Writer’s Block, Anxiety Paralysis and Gongfu Tea
Day 3- September 4, 2026
Didn’t think I’d encounter a writer’ block this soon into the challenge. To be clear, I have written things today and yesterday that could be turned into a publishable article. I just can’t bring myself to do so.
I wrote a piece about my experience with boxing so far– what brought me to try it, my anxieties around fighting and aggression, and the negative inner dialogue I kept hearing during class. Then the anxiety became too thick and I could not bring myself to write anymore. I became paralyzed my anxiety.
Similarly, I wrote a short excerpt yesterday where I described some over-competitive things we did as school childrenin China.
“I see blog-writing as keeping a public diary, but how do I tell a story that I have not fully processed yet?”
So let me write about something less anxiety inducing: tea.
I’ve been drinking a lot of tea lately, and even held a few tea parties at my home. The tea I’m referring to here is not teabag-in-a-mug kind of tea, but Chinese Gongfu Tea that is drunk with tiny cups.
Get Danting Wong’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
For a long time, I thought Gongfu tea (a.k.a Kungfu Tea) was either tea with martial arts or tea for people who do martial arts. I remember when I was a child, I saw performers serve tea through kettles with very long spouts. That was my idea of Gongfu tea for the longest time.
What is Gongfu Tea?
The two words Gongfu or Kungfu(工夫) are pronounced the same as the martial arts Kung fu (功夫) but have very different meanings. The former Gongfu refers to time, effort or patience and Gongfu tea here emphasizes the process of making and drinking tea as well as savour the connections made while drinking tea.
The whole setup of Gongfu tea is contained within big tray with drainage referred to as Cha- Hai(茶海). On top of the Cha-Hai, there is a small tea pot or Gai-Wan（盖碗） where the tea is brewed, a strainer, a fairness pitcher (Gong-bei) and small tea cups. Some people even have a tea pet (Cha-chong) on the tray.
Different from the teabag-in-a-cup method, Gongfu tea has a few more steps. After boiling the water on a stove or with an electric kettle, the tea pot and cups are warmed with the boiling water. Tea leaves are added to the tea pot, where the first pour is discarded. Only the second pour is allowed to brew briefly, before being released into the fairness pitcher through the strainer. A typical Gongfu teapot brews about 100ml which is much smaller than the usual restaurant teapots.
Gongfu tea cups are likewise very small and usually come in sets of three. It is said that a group of three people is the most suitable party size for drinking tea where one would be too lonely, two can lead to arguments or confrontations, and a group of three strikes the perfect balance between entertainment and peace.
In this context, it can feel a bit lonely to always drink tea by myself. I empty the tea into a fairness pitcher, only to have it all eventually go into the same cup again…
Drinking in Small Sips
Another thing about Gongfu tea is never to drink the tea in one big gulp, despite the cup’s miniature size. I remember visiting Yunnan as a child, where a lady hosting a tea party explained that tea should be drunk in at least three sips. To drink the whole cup of tea in one gulp is called quenching thirst, finishing in two sips may be called drinking tea, and only when split into three or more sips is one actually tasting tea. The word for taste in Chinese, Pin （品）is comprised of three ‘mouths’( each square represents one mouth), which is why it requires at least three sips or bites to taste something, otherwise you’re just quenching thirst or satiating your hunger. Isn’t it cool when culture can connect with something so specific?
I think the real magic tea was never about the fancy tea sets or the expensive teas, but letting yourself be in the moment, and savouring every moment exactly as it is. It also helps that tea is a mild drink. It doesn’t make you agitated or contain too strong flavours, forcing you to slow down and savour the moment.
Back to where I started at the start of this article. I think I’m having writer’s block because I was, metaphorically, trying to down the tea in one gulp, and it was burning my throat. I will write about my boxing experience and over-competitiveness in childhood, but at a later time. Right now, I only want to drink tea.
