Which tea to use for bowl tea?

Written By Lena Haubner

Bowl Tea

For bowl tea, you need whole tea leaves — so you can actually drink the tea without ending up with leaves in your mouth.

History

Bowl tea is one of the oldest ways to prepare tea, and at the same time the simplest. The bowl was once a universal vessel, often shared between people. This isn't about finding the optimal temperature and steeping time, like in Gong Fu Cha — it's simply about enjoying tea in its most basic form, and sharing it.

Bowl tea is where many people's tea practice begins. You can see the leaves, and it lets you focus more on the meditation without getting lost in the preparation. Even experienced tea practitioners keep coming back to this practice, because it reflects the beginner's mind and keeps reminding us of the beauty in simplicity.

Whole or Large Leaves = Quality?

No — but the intactness of the leaf is often a good indicator of tea quality, since it usually points to a smaller, manual harvest. As with most things in tea, this shouldn't be generalized: there are processing methods where the leaf doesn't stay whole, such as many Japanese green teas or some black teas. Generally, Camellia assamica has larger leaves than Camellia sinensis. In Yunnan and other tropical regions, assamica is the variety that tends to grow.

Which Teas Usually Come in Whole Leaves?

Most ancient or old tea tree teas come loose and in whole leaves, since they come from old trees and are hand-picked. Most Oolong teas are also very suitable and you can watch the leaves unfold in the water.

Here an example for loose whole leaf tea


Where to Find Whole-Leaf Teas Like These

The whole-leaf teas below are ones I've found work particularly well for bowl tea — simple, intact leaves you can watch unfurl. Since my shop isn't online yet, here are the whole-leaf teas I currently have available on request:

  • Wild ancient tree green tea, 2015

  • Wild ancient tree white tea, 2023

  • Wild ancient tree GABA Gold (Oolong), 2019

All from the Zhong family's tea garden in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand.

  • Lou Di Shou Puerh, 2019 (Yunnan)

Other shops I can recommend that sell good quality tea:

  • Global Tea Hut

  • Unearthed Gallery

  • Eastern Leaves

  • Tea Addicts

  • Tee Kenner

I created a 20-minute guided bowl tea meditation video for you to support you in your practice.

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Lena Haubner
Next

Energy or Caffeine?— How to choose the right tea using Yin and Yang