These are actually questions asked not only by beginners, but could not be properly answered by many veterans!
That’s one reason why you would see in many other sources saying that various green teas can be infused for less than half a minute. There are many reasons for such parroted myths. I’ll deal with this question for now and come back for the second one when I have a bit more time:
Gongfu infusion was considered a bourgeoisie activity and disappeared in Mainland China during cultural revolution, which spanned over two decades in the 60’s and 70’s. It took place quite immediately after the devastating movement, the Great Leap Forward, which triggered wide-spreading starvation and general deprivation of material resources. It happened in the 50’s and killed tens of million.
The need for gongfu tea infusion, began in the 80’s when people needed it to taste the tea before buying. It took place in the areas of Anxi and Phoenix, and nearby bigger cities, where oolong teas are consumed and sold. Any places north of that, they used mugs or even lid-less glasses, many still do today. The gaiwan, which is a standard vessel in the two southernly regions prevailed. Because of the nature of oolongs, and the idea of the old time saying of a lot of leaves for filling the gaiwan, so the habit of short infusion time began to form. This was good for the seller, coz with short infusion time, the first couple of rounds of infusion of almost all tea can be pleasing. A small sip of plain water from the gongfu teacup can be as pleasing too. The seller is then able to sell almost anything basing on customer service techniques, rather than the quality of the tea.
This habit quickly spread as people were allowed to open their own private companies, or operate independently as a commercial entity. Naturally the showy style of gongfu infusion became a marketing gimmick and spread across the country. Salesladies spend a lot more time on the eyeliner than on learning about the nature of tea. With a market largely of low tea knowledge but eager to show off, this development is understandable.
Consequently, when selling oolong tea is not enough, they began selling puer and green teas. Since any tea to them is the same — products to push to the customer so they can earn the quick buck — these self-learned merchants treat all teas the same way. It works for them anyway.
The myths of short infusion under the umbrella of “gongfu tea” thus got parroted and prevail through China. In the beginning of this century, tea pilgrims from other countries thus learn from the students of these tea merchants and parroted the same myth in their local markets.
Similar disastrous re-appropriation of the tradition happens not only to tea, but many other aspects of human heritage. Cooking style, Confucianism, Buddhism, and even the Chinese language and history itself have all been greatly distorted.
If, however, all that you are concerned with is not the form, but the content of whether 30 sec or 4 minutes deliver the best result, try it out. Compare. A good tea stands a good process and delivers its optimum quality.
