One of my colleagues visits China regularly and was given this tea as a gift. However they didn’t see themselves making the most of it so offered it to me.

I have no idea what to do with it though. It’s like a circular brick of compressed tea leaves. Do I just take off a chunk and leave it in hot water? Does the temperature matter, and do I need any particular tools?

I’ve only ever used tea bags so I’m a bit lost

Edit: also the expiry says November 2023… but it’s just tea right?

  • Classy Hatter
    9•3 months ago

    Would using a teapot with an infuser have a similar effect to a gai wan?

    To brew tea or coffee, you need about four items/things:

    • A method to heat water to a proper temperature
    • A vessel to do the brewing in
    • A method to separate the tea leaves / coffee grounds from the liqueur
    • A cup to drink the liqueur from

    If you want to try to gongfu brew it with what you have at home, you can use some kind of smallish vessel (about 150ml), like a coffee mug or small water/milk pitcher (make sure it can handle boiling water). Use something as a lid-like object to keep the heat from escaping and helping to pour the liqueur while keeping the leaves in the vessel. A big spoon might work, if that’s all you can figure. If you have any kind of fine mesh filter (or just coffee filter paper), you can use that to keep the leaves from getting to your drinking cup.