As a continuation of the first post on teas ( in bulgarian only ), today I will talk about two methods of tea preparation: gongfu 功夫 and gaiwan 盖碗.

Recently I got an Yixing 宜兴 tea set, which is used for gongfu 功夫 preparation. It is recommended that this method is used for black 紅茶 and oolong 乌龙 teas. Also, the tea that I drink: silver needle ( 白毫银针 bái háo yín zhēn ) with jasmine is ideal for this type of tea preparation. These are the steps:
If the tea set is brand new, it must be prepared for using. This is done by putting some of the tea that will be used with this yixing set and poring hot water. Then it should be left like this for 24 hours with the tea. After that it should be washed with water and nothing else ( no soaps, detergents etc ) and left to dry on it’s own. The reason for not using cleaners is that the clay used in the yixing pots and sets is porous and absorbs aromas and taste ( as well as soap ). This is also the reason for people to say that after many years of usage, tea can be prepared in these yixing pots only by pouring water in them.

For the actual tea preparation, the leafs of the tea must be dipped into hot water for few seconds to remove the dust and to start the opening of the leafs and the aroma.
The set is also heated with hot water which will help in terms of keeping the temperature of the water constant while stepping the tea. The pot is then closed and for 2 minutes hot water should be poured over it again to keep the temperature constant inside. After 2-3 minutes (depending on the tea) the tea is transfered to a small pitcher from which it can be served for drinking. Right after you transfer the tea, you can pour some more water into the pot to prepare some more tea ( the entire tea set is pretty small, the pot is about 5-6 oz ). The tea is then served in the small cups and is ready for drinking right away ( it is not hot anymore)
After you are done with the drinking, the set is rinsed with water and left to dry by itself.

The second method uses a cup called gaiwan 盖碗. It looks like a somewhat bigger cup with a top, that can be closed very well. The procedure is the following:
The leafs are again rinsed in hot water to start the opening and to clean them from dust. Then they are put into the gaiwan and got water is added. The cup is closed and left for the time that is needed to prepare the tea. After that, without removing the top, the tea can be served directly or moved to a pitcher. The idea is to keep the top closed so that when you transfer the tea, the leafs stay in the gaiwan. This method is much faster and easier and is best for lighter and aromatic teas, because it preserves everything inside the cup while the tea is being prepared.