As people pay more attention to health, drinking tea is becoming more and more popular. The improvement of living standards has also enabled many people to pursue better tea. However, many people are confused like this: It is obviously a “very good” tea, but why is it just the same when brewed?
Here, let’s talk about “tea making” in depth.
First, the essence of tea making.
In the process of making tea, there is a process called rolling. It is to use mechanical force to act on tea, press and rub them to release the flavor substances in the leaves – such as substances that bring bitterness, astringency, freshness, sweetness, and aroma – tea polyphenols, theanine, caffeine, pectin, and tea polysaccharides. Some of them are brought to the surface of the leaves, and some remain in the leaves. In this way, when making tea, the soluble substances on the surface of the leaves first dissolve in the water, and then the substances inside the leaves move to the surface of the leaves, and then dissolve into the water, forming a tea soup with a certain viscosity and rich flavor. In other words, making tea is a process of dissolving substances, with water as the solvent and soluble flavor substances as the solute. The number of dissolved solutes determines the concentration of the tea soup; the speed of dissolution affects the brewing resistance of the tea; whether various substances are dissolved harmoniously affects the palatability of the tea soup.
The amount, speed and balance of flavor substances dissolved in water are affected by many factors. Such as the age and tenderness of the tea, whether the tea sticks are complete or finely chopped, whether the rolling knot is tight or loose, and the total amount of water extract. Of course, it will also be affected by factors such as water temperature, how much tea leaves are put in, soaking time, and even the shape of the tea container. The situation is very complicated and difficult to summarize in a nutshell.
In the past, most of the tea that ordinary people drank was of low grade, with relatively mature or even coarse raw materials. The leaves were not easy to absorb water and sink. There were few soluble substances in the leaves and they were not easily dissolved into water. Therefore, you need to put more tea leaves and brew with freshly boiled water to get the best flavor. In that era when material was not abundant, high concentration of food meant it was good!
Nowadays, tea-making technology continues to improve, and tea varieties are also abundant. People’s tea consumption awareness and consumption level have improved, and tea of all grades can be drunk. For many high-quality teas, blindly adding more tea to the boiling water is not conducive to the expression of flavor. The tea soup is strong but lacks coordination.
If you want to make every type of tea delicious, you need to put in a little effort. There are many varieties of tea in China, and the same variety may have several levels. It requires repeated brewing practice and comparison to summarize some regular methods. It is said that practice makes perfect!
If making tea is compared to a symphony orchestra, then the tea maker is the conductor, delicious tea is like good music, and the process of making tea is the process of mastering it.
Second, how to make good tea?
First, we need to confirm how to make a cup of tea “good”. It tastes good, the quality characteristics that this tea should have been expressed, and the good flavor can be maintained for a relatively long time. These should be the three basic indicators of “good brewing”.
To make a good tea, you must first understand the “three elements” of making tea – the amount of tea, the tea water temperature, and the steeping time.
Beginners who are new to making tea often worry about how much tea to put in the pot. If they put too little tea leaves, the tea soup will be bland and tasteless. If they put too much tea, the tea soup will be bitter and affect the taste. Tea masters often use the term “tea-water ratio” to describe the amount of tea, which is the ratio of tea leaves to water (the volume of the tea set).
When using professional equipment and methods to make tea, the usual tea-to-water ratio is between 1:15 and 1:25, which varies depending on the characteristics of the tea. For general green tea, yellow tea, white tea, black tea and scented tea, you can choose a ratio of 1:25, that is, 1 gram of tea to 25 ml of water. If the capacity of the teapot or covered cup is 100 ml, put 4 grams of tea, and the tea soup brewed will be moderately light. Oolong tea and dark tea often pursue a strong taste, and often use a tea to water ratio of 1:15.
If you are making tea using the daily simmering method, the tea-to-water ratio should be between 1:50 and 1:100. When making tea, due to the continuous high temperature, less tea should be added, with a tea-to-water ratio of 1:150-1:200 being appropriate.
Although the above data is accurate, there are also inconveniences. For example, sometimes we cannot know the volume of the teapot, so we must use simple visual inspection to determine how much tea to put. For teapots and teacups, their volume and height are directly proportional. Take a pot or cup with a volume of no more than 400 ml as an example. For tea that is compact or nearly spherical in shape, the amount of tea should cover the bottom of the container with a thickness of about 0.5 cm. If the tea is relatively loose, the thickness is more moderate between 1-1.5 cm.
Determine the amount of tea and the temperature of the tea water are also particular. Terms commonly used to describe different water temperatures are:
High-temperature water refers to water between 90-100°C; medium-temperature water refers to water between 90°C and 80°C; low-temperature water refers to water below 80°C. There are also homeothermy water, ice water and so on.
