Iron Goddess: A Tea Ceremony in Shanghai

Does it make sense that a girl from Pittsburgh who's written a novel about steel-making learns (via a tea ceremony in Shanghai, China) that her favorite tea is IRON GODDESS?

I love it.

So would my grandfather.

Last week, for the first time since moving to China three years ago, I went to a tea ceremony. Well, not really a ceremony, but a tea lesson/gathering.

Long, long overdue. Especially since I drink a lot of tea.

Anyway, this guy Lawrence spent a couple of hours serving various kinds of tea and introducing us to the tools of the trade.

Four important things I learned:

1. Always set up an even number of tea cups on the tray (2, 4, 6, etc.). An odd number of cups are only served at funerals.
2. Use a "tea pick" to break up puer tea (this tea usually comes in a cake form). If you don't have a tea pick in your utensil drawer, a letter opener will suffice.
3. Keeping your tea in the fridge does not extend the life of your tea. In fact, the tea actually absorbs odors the way baking soda does. (So if you want your tea to taste like last week's sausage, go for it.)
4. I like oolong...but I love IRON GODDESS.

Lawrence the Tea Master with the tea tray...

The tea service tray...beautiful, huh?

And finally, a cake of puer tea (good for digestion)...