Porcelain bowl method (simple)

I’ve been away for quite awhile, but I wanted to stop by and post some information that may help other tea enthusiasts. In the past, I’ve always tried to find the simplest and most eloquent ways to make tea. Being just a single person with modest tastes, I don’t need very fancy teaware, but I do want to drink delicious tea whenever I like. My tools are simple but they can work very well. It is a little similar to what ordinary people in mainland China do, but more controlled.

Most people in mainland China will basically make tea by first boiling a large kettle of water, then pouring it into a very large thermos. Then they pour from the thermos whenever they need hot water. They will usually put tea leaves in a glass or into a paper cup, and then pour this almost-boiling-hot water over the leaves, often making very mediocre tea at best. It is also quite common to use too many leaves — sometimes comical amounts, which is actually quite wasteful. (Then many people say that they don’t drink tea because good tea is expensive, yet they can’t even prepare low quality tea correctly!)

The basic method of boiling the water and storing it in a large thermos is very useful, but their method of making and steeping the tea is highly inadequate. Fundamentally, the problem is that the current culture tends to glorify money and wealth, thinking that good tea can be bought in fancy packages for lots of money, but actually it takes true knowledge and experience to make tea properly (especially the green tea that is popular in China).

So if we want to make good tea in a practical manner, we have to be able to see the good and bad points — adopt the good and reject the bad. The current habits are actually just a product of the modern era and culture, and historically many other methods were used. So I made up my own method and it is far better than what is common in the mainland. Here is my “porcelain bowl method” in just three steps:

1. To begin with, you need a large kettle or teapot, and a large thermos. This ensures that you can keep drinking tea without being interrupted to prepare the water all the time. You also need a relatively small porcelain bowl, as might be used for eating rice or some small dishes.

2. Boil the water in your kettle / teapot, and then pour the water into your thermos. Now you have hot water for making tea.

3a. If you have a dark tea that should steep closer to boiling point (dark oolong, black tea, pu’er, etc.), then put the tea leaves in your bowl, and then just pour hot water into the bowl until it is full. After 2-3 minutes, your tea is ready.

3b. If you have a tea that should steep at lower temperature (green tea or green oolong), then pour hot water into your bowl until it is 2/3 full. Then wait 2-3 minutes until it has cooled a bit, and add your tea leaves. Then pour hot water until the bowl is full, which submerges and mixes the leaves. After 2-3 minutes, your tea is ready.

If you follow this carefully and adjust according to your experiences, you can make tea in a very simple way that does not require much effort at all, and with good results. Notice that I called for using a porcelain bowl. I haven’t had much success with using tall mugs, glasses, or cups for making tea. A porcelain bowl or large gaiwan is always preferable to me, as the shape has a big impact on how the tea turns out, and the larger opening allows the tea to cool in a regular way that gives a somewhat flatter and more consistent taste profile.