When brewing ripe Pu'er Tea, the infusion often becomes cloudy, dark, and slightly black, looking like a “soy sauce broth,” which can be off-putting to drink.

A good ripe Pu'er tea should have a bright, fresh red color that shines like red agate under light, evoking a sense of thickness and smoothness even before tasting it.

So, why does some ripe tea look like soy sauce when brewed? Is it because of poor quality tea leaves or is it due to the brewing method?

In fact, many times it is due to improper brewing. Let's take a look at the issues that might cause your ripe Pu'er tea to resemble soy sauce during brewing:

1. Not rinsing the tea

Ripe tea can accumulate dust during the fermentation process and storage. Without rinsing, the infusion will appear cloudy and more likely to resemble “soy sauce.”

Rinsing ripe tea with boiling water is important for waking up the tea and removing any impurities and dust from its surface.

2. Using too much tea

Some tea enthusiasts tend to use too much tea, resulting in an overly concentrated infusion that appears deep and dark, similar to the black-brown color of soy sauce.

3. Over-Steeping

Ripe Pu'er tea, especially older ones, requires appropriate steeping time.

However, if steeped for too long, the infusion will turn a deep black color, resembling “soy sauce.”

4. Slow pouring

This issue is particularly noticeable in ripe teas made from tender leaves.

Tender leaves release their contents quickly, so the infusion needs to be poured out promptly to avoid becoming too concentrated.

If pouring is done slowly, this can also result in an overly concentrated “soy sauce” infusion.

5. Boiling method

In addition to the conventional brewing methods using a Gaiwan or a clay pot, there is also the boiling method, which involves placing the tea in a pot and boiling it.

Some enthusiasts use the boiling method for ripe Pu'er tea made from coarse leaves and containing tea stems, but this method can easily result in a “soy sauce” infusion.