Fujian Province is the birthplace of many world-famous Chinese teas, including oolong tea and white tea. How do people in Fujian Province actually enjoy tea in their daily lives? This time, I visited Xiamen and Fujian Tulou, observed tea culture in local homes and shops, and learned the Fujian Province style of tea brewing directly from locals. What I discovered was a tea culture that penetrates daily life far deeper than we might imagine.
Tea Sets Found in Every Fujian Household
What first surprised me when visiting Fujian Province was that every home and shop I visited had impressive tea sets displayed. And they weren’t just displayed—the tables themselves were designed specifically for tea ceremonies, with thoughtful features for enjoying tea everywhere.
Tables with holes and drainage mechanisms
For example, many tables have built-in drainage functions. These range from trays that collect drainage when washing tea utensils to more sophisticated drainage systems. Some tables even featured DIY drainage functions using hoses and buckets. This is an innovation for efficiently handling the large amounts of hot water used in the tea brewing process.
Basic Tea Set Components
The lidded container in the center-left is the gaiwan. The vessel with spout in the front-left is the chahai (tea sea), and the cup with tea on the right is the chacup (tea cup).
The centerpiece of Fujian Province’s standard tea set is the gaiwan. This is a practical tea vessel with a lid, where the lid serves as a cover when steeping tea and as a saucer when drinking. This single tool can brew tea, steep it, and strain tea leaves.
Other basic tea utensils include the following:
The gongdaobei, also called chahai (tea sea), is a distribution vessel that receives tea poured from the gaiwan and distributes tea of uniform strength to each person’s tea cup. A dedicated tea strainer filter can be set on top, allowing tea to be poured while completely removing tea leaves. It also serves to equalize tea flavor and regulate temperature.
The chacup is a small cup for actually drinking tea. Generally small enough to finish in one sip, designed so tea can be consumed before it cools.
The chaban (tea tray) is a large tray for placing these tea utensils, also serving to catch hot water from the tea brewing process.
When holding tea ceremonies at tables without drainage functions, a tea tray is used.
More elaborate tea sets may also include a wenxiangbei, an elongated cup for enjoying tea aroma.
Fujian Province Style Tea Brewing
People in Fujian Province have established procedures for brewing tea. Let’s examine this process in detail.
Preparation Stage
First, all tea utensils are washed and warmed with hot water. The gaiwan, being the vessel where tea is directly brewed, is warmed particularly carefully. This prevents tea temperature from dropping rapidly when utensils are cold, and is also important for hygiene.
Brewing Tea
Tea leaves are placed directly in the gaiwan. The amount is generally about 20-30% of the gaiwan’s capacity, considering that tea leaves will expand when absorbing water.
The first water is used to wash the tea leaves and immediately discarded. This is called “tea washing.” This process washes dust from the tea leaf surface while also steaming and opening the leaves. The motion of holding tea leaves with the lid while discarding water becomes natural for Fujian Province people. However, some families skip this step.
IH kettles are always placed on tea tables. This is to maintain near-boiling hot water constantly, as Fujian Province people insist on brewing tea with this just-boiled hot water. Indeed, when I tried to brew tea with cooling water at one household, a local grandmother immediately pointed out, “That won’t taste good!”
Hot water is poured again, covered, and steeped for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Steeping time varies by tea type, but locals say “over-steeping makes tea too strong.”
The process of transferring tea from gaiwan to chahai without spilling and without dropping tea leaves requires considerable skill.
After steeping, tea is first poured into the chahai. Setting a tea strainer filter on top of the chahai is important. Tea leaves that escape when pouring from the gaiwan are caught by this filter, so only clean, strained tea accumulates in the chahai. The uniformly mixed tea in the chahai is finally poured into individual tea cups.
Tea transferred to chahai is now poured into tea cups
This gaiwan brewing method appears simple but contains innovations for maximizing tea’s deliciousness. Using the lid to hold tea leaves, pouring water, steeping, and serving—Fujian Province people naturally acquire this series of movements from childhood.
Fragrant tea is complete. In this case, tweezers were used to serve tea cups to avoid stealing tea’s temperature, but direct hand serving is fine for beginners.
Tea Leaf Usage and Values
Fujian Province people reuse the same tea leaves multiple times. Beyond second brewing, enjoying up to the tenth brewing is common. This isn’t merely for economy, but rather a culture of enjoying tea leaves’ different expressions.
Indeed, watching them enjoy how flavors and aromas change with each brewing resembles wine tasting. Oolong tea in particular is known for showing different flavors depending on brewing number.
Unique Customs Like “Endless Tea”
What’s characteristic about tea drinking in Fujian Province is the interaction between host and guest. Like endless noodle servings in some cultures, as soon as a guest’s tea cup empties, the host pours fresh tea.
People of all ages in Fujian Province can brew tea with delicate hand movements and good tempo
Hosts constantly pay attention, continuously brewing tea so it never runs out. Boiling water, adding tea leaves, steeping, pouring—they handle this sequence skillfully like professional bartenders.
Remarkably, this skillfulness seems natural for Fujian Province people. Having grown up with home tea brewing habits, everyone naturally acquires this technique.
Communication Through Tea
At Tianluokeng Tulou, I was welcomed into a local family’s tea gathering.
For Fujian Province people, tea is more than just a beverage. From morning to night, regardless of caffeine content, they constantly drink tea. Particularly impressive was the family gathering scene I witnessed at the tulou. Gathering around tea for casual conversation reminded me of family gatherings around traditional hearths.
Tea serves as an important communication tool. Just as people elsewhere might drink alcohol while conversing, Fujian Province people gather over tea for various discussions. Whether business meetings or casual friend gatherings, everything begins with brewing tea. Watching people’s hearts naturally soften through tea was very impressive.
Portable Tea Culture
There’s also a habit of carrying tea when going out. Thermos bottles filled with hot water are essential for Fujian Province people. By refilling hot water from street dispensers, they can enjoy delicious tea anytime.
Recently, specialized bottles designed to prevent tea leaves from falling out have become popular. Some even have interiors divided into two spaces, allowing different tea leaves for enjoying different teas—quite an ingenious structure.
For more insights about smart travel practices in Chinese-speaking regions, including how locals use personal bottles for tea enjoyment during travel, explore our detailed guide on local wisdom for efficient traveling.
How Was This Experience?
If you like authentic Chinese tea, shop for tea utensils as well as tea leaves!
Fujian Province’s tea culture represents a lifestyle that transcends tea as mere beverage. From tea utensil preparation to brewing methods and hospitality customs, everything has been refined through long history.
Most impressive was that these “authentic” tea brewing methods and customs aren’t special or elaborate, but completely integrated into daily life. Tea serves as an indispensable lubricant in Fujian Province people’s lives.
The living culture of Fujian Province people seen through tea offers us many insights. Especially in our busy modern society, taking time to slowly brew tea and converse with others is valuable. The wisdom of Fujian Province people holds significant value for us today.
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