How to make a good pot of tea
There are many ways to brew and drink tea. The same tea leaves are brewed differently by different people. For how to brew a pot of good tea, in addition to the quality of tea leaves, water quality, and proper tea utensils, "tea volume", "water temperature" and "time" are the three most critical factors for brewing tea! To decide whether the brewed tea is good or not, as long as you master these three keys, you can brew a good cup of tea even if you can't change the quality of the tea and the utensils, using cold water or hot water.
1. About the brewing of tea:
When brewing tea leaves, do not fill the tea maker with tea leaves. The tea leaves must have room to stretch in order to bring out the aroma and taste of tea!
Oolong tea, Tieguanyin, Pu'er tea, etc., should be brewed with boiling water above 90°C to extract the tea juice. Longjing, Biluochun, etc., should not be brewed with boiling water, otherwise the tea leaves will be cooked, and nutrients such as vitamin C that are beneficial to the human body will be destroyed, and the fragrance and freshness of the tea will be reduced. Hot water brewing will first extract caffeine, amino acids, vitamins, etc. Over time, tea polyphenols (commonly known as tea tannins) and other extracts increase, and when the content is high, the freshness decreases and the bitterness increases.
Oolong tea, Tieguanyin, Pu'er tea, etc., should be brewed with boiling water above 90°C to extract the tea juice. Longjing, Biluochun, etc., should not be brewed with boiling water, otherwise the tea leaves will be cooked, and nutrients such as vitamin C that are beneficial to the human body will be destroyed, and the fragrance and freshness of the tea will be reduced. Hot water brewing will first extract caffeine, amino acids, vitamins, etc. Over time, tea polyphenols (commonly known as tea tannins) and other extracts increase, and when the content is high, the freshness decreases and the bitterness increases.
2. The general brewing method:
- Ceramic or glass brewing method: It is a simple method commonly used by ordinary people at home or in the office, but because the tea leaves are soaked together with the tea soup, it is easy to make the tea soup bitter and unpleasant to drink.
- Big pot method: More practical, put an appropriate amount of tea into a large pot, the general standard tea to water ratio is 1:50, pour hot water for about 5 to 6 minutes and pour the tea soup into another container to drink slowly.
- Small pot of tea brewing method: It is commonly known as the "old man's tea" brewing method.
- Cold bubble method: The ratio of tea to water in this method is the same as that of the large pot method, which is 1:50, but the hot water is changed to cold water. After brewing, it needs to be placed in the refrigerator until the tea soup dissolves before drinking. The tea leaves that have been passed can also be brewed with cold water or replaced with ordinary hot water.
Amount of tea: The amount of tea put in is about one-third to one-quarter of the teapot.
Water temperature: There are slight differences depending on the type of tea. Generally speaking, green tea, Biluochun, Longjing, etc. are about 70-80 degrees, tea, etc. are around 85 degrees, and Tieguanyin, black tea, etc. can be used above 90 degrees.
Time: After pouring in hot water, pour it out quickly for rinsing tea leaves. The first brewing time is about 50 seconds, which can be extended or shortened according to the amount of tea and water temperature. The subsequent brewing time should be extended by 15 to 20 seconds.
3. The influence of teapot material:
- Terracotta Tea Set: The texture is dense, does not leak, and has pores that are invisible to the naked eye, which can absorb tea juice and retain tea flavor. It is generally believed that semi-fermented teas such as oolong tea and Tieguanyin used to brew Taiwan can best show the characteristics of tea flavor. The purple clay pot is the most famous type of pottery!
- Porcelain tea set: No water absorption, can reflect the color of tea soup, moderate heat transfer and heat preservation, no chemical reaction to tea, good color and fragrance can be obtained when brewing tea, and the shape is beautiful and exquisite, suitable for brewing light fermentation and heavy aroma , such as Wenshan Baozhong tea.
- Glass tea set: The texture is transparent, the heat transfer is fast, and the air is not breathable. The tea is brewed in a glass cup. During the brewing process, the tea leaves move up and down, the leaves stretch, and the color of the tea soup can be seen at a glance, which is pleasing to the eye and interesting. The disadvantage of glass tea set is that it is fragile and hot, but it is cheap and good.
- Other material: Plastic tea sets often have peculiar smells, and brewing tea with hot water has an impact on the taste of tea. The same is true for paper cups and plastic cups. Except for emergency use, it is not suitable to brew good tea. It is not suitable to brew high-grade green tea in a thermos cup because of the long-term heat preservation, low aroma and cooked taste.
4. The introduction of commonly used tea sets:
Tea tray: Its function is to accept the extra water from the teapot.
Teacup: The shorter one is the tea cup, and the taller one is the smelling cup.
Cup Holder: A small tray for tea cups, which is beautiful, hygienic, and avoids hot hands.
Tea Boat: Also known as the tea pool, it avoids leakage when the water overflows, and has the functions of warming the pot and washing the cup.
Tea Sea: Also known as a fair cup or a tea cup, it is convenient for the separation of tea soup and tea residues, so that the tea soup is evenly concentrated.
Strainer: Used to filter tea hair or finely ground tea residue.
Tea Leak: Convenient to pour tea leaves into the teapot.
Teaspoon: Spoon unbrewed tea leaves into a teapot.
Tea clip: Take out the brewed tea leaves from the teapot, or use it to sterilize the cup.
Tea hairpin: used to stir tea leaves to wash tea; or used to scrape the foam on the water surface of the teapot.
Tea Needle: Used to unclog the inner mesh of the teapot's spout to keep the water flowing.
5. Several steps of tea tasting art:
Tea tasting is actually the most important process.
Although the performance in the tea house is wonderful, it is too cumbersome. Life might as well be simpler, but the main steps should not be saved or messed up, otherwise tea tasting will lose its meaning and become pure thirst quenching.
Although the performance in the tea house is wonderful, it is too cumbersome. Life might as well be simpler, but the main steps should not be saved or messed up, otherwise tea tasting will lose its meaning and become pure thirst quenching.
- Warm: Warm the cup with boiling water and let the cup preheat, which will help the aroma of the tea to be released.
- Take tea: At this time, you can watch the color, shape and quality of the tea leaves.
- Washing the tea: Do not drink the tea soup made for the first time, pour it on the lid of the cup, and you can smell the fragrance of the tea leaves after pouring it.
- Viewing tea: Re-brew the tea leaves and appreciate the process of the tea leaves tossing up and down, stretching and calming during brewing.
- Tea tasting: First lick it with the tip of your tongue to feel its sweet taste. Take another sip and savor the taste of tea.
- Aftertaste: After drinking the first sip of tea, you can also smell the aftertaste left by the tea cup while aftertaste.