My Tea Set, Gongfu Table, and Chinese Tea Culture

I recently went to China; Beijing to be exact. I found that after exploring the city for a month, having tried all the local fare, taken in the famous sites, i.e. the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven, etc., one of the most unique and beautiful aspects of Chinese society is its tea culture.

All around Beijing there are little teahouses. Inside these teahouses are little rooms, which are not unlike those found on trains. They are very small, have two couches along the walls opposite each other, and a table in the middle. Also, there is a door to each little room. A friend took me to one of these houses, and I was surprised by how quiet they are inside. A woman took us to a room and seated us, then brought us tea on a special table. It was this little table that caught my attention. It was beautifully and ornately carved, and seemingly very old. I was caught off guard when she set the teacups in a row on top of the table and then proceeded to pour boiling hot tea down the line of cups, showing no regard for the exquisite craftsmanship underneath. However, I was soon informed that it was customary to pour the tea like that, in fact, that this special table was made just for this; it was called a gongfu table. They have a hidden tray below the lid, which catches the tea, and water that falls through. So, when you are done drinking you may just pour the remaining tea onto the table and then wipe it down with a tea towel, a special towel, similar to a washcloth, used to maintain gongfu tables.

At this point I knew I just had to have an authentic tea set of my own, along with a gongfu table. I had never seen anything of the like in the United States. So after tea, I promptly made my way to the tea streets of Beijing. I don't know what you call them exactly, but I'm sure if you go there you can ask someone and they'll know what you're talking about. I couldn't believe there were so many buildings dedicated to nothing but tea paraphernalia. There are little family tea stores everywhere at the street level, and hundreds, if not thousands, of other tea stores in mall-type buildings, some of which are five stories high. I searched through most of them for hours, trying to find just the right tea set and table. The variations in design are astonishing. Some are huge, some are stone, some are small, and most are wooden. Ultimately, I found the perfect table for myself, as well as the perfect tea set. The table was small, stained a dark green, and had little leaves and berries carved along its sides. I found a white china tea set, which was a beautiful contrast against the dark table.

So, if you like tea at all or are interested in Chinese culture, I encourage you to do some research and learn more about traditional Chinese tea culture. And if you want to get something uniquely Chinese, then go shopping for a gongfu table. These are incredible pieces of culture and history, but also practical, gorgeous works of art.

Article by Skylar Windham, tea culture fanatic. Learn more at http://www.coolteasets.com

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