Tea Ceremony (Part One)

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

"Is Uncle Fu here, Sister Xin?"

The woman raised her head and, seeing Chu Chen, smiled. "Oh, it's Xiao Chen. My dad is upstairs. He told me to send you up to see him when you arrived."

"All right, Sister Xin. You carry on. I'll go upstairs." After greeting Sister Xin, Chu Chen went straight up to the second floor.

The second floor was divided into two rooms of different sizes. The smaller one was used to store antiques. After all, a proper antique shop would not have too many true antique treasures, so a room of around twenty square meters was enough.

The larger room was about thirty square meters and was specially used for receiving guests. Separating the rooms had another advantage. When drinking tea and chatting with friends, the moisture from the tea was negligible, but antiques were extremely delicate. Even a small amount of accumulated moisture could still cause some damage.

When Chu Chen reached the second floor, he saw Zhu Dafu laughing and chatting with a middle-aged man. A tea set sat on the table, with a small brazier beside it. Water was boiling on top, so they were probably preparing to drink tea.

Zhu Dafu spotted Chu Chen at the door at once and waved to him. "They say that arriving early is no match for arriving at just the right time. Come, let me introduce you two first."

With that, Zhu Dafu began introducing them.

"This young man is my nephew, Chu Chen. Don't let his age fool you—he's quite skilled at appraising porcelain. Master Song, if you ever need help in that area, feel free to ask him."

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

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

"Pleased to meet you," Chu Chen said politely.

Song Jun hurriedly waved his hands, saying he was unworthy of the praise.

By then, the water on the brazier had boiled. Zhu Dafu said, "It's rare for Master Song to come to the capital. How about you explain the finer points of tea appreciation for us?" After saying that, he began clapping.

Chu Chen also clapped and called out his approval.

Seeing that he could hardly refuse their enthusiasm, Song Jun said, "All right, then. I'll explain a little. Let's start with what tea ceremony is. Tea ceremony is really the art of appreciating the beauty of tea, so ultimately, we still have to talk about tasting tea."

"Xu Cishu of the Ming dynasty once wrote in Tea Notes: 'Tea gains its flavor from water, water relies on the vessel, and the infusion is completed by fire. When the four work together, lacking any one of them renders the whole process useless.' Therefore, the three most important elements in tea appreciation are water, tea leaves, and tea ware."

"First, the water. The best water should be fresh, natural mountain spring water. The water we're using this time is the Jade Spring Water Elder Zhu had someone bring here. Emperor Qianlong, who was well versed in tea ceremony, personally investigated it and officially designated Jade Spring Water as 'the finest spring under heaven.' He even wrote Record of the Finest Spring under Heaven at Jade Spring Mountain. Today, we'll also taste the flavor of this finest spring under heaven."

"Next are the tea leaves. This time, we're using premium strong-aroma Anxi Tieguanyin. It has a rich fragrance that fills the mouth and a lasting aftertaste. This tea is best brewed with Chicken Soup Spring water, which brings out the finest flavor. Naturally, we don't have access to that now. Besides, our Jade Spring Water is top-grade mountain spring water, so the tea brewed with it should have its own unique flavor."

"Finally, the tea ware. According to ancient tea ceremony, there were as many as twenty-seven kinds of tea ware. Naturally, we don't have the conditions for that now. In fact, putting aside whether we can gather everything, there's no need for us to drink tea and make friends exactly as the ancients did. As long as we capture the proper atmosphere, that's enough."

After explaining these three aspects, Song Jun finished preparing the tea ware. He then began brewing tea while explaining the details that required attention. This time, he demonstrated the teapot-and-cups brewing method.

First came tea appreciation. Song Jun held the tea sample jar in both hands, taking the jar in his left hand and opening the lid with his right. He used a tea scoop to place the leaves into the tea appreciation tray. In a tea house, an assistant brewer would then walk from the right side of the principal brewer to the left, lift the tray, and present it to the guests for inspection. Afterward, the empty tray would be returned to its original place, and the assistant would retreat to the rear.

After everyone had admired the tea leaves, Song Jun lifted the kettle with his right hand and poured boiling water directly into the brewing teapot. After a series of complicated yet pleasing movements, he lifted the teapot with his right hand, raising his wrist until his hand and arm formed a ninety-degree angle, palm facing himself. He poured the boiling water from the teapot into the tasting cup. This step was called "warming the teapot."

After warming the teapot, Song Jun placed the tea leaves inside the Zisha teapot. He put the larger leaves on one side of the teapot's filter hole and the smaller fragments on the handle side, preventing the fragments from clogging the hole after brewing.

The amount of tea was generally about half the teapot's capacity. Song Jun also reminded them that if they were not accustomed to drinking oolong tea, a lighter brew would be more suitable. In that case, the tea leaves only needed to fill roughly one-third of the teapot.

However, this depended on how tightly the tea leaves were rolled. Tightly rolled leaves required less, while looser leaves required slightly more. If there were many broken leaves, less should be used.

Next, Song Jun lifted the kettle with his right hand and poured boiling water into the teapot in a circular motion along the rim. He covered it with his left hand, immediately lifted the teapot with his right—the same movement as the final step of warming the teapot—and poured the water into the tea pitcher. This moistened the tea leaves and raised their temperature, allowing their fragrance and flavor to develop more fully. This step was called the warming infusion.

