The temperature for cold brewing tea is generally around 20 degrees Celsius. As long as there is bottled water, you can brew tea, making it very accessible and suitable for a wide range of situations, which is very popular among ordinary people. Sheng Pu'er tea, Taiwanese Oolong, new tender Green Tea, and White Tea can all be cold-brewed. Cold brewing can avoid the destruction of the tea's cell structure by high temperatures, better preserving the antioxidant active substances in the tea; lower temperatures can also significantly reduce the release of tea alkaloids, reducing the bitterness and astringency of the tea infusion, making it less likely to irritate the stomach and affect sleep. In hot summer, using cold water to brew tea can effectively alleviate body heat and prevent heatstroke.
Low-Temperature Brewing
The water temperature for low-temperature brewing is between 70 and 85 degrees Celsius. This temperature is suitable for brewing unfermented teas that primarily consist of young buds, such as Mingqian Longjing and Biluochun green teas, as well as some tender-leaved yellow and white teas. If the temperature is too high, the delicate tea leaves will be overcooked, greatly diminishing their flavor and losing the unique taste and aroma of unfermented teas.
Medium-Temperature Brewing
The water temperature for medium-temperature brewing is between 85 and 95 degrees Celsius. This temperature range is relatively versatile, as lower temperatures can prevent the full release of aroma and flavor in most teas, leading to a bland infusion, while boiling water can easily scorch the tea leaves, destroying many nutrients in the tea and causing tannins and other substances to leach out, giving the tea a bitter taste and affecting the quality of the tea infusion. Teas best suited for this temperature include more mature unfermented teas like Liuan Guapian, young-bud oolongs like Baihao Oolong, or heavily withered white teas like Baihao Yinzhen, etc.
High-Temperature Brewing
The water temperature for high-temperature brewing is between 95 and 100 degrees Celsius. This temperature is most suitable for brewing teas made from coarser, older raw materials that have undergone higher levels of fermentation, including dark teas that have been piled for a long time, such as Pu'er tea; fully fermented black teas; or oolongs that are mainly made from open-faced leaves and have a higher degree of fermentation, like Wuyi rock tea and Dongding Oolong, etc. Since these types of tea have strong flavors, they can only fully develop the quality of the tea infusion at high temperatures, resulting in a richer color than infusions brewed at lower temperatures.
Additionally, in high-altitude areas, water often boils before reaching 100 degrees Celsius, making it difficult to achieve sufficient temperature to brew good tea. Therefore, people in high-altitude regions often use compressed teas like brick tea and cake tea, which are better suited for boiling water brewing, allowing the various elements in the tea to dissolve more effectively.
Conclusion
In summary, the choice of water temperature for brewing tea primarily depends on the maturity of the tea leaves and the degree of fermentation. Only by choosing the appropriate temperature according to the type of tea can you make the green tea infusion clearer, the color of black tea like amber, and the aroma of dark tea more intense, allowing each type of tea to fully express its own characteristics and achieve the best quality of tea infusion.