This last weekend was the Asian Cultural Festival at Selby Gardens.  The event was packed with uniquely Asian activities; bonsai displays, martial arts performers, taiko drummers, and other dancers.  On Saturday, Local Coffee + Teasponsored 3 tea ceremonies – Chinese, Japanese and Korean.  I enjoyed all three and participated in the Korean Tea Ceremony.  I’ll share the details here along with a few pictures.

Kim Phram presented all three ceremonies in traditional attire and using proper tea accessories and authentic teas.  She owns Kaleisia Tea Lounge in Tampa.  Kim was fantastic, very knowledgeable and thrilled to share the history and details with all that attended.  Kim is the owner of Kaleisha Tea Lounge in Tampa and is a true student of the tea ceremonies. 

 I will break the details into 3 posts. 

Gongfu Cha, the Chinese ceremony was first at 11am.  This style of ceremony is all about the tea, what it tastes like and smells like. The audience was encouraged to ask questions and Kim talked all the way through describing the ceremony as “tea with friends”. Each step is meant to be a sensory exploration and appreciation.  A very small unglazed clay teapot, yixing was filled a third full of tea for multiple, quick infusions. The pot and small drinking cups were all rinsed with boiling water first then the tea was rinsed or flushed. The first infusion was only 30 seconds.

Kim explained the tea came from a wild tea plant in the Yunnan Province of China and was bought directly from a farmer. She calls it ‘No Name’ tea because this is tea the family drinks and has no name.  Very special tea, sweet and delicious.  And Kim wore a traditional Chinese special occasion dress of silk, but back to the Gongfu Cha.

No Name Tea

The tea is poured in a continual motion over each cup so all are filled together and taste the same.  There are 2 cups with the larger is called the “snifter”. This was tipped upside down releasing tea into the small drinking cups, about 2 sips worth.  Then the snifter is smelled to appreciate the aroma. Kim moved everything using bamboo chopsticks.  Typically up to five infusions are made from the same leaves, adding 10 seconds of steep each time.

Next up the Japanese Tea Ceremony,

the Tea Lady