A tea draining tray, tea tray, Gongfu tea tray, or tea sea is an integral piece of equipment for the Gongfu tea ceremony.
It is essentially a grate, which allows excess and waste liquids to be drained away, and either collected in a pan under the grate, or drained away through a hose that carries the waste water and tea to a bucket or other drain.
The Gongfu tea method is used to brew primarily oolong and pu-erh teas. A drain system is especially important with pu-erh teas since the first two pots of tea are usually used to soak the tea, and prime the vessels.
The tray is also important because the Gongfu style of brewing is messy and wet. All the cups, pots and other serving items are repeatedly rinsed in hot water and tea to ensure that proper temperatures are kept and that the vessels are sanitary, without watering down the tea. When making tea this way, a pot of tea will be brewed 4–10 rounds. Because it is a wet process, the tea draining tray is necessary to keep the process tidy and elegant.
Oolong (, ; Chinese: 烏龍茶 is a traditional semi-oxidized Chinese tea produced through a process that includes withering the leaves under strong sun and allowing some oxidation to occur before curling and twisting. Most oolong teas, especially those of fine quality, involve unique tea plant cultivars that are exclusively used for particular varieties. The degree of oxidation, which is controlled by the length of time between picking and final drying, can range from 8% to 85% depending on the variety and production style. Oolong is especially popular in southeastern China and among ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia, as is the Fujian preparation process known as the gongfu tea ceremony.
A teapot is a vessel used for steeping tea leaves or a herbal mix in boiling or near-boiling water, and for serving the resulting infusion which is called tea. It is one of the core components of teaware. Dry tea is available either in tea bags or as loose tea, in which case a tea infuser or tea strainer may be of some assistance, either to hold the leaves as they steep or to catch the leaves inside the teapot when the tea is poured. Teapots usually have an opening with a lid at their top, where the dry tea and hot water are added, a handle for holding by hand and a spout through which the tea is served. Some teapots have a strainer built-in on the inner edge of the spout. A small air hole in the lid is often created to stop the spout from dripping and splashing when tea is poured. In modern times, a thermally insulating cover called a tea cosy may be used to enhance the steeping process or to prevent the contents of the teapot from cooling too rapidly.
Chinese tea culture includes all facets of tea found in Chinese culture throughout history. Physically, it consists of tea cultivation, brewing, serving, consumption, arts, and ceremonial aspects. Tea culture is an integral part of traditional Chinese material culture and spiritual culture. Tea culture emerged in the Tang dynasty, and flourished in the succeeding eras as a major cultural practice and as a major export good.
Pu'er or pu-erh is a variety of fermented tea traditionally produced in Yunnan Province, China. In the context of traditional Chinese tea production terminology, fermentation refers to microbial fermentation, and is typically applied after the tea leaves have been sufficiently dried and rolled. As the tea undergoes controlled microbial fermentation, it also continues to oxidize, which is also controlled, until the desired flavors are reached. This process produces tea known as hēichá (黑茶), literally "black tea", though the term is commonly translated to English as "dark tea" to distinguish it from the English-language black tea.
A tea infuser is a device in which loose, dried tea leaves are placed for steeping or brewing, in a mug or a teapot full of hot water; it is often called a teaball or tea maker, and sometimes a tea egg. The tea infuser gained popularity in the first half of the 19th century. Tea infusers enable one to easily steep tea from fannings and broken leaf teas.
Decaffeination is the removal ("de-") of caffeine from coffee beans, cocoa, tea leaves, and other caffeine-containing materials. Decaffeinated products are commonly termed by the abbreviation decaf. Decaffeinated drinks contain typically 1–2% of the original caffeine content, but sometimes as much as 20%.
Teaware is a broad international spectrum of equipment used in the brewing and consumption of tea. Many components make up that spectrum, and vary greatly based upon the type of tea being prepared, and the cultural setting in which it is being prepared. This is often referred to as the tea ceremony, and holds much significance in many cultures, particularly in northwestern Europe and in eastern Asia. A complete, cohesive collection of tea ware makes up a tea set.
Chinese tea generally refers to a variety of teas which are grown or consumed in China.
Dianhong tea is a type of relatively high-end, gourmet Chinese red tea sometimes used in various tea blends and grown in Yunnan Province, China. The main difference between Dianhong and other Chinese red teas is the amount of fine leaf buds, or "golden tips," present in the dried tea. Dianhong tea produces a brew that is brassy golden orange in colour with a sweet, gentle aroma and no astringency. Cheaper varieties of Dianhong produce a darker brownish brew that can be very bitter.
Compressed tea, called tea bricks, tea cakes or tea lumps, and tea nuggets according to the shape and size, are blocks of whole or finely ground black tea, green tea, or post-fermented tea leaves that have been packed in molds and pressed into block form. This was the most commonly produced and used form of tea in ancient China prior to the Ming Dynasty. Although tea bricks are less commonly produced in modern times, many post-fermented teas, such as pu-erh, are still commonly found in bricks, discs, and other pressed forms. Tea bricks can be made into beverages like tea or eaten as food, and were also used in the past as a form of currency.
Tea blending is the act of blending different teas to produce a final product that differs in flavor from the original tea used. This occurs chiefly with black tea, which is blended to make most tea bags, but it can also occur with such teas as Pu-erh, where leaves are blended from different regions before being compressed. The most prominent type of tea blending is commercial tea blending, which is used to ensure consistency of a batch on a mass scale so that any variations between different batches and seasons of tea production do not affect the final product. Commercially, it is considered important that any batch of a particular blend must taste the same as the previous batch, so a consumer will not be able to detect a difference in flavor from one purchase to the next.
A tea set or tea service is a collection of matching teaware and related utensils used in the preparation and serving of tea. The traditional components of a tea set may vary between societies and cultures.
Gongfu tea or kung fu tea, literally "making tea with skill", is a traditional Chinese tea preparation method sometimes called a "tea ceremony". It is probably based on the tea preparation approaches originating in Fujian and the Chaoshan area of eastern Guangdong. The practice involves using smaller brewing vessels and a higher leaf-to-water ratio than in Western-style brewing. Today, the approach is used popularly by teashops carrying tea of Chinese or Taiwanese origin, and by aficionados and trained masters as a way to fully realize the taste of a tea selection, especially a finer one.
A gaiwan or zhong (盅) is a Chinese lidded bowl without a handle, used for the infusion of tea leaves and the consumption of tea. It was invented during the Ming dynasty. It consists of a bowl, a lid, and a saucer.
Yixing clay teapots, also called Zisha teapot, are made from Yixing clay. This traditional style commonly used to brew tea originated in China, dating back to the 15th century, and are made from clay produced near Yixing in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu.
Jebena is a traditional Ethiopian and Eritrean flask made of pottery and used to brew Arabic coffee. It is also widely used in Sudan, and the coffee itself is called bunna.
Tea processing is the method in which the leaves from the tea plant Camellia sinensis are transformed into the dried leaves for brewing tea.
Numi Organic Tea is a privately owned triple bottom line social enterprise based in Oakland, California. Numi is known for its assortment of organic and fair trade certified teas and herbal "teasans". The company was founded in 1999 by brother and sister, Ahmed Rahim and Reem Hassani. The founders named the company "Numi" after the citrusy, Middle Eastern dried lime tea they drank as children growing up in Iraq. The name Numi is derived from the Arabic word for citrus. The J.M. Smucker Company holds a minority stake in Numi.
Senchadō is a Japanese variant of chadō. It involves the preparation and drinking of sencha green tea, especially the high grade gyokuro type.
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