“This is really the way that most Chinese drink their tea, most of the
time, in most places. Relatively few people actually know how to brew
tea gongfu style, much less practice it on a daily basis.”
This is what I also saw for myself. In Zhejiang, for example, Longjing was often served in a tall glass, the same way as described in the article. Sometimes if I would visit the local temple as well, I would drink some green tea with the monks, using paper cups in a similar manner. However, at other times they would break out the formal tea set, and some small snacks, and then they would use black tea instead.
In the West these days, there are some pu’er enthusiasts who think the gongfu method is the only true way to drink pu’er. However, I read once that in the region of Pu’er itself, the people actually use this “grandpa method,” with a relatively small amount of tea leaves in a cup, and refilled until the tea leaves are spent.
Neither way is really right or wrong, but clay pots and tiny cups are not very practical around the office. Just as we endeavor to appreciate tea, it’s good to find ways for tea drinking to fit naturally into daily life. Otherwise, if it is confined only to ceremonial use, tea cannot really become part of the culture.
