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Gongfu tea adds another element to your tea experience. Tossing a tea bag into a cup of water doesn't always cut it. This Chinese art of brewing involves attention to detail, much practice and even a bit of spiritual pleasure.

• Remember, good water means good tea.
• Just as your water is hitting the boil, remove from heat and allowed to cool.
• What temperature to let it cool too depends on the tea. Most oolongs are best when the water is around 12 degrees below boiling.
• Add your tea leaves, at least enough to cover the bottom of your tea pot. Remember that your leaves will expand quite a bit when the water is added. Some who use this method use enough tea that it fills the pot completely when it expands. (A small teapot is usually used when Gongfu brewing.)
• Fill the pot with water and then pour it out, to rinse the leaves.
• Refill the pot with water.
• Relax for a moment and take a deep breath.
• After infusing for only 20 or 30 seconds, pour the tea from the teapot into a serving pitcher. This is to separate the leaves from the water.
• Serve your tea. When brewing in this manner, you can get several infusions from the same tea. Add about 10 seconds to each following infusion.