Preparing and drinking “Gongfu” tea involves elaborate procedures. This tea is popular in Yunxiao, Zhangzhou, Dongshan and Xiamen in southern Fujian Province, and Chaozhou and Shantou in Guangdong Province.

The antique-looking “Gongfu”tea set includes “Four Treasures for Tea-Making”: one is a reddish-brown kettle, “yushuwei,” with an oblate body that holds only 200g of water; the second is “Shantou Wind Stove,” which is a small, exquisite and vented stove, used to boil water. Today, for convenience, many people use the electric stove. The third is a teapot, “Mengchen Pot,” the size of a goose egg, made of zisha, a fine clay from Yixing that holds just over 50g of water. The last is “Ruochen’ou,” an extraordinarily small cup about the size of half a pingpong ball, which holds only 4ml of the brew. Usually, four cups make a set and are placed on an oval tea tray. Besides pottery tea sets, there are porcelain ones, which look distinct with blue floral patterns glazed on a white background.

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