A story on Chinese yixing teapot–The art of brewing that cuppa

Drinking Chinese tea is an elaborate affair, which involves everything from choosing the right pot to pouring the tea out the right way, an expert from China tells GUAN LIBING.
DRINKING tea is not just a matter of gulping it down.
Mr Zhu Changde, a tea expert from Jiangsu province, China, has a whole set of rules governing the brewing and serving of Chinese tea -and even the choice of teapots.
The 45-year-old is now in Singapore to demonstrate his skills at the Takashimaya SC Shopping Centre in Ngee Ann City. His twice-daily Chinese tea-brewing demonstrations end today.
While here, Mr Zhu aims to give people a better understanding of the famous Zisha teapots, which are handcrafted and produced in Jiangsu.
So before you go into the kitchen to make a cuppa, here are some tips:
- In the brewing of Chinese tea, the most important factor is the choice of teapot and tea leaves. Next comes the use of tea cups, says Mr Zhu.
The self-trained expert in the art of brewing Chinese tea says the Chinese from northern China prefer to use big teapots and cups, while the southerners go for small pots and cups.
- Explains Mr Zhu in fluent Mandarin: “There is a golden rule in brewing Chinese tea — never mix the teapots when using different tea leaves. This means that there is no such a thing as a common teapot, because it will mar the flavour of the tea.
- “When you brew tea like Wulong or Baolei, you should use boiling water about 100 deg C and this should be poured into the pot from a higher level, so as to flush out any particles from the tea leaves.”
- Another golden rule is that the first round of tea made is never consumed.
Says Mr Zhu: “This is used to pour over the teapot and cups for a better shine.
“The second round of tea should stay in the pot for at least 30 seconds before serving.  This is to give the tea leaves some time to release their flavour. For each subsequent round, the timing should be increased.”
However, he warns that for a better cuppa, the tea leaves should not be used for more than five brews. Otherwise, they will loose their flavour.
It is also important to remember that in each round, all the tea down to the last drop must be poured out before brewing a new pot.
Mr Zhu has another set of rules for serving tea:
- The tea should be poured from a lower angle into each cup, to avoid spilling, “particularly for the more expensive tea”, he says.
- Each brew should be divided equally among the number of cups. He says that such skills have to be acquired through much practice.
He adds: “Certain parts of China have their own customs when serving tea.  In the Swatow area, for example, the tea has to be divided equally, down to the last drop.  But in Taiwan, there is an extra cup, which serves as the reserve.
“The tea novice should remember that all the cups and teapots should be rinsed in hot water and preferably be kept warm before being used. This helps to give the tea a fuller body,” says Mr Zhu.
Zhu Changde’s tea-brewing demonstration is on at Basement 2 of Takashimaya SC Shopping Centre today at 12.30 2 pm and 6 8 pm.
POT SHOTS
MR ZHU CHANGDE, married with an 11-year-old daughter, runs a business dealing in Zisha teapots.
Born in Jiangsu province, he was first exposed to the art of brewing Chinese tea as a child, through sessions with a granduncle.
To date, he has given numerous tea-brewing demonstrations in Hongkong.
But he laments that the people living in Yixing, his hometown, do not pay much attention to brewing tea.
“Despite living in Yixing, which is the main producer of Zisha teapots, many of the people make tea from plastic teapots. That is the irony!