The four treasures of gong fu tea are the four pieces of teaware traditional gong fu brewers regarded as essential: a small Yixing teapot, called a Mengchen pot; thin white porcelain cups, the ideal being Ruo Shen cups; a small clay kettle; and a clay charcoal brazier. Some lists count the kettle and brazier as one and add the tea boat. All four serve one aim: very hot water onto the leaf and into the cup, with as little heat lost as possible.
Where does the idea of four treasures come from?
From the gong fu tea of Chaozhou, in eastern Guangdong, and southern Fujian, which grew from the late Ming into the Qing around Wuyi oolong. The four treasures were common to the old gong fu lineages. Chinese families who settled in Southeast Asia carried the same set with them. It held until the late twentieth century, when larger kettles and other heat sources took over.
The Taiwanese historian Lien Heng summed up the ideal session in one line: the tea from Wuyi, the pot a Mengchen, the cups Ruo Shen. Each treasure solved a practical problem. Taken together they are a heat-management system. The pot holds heat, the kettle and brazier keep the water fresh and fully boiling, and the thin cups take as little heat from the tea as possible.
What is a Mengchen pot?
A small Yixing teapot. Hui Mengchen was a late Ming Yixing potter credited with making small pots for the gong fu brewing emerging in the south. So many later potters stamped his name on their own pots, in tribute, that "Mengchen pot" came to mean any small Yixing pot used for gong fu. The name describes a type, not a maker. A Mengchen seal on a pot tells you nothing about its age.
The traditional gong fu pot was small, often smaller than most people use today, and packed with leaf. Dense Yixing clay holds heat well and, with daily use, seasons to the tea brewed in it. For a modern equivalent, choose a pot of 100 to 150ml for two or three people, in a dense clay such as zini. That suits most oolong, puerh and liu bao.
See our modern Yixing teapots, and our short history of the Yixing teapot for where the small pot came from.
What are Ruo Shen cups?
Small, thin white porcelain cups with blue decoration, first made in the Kangxi era of the Qing (1661 to 1722), marked on the base Ruo Shen Zhen Cang, roughly "Ruo Shen collection". The name is usually read as "like the deep". They were admired for four practical reasons. Thin walls carried the fragrance. The white glaze showed the colour of the tea. Flat bases sat steady on the tray. They were easy to rinse by rolling one cup inside another.
Ruo Shen cups were copied from the start and kept being made through the Qing and into the early twentieth century. Nobody is sure whether Ruo Shen was a person, a brand or a kiln. Early examples are now rare and expensive. Some gong fu drinkers use old wine cups of the same size instead.
The principle is what matters today. A gong fu cup should hold 20 to 40ml, have thin walls and be white inside. Everyday late Qing cups such as our blue line cups were made to that brief. Our post on antique Qing cups covers what to look for.
Why a small kettle and a charcoal brazier?
To boil water fast and use it straight away. Traditional gong fu used strong charcoal heat to bring a small kettle to the boil quickly, then poured all of it into the pot. Each kettle served one infusion. That meant every infusion got water freshly at the boil, and the water never sat boiling for long. Tradition holds that long boiling flattens water.
The kettle was known as a sha diao, or sand kettle. Early ones were made in Yixing clay. Zisha cracks easily under the stress of a charcoal fire, and it was expensive. Workshops in Chaozhou and Zhangzhou began making kettle and brazier sets in cheaper red and white clays, and these became far more common than Yixing kettles.
Timing a small kettle to boil while guests drink each cup takes practice. Over time brewers moved to larger kettles, then to other heat sources. Never put a Yixing teapot on a flame. Only a kettle made for the fire belongs there.
Where does the tea boat fit in?
In some lineages the kettle and brazier count as one treasure, and the tea boat is the fourth. A tea boat is the shallow dish the pot sits in. It catches the water poured into and over the pot and keeps heat around it. Traditional boats were often shallow crackle-glazed dishes that also served as cup stands. Our post on why a teapot needs a tea boat covers how to use one, and where tea people disagree about pouring hot water over the pot.
Do you need all four treasures today?
No. You need what they did. That means water at a full boil, a small pot that holds heat, thin white cups, and something under the pot to catch water. A kettle that boils quickly, electric or stovetop, does the job of the kettle and brazier. Spend on the pot and cups first. The kettle only has to boil fast and pour cleanly.
If you use charcoal, burn it only with good ventilation. For the method all four were built for, see our guide on how to brew gong fu tea.
Start with a small pot, a few thin white cups and water at a full boil. The rest can come later. Questions about a pot or cups for gong fu? Write to us.