The Story of Chaozhou Kung Fu Tea

Chaozhou kungfu tea is one of the representatives of traditional Cantonese cuisine culture, which originated in Chaozhou City, Guangdong Province. Legend has it that this kind of tea originated in the late Qing Dynasty, when some tea farmers and tea merchants in Guangdong Province began to explore new tea processing methods in order to cope with the competition in the tea market.

One day, while working at home, a tea farmer named Enda Huang accidentally put some tea leaves on a freshly baked copper stove. Because of the long time, the tea leaves are burnt. But Enda Huang didn't throw away the tea leaves, but decided to soak them in water to try the taste. After drinking it, he found that this mushy tea has a strong taste and good fragrance, which is very suitable for pairing with Cantonese cuisine.

So he began to sell this kind of tea in the local tea market and named it "baked tea". At first, many people were not interested, but when he won the favor of a banquet with this kind of tea, slowly, more and more people began to appreciate this special method of making tea.

Later, baked tea gradually evolved into what is now called "Kung Fu tea", that is, pouring hot water on the teacup, then shaking the teacup up up and down until the tea leaves turn pale yellow, and finally pouring out the tea residue in the cup, leaving only a refreshing tea soup.

Nowadays, Chaozhou Kung Fu tea has become an intangible cultural heritage in Guangdong Province, attracting many tea drinkers and gourmets to taste and appreciate it.