Gongfu Tea Ceremony
Visiting my good friend Лёша, some years ago at this point, he introduced me to the Gongfu Tea Ceremony. This was of making tea gave me a completely different perspective on tea. Now I see the ceremony as a form of self-care, something to bring calmness or bring friends closer together. I hope my notes here help you enjoy the same benefits.
Starting out
The general recipe takes 5 grams of tea for a 100 ml gaiwan or teapot. From here you can adjust the amount of tea to strenghen the brew or weaken it.
Unless very high quality tea use the first flush to clean it. Add water and immediately discard after 3-5 seconds.
Timing the flushes
My general guideline is doing flushes in seconds starting with the second at ten seconds and going up from there. Example: 10, 11, 12, 13, 25, 35, 60.
This won't work with oolong pearls. After 10 seconds the pearls will likely still be closed. Start with 20 seconds or until the start to open up and then resume the 10, 11, 12 pattern.
Remember to experiment.