After this step, Chu Chen had already caught the rich fragrance of Tieguanyin. The pure aroma made his mouth water, but Gongfu tea was all about enjoying the process and appreciating its charm. Only then would the tea taste better when he finally drank it.

Next, Song Jun lifted the kettle with his right hand and poured boiling water into the teapot up to the rim. He covered the teapot with his left hand, then let it sit for a minute before drinking the tea. This was the first infusion.

During that minute, Song Jun did not sit idle. He used the water from the warming infusion in the tea pitcher, along with the teapot's handle used during the warming step, to warm the tea pitcher, aroma cups, and tasting cups.

After a minute, the tea was ready. Song Jun poured all the tea liquor into the tea pitcher, then poured it from there into the aroma cups, leaving behind and discarding a little bottom water containing tea residue.

Finally, Song Jun placed the tasting cups upside down over the aroma cups. With his right palm facing upward, he used his index and middle fingers to grip both sides of the aroma cup and his thumb to press against the bottom of the tasting cup. He turned his wrist to the left until his palm faced downward, placed the bottom of the tasting cup onto the tea saucer, and carried the saucer to the center of the tea tray on the left. With that, the demonstration was complete.

Song Jun handed the two cups of tea to Zhu Dafu and Chu Chen. After making an inviting gesture, everyone began tasting the tea.

Following Song Jun's instructions, Chu Chen gripped both sides of the aroma cup with his thumb and index finger. He rotated the cup's rim while lifting it, allowing all the tea liquor to flow into the tasting cup. He clasped the aroma cup between both palms and rolled it several times, then raised it to his nose, separating his hands slightly at his thumbs and inhaling the fragrance from the bottom of the cup.

At once, a pure fragrance reached deep into his lungs, clearing his mind. At the same time, Chu Chen recalled Song Jun's movements while brewing the tea. They were even more pleasing to watch—lithe and graceful, yet carrying the distinctive strength of a man. It truly created a unique atmosphere.

The fragrance soon began to change. A hint of millet aroma mingled with the freshness, making Chu Chen feel as though he had been transported into a vast forest of ripe millet. He instantly felt refreshed and carefree.

The tea was worthy of being premium Tieguanyin. Its fragrance lingered at the bottom of the cup for an exceptionally long time. Chu Chen rubbed and sniffed it repeatedly, yet could still savor that wonderful aroma. It truly lingered for days and remained unforgettable.

If the tea's fragrance was already so unexpected, the tea liquor was even more remarkable. It was golden in color, like a piece of amber placed before Chu Chen, making him almost reluctant to drink it.

As the saying went, tea was tasted in three mouthfuls: the first was drinking, the second was savoring, and only the third was truly tasting.

Chu Chen carefully sipped a small mouthful. The moment it entered his mouth, it carried a rich, smooth sweetness. He examined it closely with the tip of his tongue. At first came bitterness, but after a while, sweetness emerged. It reminded him of his early days after arriving in the capital. Although those days had been hard, they had also been fulfilling, and he could feel himself improving every day.

Then Chu Chen drank the second mouthful. This time, he used the body of his tongue to taste the tea's astringency. The bitter, astringent flavor reminded him of the unhappy years of his childhood.

Back then, Chu Chen had often been called a wild child. The other children had mothers, but he did not. When he grew older, he learned that he was not even his father's biological son.

Those years had been unbearably painful and helpless. He often lost his temper for no reason and resented his parents for not coming to find him. He had even stopped attending school for an entire year. If not for his adoptive father's careful guidance, his personality might have gone to an extreme.

The third mouthful was meant to taste the tea's bitterness with the root of the tongue. After savoring it, a little sweetness emerged. It was so much like the period when he had acquired the Tang Sancai—regret, surprise, dejection, and renewed vigor. Weren't all those emotions just like this mouthful of tea, bitter first and sweet afterward?

After finishing the three mouthfuls, Chu Chen could not help shouting inwardly, Wonderful! It truly was as the saying went: "Let life pass freely with the taste of tea; after bitterness comes sweetness through calm contentment."

After the first infusion came the second and third. The brewing steps were the same as for the first infusion, except that the tea was steeped a little longer. The tea liquor was likewise rich and smooth, with its distinctive character fully revealed. It was just slightly lighter than before, yet had a flavor all its own.

After carefully finishing the three infusions, Zhu Dafu asked, "Xiao Chen, how did you find this Gongfu tea?"

Chu Chen could not help sighing with admiration. "Uncle Fu, Master Song's Gongfu tea is truly incredible. The tea is excellent, and his technique is even better. Only today did I learn what it really means to appreciate tea. It's left me refreshed and enlightened."

Hearing this, Zhu Dafu stroked his beard and laughed. "As the saying goes, 'The flowing fragrance cleanses the flesh and bones; the clear stream washes the heart's source.' Master Song truly gave us a proper lesson today."

Song Jun hurriedly waved his hands. "I'm unworthy of such praise. Without Elder Zhu's fine tea leaves and premium mountain spring water, I couldn't have brewed such excellent tea."