The general rule is that when the water temperature is high, the tea aroma is obvious, and the tea soup has a strong taste, which is easy to appear bitter; when the water temperature is low, the tea aroma is not strong, and the tea soup has a soft taste but is easy to show a watery taste. Most green tea raw materials are tender, have high caffeine content, and tend to become bitter when brewed. It is better to brew them in low-temperature water. Black tea, white tea, scented tea, and dark tea are delicious when brewed with medium-temperature water, but oolong tea, raw Pu’er tea and some old teas are best brewed with high-temperature water to fully display their unique flavors. People who are sensitive to bitterness and caffeine can try to make tea with warm water or even ice water, which will lose some aroma, but the tea soup is almost not bitter.
In short, the temperature of the tea water is the same as the cooking heat, and can be adjusted according to the characteristics of the tea and the flavor we want. When making tea in winter, because the ambient temperature is low and the tea set dissipates heat quickly, the tea water temperature can be slightly higher than usual. The temperature of the tea just taken out of the refrigerator is relatively low. The water temperature for the first brew can be raised by one level, and the water temperature for the second brew can return to normal. If the tea is relatively broken, or even have a lot of tea dust, the tea water temperature can be lowered by one level to reduce the bitterness.
Whether the tea is brewed well or not has a lot to do with the soaking time of each brew. In the professional tea-making scene, when the amount of tea and the water temperature are both fixed values, the soaking time has become a point of contention for tea-making masters, and the unit is accurate to the second.
The flavor of green tea, oolong tea and raw Pu’er tea is easily affected by the soaking time, so when practicing brewing these teas, you must first learn to count the seconds silently in your mind. Sometimes a difference of four or five seconds can make a big difference in the taste of the tea soup. White tea, black tea and dark tea are more tolerant of soaking time. There is not a big difference between soaking for 40 seconds or 60 seconds. In short, professional tea brewing uses “seconds” as the unit to calculate the tea brewing time.
If it is a daily simmering method, less tea leaves are put in, and the soaking time will naturally be longer, measured in minutes. If brewing with high-temperature water, 3-5 minutes is generally better. If it is cold brew, the soaking time should be calculated in hours. Between 1 hour and 4 hours, the tea soup will be easier to drink.
Finally, whether tea can withstand steeping, that is, how many times, water or cups a certain amount of tea can last, is related to the grade of tea, the amount of tea placed, the water temperature and the soaking time of each brew. Tea brewing masters can often brew a tea more times and the tea soup will still be harmonious and delicious. This is a state that requires long-term practice and constant comparison and consideration to achieve.
Third, what is the best tea set to use for making tea?
Making tea is a technical job, and the goal is to make delicious tea with the help of appropriate utensils and methods. And drinking tea is a daily thing. In different life scenarios, you can make tea and drink tea, with slight adjustments in methodology.
If you want to conduct professional tea tasting and appreciate the beauty of tea leaves from all aspects of color, flavor, shape, you can use a purple clay pot, a porcelain pot, or a porcelain tea bowl to make tea. Purple clay teapots are thermally insulating and breathable, making it easier to brew tea with a balanced aroma and unique characteristics. Although the porcelain tureen is difficult to hold, and novices may be easily burned, the soaking time is easy to control, and it is convenient to remove the lid and smell the aroma. Porcelain teapots are somewhere in between. Although the brewing performance is not as good as that of purple clay teapots, a pot can make any kind of tea, and maintenance does not need to be as careful as purple clay teapots, which is a huge advantage.
If you make tea in the office, you can use a tea cup with a filter core. Put the tea leaves in the filter core. After brewing for a minute or two, you can take out the filter core and the tea together. At this time, the tea soup is maintained at a palatable concentration and will not become too concentrated and unpalatable because the tea leaves are soaked in water for a long time. This is called “tea-water separation”. The busyness of the office has no rules. Sometimes I just make a cup of tea and go to deal with official business. When I think about drinking tea, the cup of tea is already bitter and astringent and difficult to swallow. Therefore, when making tea in the office, it is advisable to use a tea cup that can separate tea and water without looking too high-profile.
In daily life, when there are many people making tea, you can use a Sancai cup or a large-capacity teapot to make tea. Sancai cup refers to a covered bowl used for drinking tea directly. Each person has a cup in hand, and can store water and drink according to his or her own wishes. However, the Sancai Cup is not suitable for brewing white tea or oolong tea with relatively large or stretched leaves. It is still good for brewing green tea, black tea and scented tea. Large-capacity teapots, whether porcelain, purple clay, glass, iron, or silver, are more convenient to use at parties. If you calculate the amount of tea and the soaking time, you can brew a lot of delicious tea at one time.
