brewing good Shou Pu'er isn't difficult, as long as you follow the Tea's nature and bring out its best qualities. Shou Pu'er, after pile fermentation, has a mild and gentle character, with a red and rich liquor, a strong aroma, and a smooth and full-bodied taste, making it very suitable for home consumption by the general public.

How to Brew Good Shou Pu'er?

1. Wake up the Shou Pu'er before brewing

Shou Pu'er, having undergone pile fermentation, may have a fermentation flavor in the liquor. It's best to wake up the tea before brewing, especially for compressed Shou Pu'er, which can better activate the tea's vitality and remove other off-flavors that affect aroma and taste.

Waking up the tea can be done through dry or wet methods. Dry waking involves breaking up the tea and placing it in a clay jar or Yixing pot for about a week to achieve the goal of waking it up. Wet waking is even simpler, involving pouring boiling water over the leaves once before starting to brew the tea.

2. Water temperature is crucial when brewing Shou Pu'er

The water temperature significantly affects the taste of Shou Pu'er, being a critical factor. To brew Shou Pu'er, use 100°C boiling water, as this temperature can stimulate the tea's aroma and help release its internal substances, giving the tea a sense of texture when sipped.

If possible, tea enthusiasts can use an iron kettle to boil water to ensure the water temperature remains high, allowing the tea's aroma and taste substances to be fully released, ensuring the tea liquor is full and smooth.

3. Control the amount of tea used when brewing Shou Pu'er

Shou Pu'er, having undergone pile fermentation, has already transformed most of its stimulating substances during production, becoming relatively mellow. Therefore, you can use a bit more tea than usual, but not too much, or the liquor will become too concentrated, like soy sauce broth.

Generally, we recommend using around 8 grams of Shou Pu'er for every 100 milliliters of water. However, in actual brewing, we should flexibly adjust based on the number of drinkers, the capacity of the teaware, the character of the tea, and personal taste preferences.

Key Points to Note When Brewing Pu'er Tea

1. Regardless of whether it's raw or cooked Pu'er, the brewing time is 5 seconds. After three infusions, gradually extend the time by a few seconds until the tenth infusion, where it should be extended by tens of seconds.

2. New teas require an open lid for ventilation to avoid stewing and losing freshness. Older teas need to be awakened with quick continuous boiling water.

3. Pu'er tea's aroma is subtle and not suitable for high pouring, as it can cause cloudiness. Do not pour directly onto the leaves, as this can scare the tea and disperse the downy hairs, leading to an unsatisfactory liquor.

Ways to Drink Shou Pu'er

Old tea: The preferred choice for Shou Pu'er is aged tea that has matured through conversion, followed by well-made new teas worth tasting at each stage of their transformation.

When discussing the method of boiling tea, it allows flavors to completely blend with the water, resulting in a more intense aroma than Steeping.

The difference between boiling and steeping tea lies in the water temperature and the speed of water movement. Tender leaves are not suitable for boiling, while high-quality old Shou Pu'er teas with some appropriate stem and older leaves are ideal, providing space for boiling.

A short immersion time makes it difficult for flavors to be fully released from the older stems, while a prolonged steeping can result in overly concentrated liquor and the release of undesirable flavors.

Thus, the boiling method uses a short period of high temperature and rapid water flow over the tea base, allowing the flavors of the old tea to be present at low concentrations with more desirable flavor compounds, while reducing harmful and unhealthy substances.