all, an antique shop wouldn't have too many truly exquisite pieces, so a room of about twenty square meters was sufficient.

The larger room, about thirty square meters, was specifically for entertaining guests. Separating them actually had a benefit. When having tea and chatting with friends, the moisture from the tea, though minimal, could still cause damage to delicate antiques over time.

Chu Chen arrived on the second floor and saw Zhu Dafu chatting animatedly with a middle-aged man. A tea set was on the table, with a small stove nearby heating water, presumably for a tea tasting.

Zhu Dafu, with his sharp eyes, spotted Chu Chen at the door and waved him over. "It's better to arrive at the right time than too early. Come, let me introduce you both."

With that, Zhu Dafu began the introductions.

"This young man is my nephew, Chu Chen. Don't let his age fool you; he's quite knowledgeable about appraising porcelain. Master Song, if you need any help in this area, feel free to ask him."

Chu Chen quickly shook hands with the middle-aged man and exchanged business cards. Then, Zhu Dafu introduced the other man to him:

"Xiao Chen, this is Master Song Jun. He's a very famous master craftsman of Zisha teapots from Yixing. Not only that, but he's also a master of the tea ceremony. We'll be relying on him for our enjoyment today."

Chu Chen said flatteringly, "A pleasure to meet you, a pleasure indeed."

Song Jun quickly waved his hands, saying he didn't deserve such praise.

Just then, the water on the stove boiled. Zhu Dafu spoke up, "It's rare to have Master Song visit Beijing. Master Song, would you please enlighten us on the art of tea tasting? What do you say?" He then clapped his hands.

Chu Chen also clapped along, enthusiastically agreeing.

Seeing their warm reception, Song Jun said, "Alright, I'll share some insights with you all. Let's start with what the tea ceremony is. The tea ceremony is essentially the art of appreciating the beauty of tea. So, fundamentally, it all comes down to tasting tea."

"Ming Dynasty scholar Xu Cishu once wrote in 'Tea Notes': 'Tea is nourished by water, water relies on the vessel, and the heat is generated by the fire. These four are interdependent; without one, the process fails.' Therefore, the three most important aspects of tea tasting are water, tea leaves, and the tea set."

"Let's talk about water first. The best is fresh, natural spring water. We're using Jade Spring Water today, brought by Elder Zhu. The Qianlong Emperor, who was a connoisseur of tea, personally investigated and designated Jade Spring Water as the 'Number One Spring Under Heaven.' He even wrote a record of it. Today, we too will taste the flavor of this 'Number One Spring Under Heaven.'"

"Next is the tea. We're using a premium, highly aromatic Anxi Tieguanyin. Its taste is fragrant and its aftertaste is lingering. This tea is best brewed with chicken soup spring water for the optimal flavor. Of course, we don't have that condition now. However, our Jade Spring Water is top-tier spring water, so the tea brewed with it should have a unique flavor."

"As for the tea set, according to ancient tea ceremony practices, there are as many as 27 types of tea utensils. We certainly don't have the conditions for that now. But honestly, whether we have all the utensils or not, when we're tasting tea and socializing, there's no need to be as formal as the ancients. As long as the mood is right, it's enough."

After explaining these three aspects, Song Jun had the tea set ready and began brewing the tea, explaining the necessary precautions as he went. He demonstrated the "pot and cup double brewing" method.

First, he admired the tea leaves. Song Jun held the tea caddy with both hands, opening the lid with his right hand and using a tea spoon to place the leaves onto a tea tasting tray. In a tea shop, an assistant would then take the tray from the right side of the main brewer to the left, offer it to the guests for appreciation, and then return the empty tray to its original position before retreating.

After the guests admired the tea leaves, Song Jun poured hot water into the brewing teapot with his right hand. Following a series of complex yet pleasing movements, he lifted the teapot with his right hand, raising his wrist so his arm and hand formed a ninety-degree angle, his palm facing himself, and poured the hot water into the tasting cup. This step is called "warming the pot."

After warming the pot, Song Jun placed the tea leaves into the Zisha teapot. Larger leaves were placed near the spout, and smaller ones near the handle, to prevent the fine leaves from clogging the spout after brewing.

The amount of tea leaves was generally about half the capacity of the teapot. Song Jun also reminded them that if they weren't accustomed to drinking Oolong tea, a lighter brew would be more suitable, using only about one-third of the teapot's capacity.

However, this depended on the tightness of the tea leaves. Tightly rolled leaves required less tea, while looser leaves could use a bit more. If there were many broken leaves, less should be used.

Next, Song Jun poured hot water into the teapot along the rim with his right hand, covered it with his left, and immediately lifted the teapot with his right hand (the same motion as the last step of warming the pot), pouring the water into the tea cup. The purpose was to moisten the leaves and raise their temperature, allowing the aroma and flavor to develop better. This step is called the "warming and moistening brew."

