Gongfu Tea

Chinese martial arts, colloquially referred to as kung fu or gong fu (see the pinyin pronunciation chart) are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. However, that’s not what we are not going to talk about today, but a kind of tea called “Gongfu Tea” in China.

What is “Gongfu Tea?”

Many people know "Kungfu" because of Bruce Li and Jackie Chan. The tea gets its name because the skill it takes to make the tea is often equal to the skill it takes to practice Gongfu.   

We may learn Chinese skype that making Gongfu Tea is an extraordinary art that requires a lot of skills and practice. It takes a lot of time to even make one cup. It’s a Chinese black tea which is used as a relatively high end gourmet black tea and is sometimes used in various tea blends.     The main difference between Dian hong and other Chinese black teas is the amount of fine leaf buds, or "golden tips," present in the dried tea. Fermented with lychee, rose,and longan, Dian hong teas produces a brew that is brassy golden orange in color with a sweet, gentle aroma and no astringency. Cheaper varieties of Dian hong produce a darker brownish brew that can be very bitter.

The best place for having Gongfu Tea is your own home. You could put on some classic music in the background. The peaceful setting and the essence of the tea can be highly relaxing. 

Chinese Valentine's Day

The Chinese people believe that the star Vega（织女星）, east of the Milky Way, is Zhi Nu and, at the constellation of Aquila（天鹰座）, on the western side of the Milky Way, Niu Lang waits for his wife. 

Zhi Nu was said to be the youngest of seven daughters of the Queen of Heaven. With her sisters, she worked hard to weave beautiful clouds in the sky, while Niu Lang was a poor orphan cowherd, driven out of his home by his elder brother and his cruel wife. Niu Lang lamented over his lonely and poor life with an old cow, his only friend and companion. The magical cow kindly told him of a way to find a beautiful and nice woman as his life companion. Under the direction of the cow, Niu Lang went to the riverside on an evening, where the seven fairies slipped out of their heavenly palace to bathe. He took one of the beautiful silk dresses the fairies had left on the bank. When the fairies left the water, the youngest couldn't find her clothes and had to see her sisters fly back to heaven without her. Then Niu Lang came out with the dress and asked the youngest fairy, Zhi Nu, to stay with him.

Several years passed on Earth, which were only a few days in heaven. Niu Lang and Zhi Nu lived happily together and had two children before the Queen of Heaven discovered Zhi Nu's absence. She was so annoyed she had Zhi Nu brought back to heaven. Seeing his beloved wife flying in the sky, Niu Lang was terrified. He caught sight of the cowhide hanging on a wall. The magical cow had told him before dying of old age: "Keep the cowhide（牛皮） for emergency use."Putting the cowhide on, he went after his wife with his two children. With the help of the cowhide, Niu Lang was able to follow Zhi Nu into heaven. He was about to reach his wife when the Queen showed up and pulled off her hairpin to draw a line between the two. The line became the Silver River in heaven, or the Milky Way. Zhi Nu went back to the heavenly workshop, going on weaving the clouds. But she was so sad, and missed her husband across the Silver River so much that the clouds she weaved seemed sad. Finally, the Queen showed a little mercy, allowing the couple to meet once every year on the Silver River.

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