What Are the Steps of Chaozhou Gongfu Tea?
Short answer
Chaozhou gongfu tea (潮州工夫茶) is a way of brewing oolong (classically Phoenix Dancong) in a small pot and tiny cups over many short infusions. China's national heritage record lists 18 steps, from lighting a clay stove and boiling water on olive-pit charcoal to rinsing the tea, pouring in a circle over the cups and sipping slowly. Everyday practice in Chaozhou uses a simplified version.
By D² Tea Lab, Burnaby · Updated
"Gongfu tea" is now used around the world for any brewing with lots of leaf, little water and short infusions. Its home is Chaozhou, in eastern Guangdong, where it has been part of daily life for centuries. In 2008, Chaozhou gongfu tea art (茶艺（潮州工夫茶艺）) was added to China's national list of intangible cultural heritage, as item Ⅹ-107 in the folk customs category.
A note on the name: 工夫 or 功夫?
In Chaozhou it is written 工夫茶, with gōngfu meaning time, effort and skill. The more familiar 功夫 is the same sound, better known from martial arts. Both are used in English as "gongfu" or "kung fu" tea. The name itself goes back at least to the Qing dynasty writer 俞蛟, whose essay 《潮嘉风月·工夫茶》 describes it.
The traditional steps
China's intangible heritage record gives the sequence below; the English glosses are ours.
| # | Chinese | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 茶具讲示 | The host presents the teaware |
| 2 | 茶师净手 | The brewer washes their hands |
| 3 | 泥炉生火 | A small clay stove is lit |
| 4 | 榄炭煮水 | Water boils over olive-pit charcoal |
| 5 | 开水热罐 | Boiling water warms the pot |
| 6 | 壶纳乌龙 | The pot is filled with oolong |
| 7 | 甘泉洗茶 | The tea is rinsed |
| 8 | 提铫高冲 | Water is poured from a height |
| 9 | 壶盖刮沫 | Foam is skimmed off with the lid |
| 10 | 淋盖追热 | Hot water is poured over the lid to keep the heat in |
| 11 | 烫杯滚杯 | Cups are scalded and rolled in hot water |
| 12 | 低洒茶汤 | Tea is poured low, close to the cups |
| 13 | 关公巡城 | "Lord Guan patrols the city": pouring in circles over all the cups so each gets an even share |
| 14 | 韩信点兵 | "Han Xin counts his troops": the last, strongest drops are shared out one by one |
| 15 | 先闻茶香 | Smell the tea first |
| 16 | 和气细啜 | Sip slowly, in good company |
| 17 | 三嗅杯底 | Smell the empty cup |
| 18 | 瑞气圆融 | A closing of harmony |
Steps 13 and 14, Guan Gong xun cheng and Han Xin dian bing, borrow two heroes of Chinese history to describe the same goal: making sure every guest's cup is equally strong.
You may also read about a fuller "21-step" form, and Chinese media report that Chaozhou tea master 叶汉钟 condensed the practice into "three stages and seven methods" (三步七法). Lists differ by teacher; the table above is the version in the official heritage record.
The classic teaware
The heritage record names the clay stove, the water kettle and the cups. Chaozhou writer 翁辉东's Chaozhou Tea Classic (《潮州茶经》) is often quoted for the "four treasures" of the tea table:
- 潮汕炉: the small Chaoshan stove
- 玉书煨: a thin clay kettle
- 孟臣罐: a small Yixing teapot, named after the potter 惠孟臣
- 若琛瓯: tiny, thin cups
Today many people brew with a gaiwan and an electric kettle instead, and the method matters more than the equipment.
Everyday gongfu vs a tea performance
The heritage record itself notes that simplified everyday brewing has largely replaced the full traditional form. In practice you'll meet two things called "gongfu tea":
- Everyday gongfu: a small pot or gaiwan, plenty of leaf and quick infusions, shared among friends or colleagues. This is how most people in Chaozhou drink tea.
- Staged tea art (茶艺): the full sequence performed with ceremony for guests or audiences.
This distinction is our interpretation, not an official definition, but it means you don't need all eighteen steps to brew good gongfu tea at home. A rinse, short infusions and an even pour get you most of the way.
Chaozhou describes the spirit of gongfu tea in four words, 和、敬、精、乐: harmony, respect, refinement and joy. In 2023 the city was named a "world hometown of gongfu tea culture".
What about UNESCO?
In 2022, UNESCO inscribed "Traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China" on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The UNESCO page doesn't name individual places, but Chinese official sources describe Chaozhou gongfu tea art as an important component of that inscription, which groups 44 national heritage items from 15 provinces.
Try it
The classic tea for Chaozhou gongfu is Phoenix Dancong (see What are the Phoenix Dancong aroma types?). Our Phoenix Oolong Lemon Tea is made with dancong, the same leaf in a very different glass.
Sources
- China Intangible Cultural Heritage, 茶艺（潮州工夫茶艺）, item Ⅹ-107, second batch (2008): ihchina.cn
- Chaozhou drafting note for the local standard 《潮州工夫茶冲泡技术规程》 (2023): chaozhou.gov.cn (DOC)
- Xinhua on Chaozhou gongfu tea (2024): news.cn
- UNESCO, Traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China (2022): ich.unesco.org
- China Intangible Cultural Heritage, on the 2022 UNESCO inscription: ihchina.cn