After this step, Chu Chen could already smell the rich aroma of the Tieguanyin. The pure fragrance made his mouth water. However, Gongfu tea was about enjoying the process and appreciating its charm, which would make drinking the tea more flavorful later.

Then, Song Jun poured hot water along the rim of the teapot with his right hand, covered it with his left, and let it steep for one minute before tasting. This was the first brew.

During this minute, Song Jun wasn't idle. He used the water from the warming and moistening brew in the tea cup to warm the handle of the teapot, the tea cup, the aroma cup, and the tasting cup.

After one minute, the tea was ready. Song Jun poured all the tea liquor into the tea cup, then held the tea cup and poured it into the aroma cup, leaving a small amount of dregs at the bottom, which were discarded.

Finally, Song Jun placed the tasting cup back into the aroma cup. With his right palm facing up, he held the sides of the aroma cup with his index and middle fingers, and his thumb rested on the bottom of the tasting cup. He rotated his wrist to the left, turning his palm downwards, and placed the bottom of the tasting cup on the tea saucer, then placed the tea saucer onto the central tea tray on the left. With this, the demonstration was complete.

Song Jun poured two cups of tea and offered them to Zhu Dafu and Chu Chen, gesturing for them to begin. Everyone started tasting the tea.

Following Song Jun's instructions, Chu Chen held the aroma cup with his thumb and index fingers, rotated the rim, and lifted it upwards, allowing the tea liquor to flow into the tasting cup. He then cupped his hands together, rubbed the aroma cup a few times, brought it to his nose, parted his thumbs slightly, and inhaled deeply to smell the aroma at the bottom of the cup.

Instantly, a pure fragrance reached deep into his lungs, clearing his mind. At the same time, Chu Chen recalled Song Jun's brewing movements, which made the experience even more pleasing. The movements were agile yet possessed a masculine strength, creating a unique artistic conception.

The fragrance then began to change, with a hint of cereal aroma mingling with the clear fragrance, making Chu Chen feel as if he were in a field of ripe millet, instantly feeling refreshed and at ease.

Moreover, this tea truly lived up to its reputation as premium Tieguanyin. The lingering aroma at the bottom of the cup was incredibly long-lasting. Chu Chen rubbed and sniffed it several times, still savoring the wonderful scent, which seemed to linger for days and leave a lasting impression.

If the tea aroma was so surprising, how could the tea liquor be any less? The tea liquor was golden yellow, like a piece of amber placed before Chu Chen, making him reluctant to drink it.

As the saying goes, tea is tasted in three sips: the first sip is to drink, the second is to swallow, and the third is to truly savor.

Chu Chen carefully took a small sip of the tea liquor. The moment it touched his tongue, he experienced a rich, smooth, and sweet taste. He savored it with the tip of his tongue. Initially, there was bitterness, which gradually turned into sweetness after a while. This reminded him of his early days in Beijing. Although it was tough, his life was fulfilling, and he felt he was making progress every day.

Chu Chen then took a second sip, using the body of his tongue to taste the astringency of the tea liquor. The bitter and astringent taste brought back unpleasant childhood memories.

Back then, Chu Chen was often called a wild child. Other children had mothers, but he didn't. As he grew older, he realized he wasn't his father's biological son.

How painful and helpless he felt during that period. He would often throw tantrums for no reason, resenting his parents for not coming to find him. He didn't attend school for an entire year. Later, if it weren't for his adoptive father's careful guidance, his personality might have taken a dark turn.

For the third sip of tea, he used the root of his tongue to taste the bitterness of the tea liquor, which, upon reflection, had a hint of sweetness. This was much like the time he obtained the Tang Sancai. Regret, surprise, dejection, and elation – weren't all these emotions like the bitterness followed by sweetness in this sip of tea?

After finishing the three sips, Chu Chen couldn't help but exclaim, "Excellent!" Truly, "Life's tea is tasted at will; tranquility and contentment follow hardship with sweetness."

After the first brew, came the second and third. The brewing steps were the same as the first, only with a slightly longer steeping time. The tea liquor was equally rich, smooth, and aromatic, though slightly lighter than before, possessing a different kind of charm.

After carefully savoring the three brews, Zhu Dafu asked, "Xiao Chen, how did you find drinking this Gongfu tea?"

Chu Chen couldn't help but sigh, "Uncle Fu, Master Song's Gongfu tea is truly exquisite. The tea is excellent, and the tea art is even better. I only truly understood what it means to taste tea today. It has truly refreshed my mind and spirit, and I've learned so much."

Zhu Dafu stroked his beard and smiled, "As the saying goes, 'Flowing brilliance cleanses the body and bones, a gentle flow purifies the heart's source.' Master Song has truly given us a valuable lesson today."

Song Jun quickly waved his hands, saying he didn't deserve the praise. "I'm merely repeating what others have said. Without Elder Zhu's superior tea leaves and prime spring water, I couldn't have brewed such excellent tea."