When you are out and tired from traveling, drinking tea is a good way to relieve fatigue and replenish water. However, after all, it is inconvenient to carry fragile items when traveling, and hot water may not be available everywhere. A portable thermos cup is the choice of most people. If it is a regular product, it is safe to make tea in a thermos cup. However, tea leaves that are soaked in high-temperature water for a long time tend to become bitter and strong. Therefore, when using a thermos cup to make tea while traveling, you can make three adjustments. First, put less tea leaves, and the tea to water ratio is 1:250. Second, you can adjust the water temperature in the thermos cup to below 80°C. Third, you can choose to make tea in original leaf bags, or put the tea into small non-woven tea bags, and then put them into a thermos cup for brewing, which is convenient for drinking and cleaning. In addition, the thermos cup is also particularly suitable for making cold brew tea, especially in the midsummer season. A sip of refreshing ice tea is very refreshing.
Fourth, what kind of water is good for making tea?
The water used for making tea must first meet the requirements for drinking water in food safety, be clean and hygienic, and meet all indicators. From this point of view, the boiling time for making tea should be slightly longer for water from mountain springs, lakes and streams collected in outdoor natural environments that has not been purified and tested. Moreover, this water should be used and burned as needed, and should not be stored to avoid the proliferation of microorganisms.
The water in which tea is brewed mainly affects the flavor of tea in two aspects: hardness and pH value.
Water hardness mainly refers to the content of calcium ions, magnesium ions, etc. in the water, including carbonate hardness and non-carbonate hardness.
Carbonate hardness: Hardness mainly formed by calcium and magnesium bicarbonates [Ca (HCO3)2, Mg (HCO3)2]. These hardnesses can be decomposed into precipitates and removed from the water after heating, so they are called temporary hardnesses. Non-carbonate hardness is mainly formed by salts such as calcium and magnesium sulfates, chlorides, and nitrates. This type of hardness cannot be removed by thermal decomposition, so it is called permanent hardness, such as CaSO4, MgSO4, CaCl2, MgCl2, Ca (NO3)2, Mg (NO3)2, etc.
For now, let’s roughly classify water based on its hardness expressed by calcium carbonate concentration:
· 0~75mg/L extremely soft water
· 75~150mg/L soft water
· 150~300mg/L medium hard water
· 300~450mg/L hard water
· 450~700mg/L high hard water
· 700~1000mg/L ultra-hard water
· >1000mg/L extra hard water
Very soft water, soft water, and lower hardness medium-hard water are all good choices for making tea. The latter water quality is too hard, that is, the content of calcium and magnesium ions in the water is too high, which will affect the release of tea aroma and the dissolution of flavor substances, making the tea soup either bland or bitter. For example, the hardness of tap water is generally between hard water and high hard water, and the aroma and taste of the brewed tea will be reduced by at least two or three levels. It is worth noting that many mountains spring water and mineral water have very high hardness. They taste good and some are expensive, but they are not suitable for making tea.
How to know water hardness? You can buy a hardness meter to test water. Water with a hardness meter showing a value within 200 can be safely used to make tea.
Part of the hardness of hard water can be removed by boiling it, or it can be adsorbed with activated carbon. The simplest method is to directly use soft water such as pure water to make tea, which can more truly reflect the color and aroma of the tea.
Acidity or alkalinity describes the acidity or alkalinity of an aqueous solution, expressed as pH. Under thermodynamic standard conditions, an aqueous solution with pH=7 is neutral, those with pH<7 is acidic, and those with pH>7 is alkaline. Water contains some ions, so some water is weakly acidic and some water is weakly alkaline.
The pH value of the tea water has a slight impact on the color of the tea soup mainly by regulating the discoloration of tea polyphenols. The same tea is brewed with weakly acidic water and weakly alkaline water at the same time. The former soup is slightly brighter, while the latter is slightly darker, but the difference in taste is not particularly obvious. Therefore, if you want to brew tea with a light color, such as green tea, yellow tea, lightly fermented oolong tea, etc., you can choose weakly acidic water. For teas with a darker soup color, such as black tea and old tea, you may wish to choose weakly alkaline water to make the soup color redder, thicker, and brighter.
The content of iron ions in the water will also affect the color and taste of the tea soup. When the iron ion content is too high, the tea soup will be light and unbalanced, and a layer of brown film-like precipitate will be formed on the surface after cooling, which is very unsightly. When water pipes are rusty or the coating of water boilers is damaged and rusted, the iron ions in the water can easily exceed the standard. This once again proves that the myth that “boiling water in an iron kettle can replenish iron” is nonsense.
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