When we're holding a Pu'er tea cake and don't know how to start, we often end up doing some awkward things. To avoid any embarrassing incidents when serving guests, let's learn together with Anan about the brewing method for Pu'er tea!

1. Breaking the Tea Cake

You can use a specialized knife for Pu'er tea cakes and find a spot where the cake is slightly loose. Gently pry it open from there. (When opening a tea cake, you need to use skill rather than brute force. When using a tea tool to open a tea cake, you should “pry” rather than forcefully stab into the tea. You need to apply force while prying, and the tea will easily loosen. Nowadays, Compressed tea cakes and bricks are not too tightly packed, so they are easy to open. Be careful not to prick your hand.)

2. Placing the Tea

Select a porcelain Gaiwan and place around 8 grams of tea into the brewing vessel.

3. Washing the Tea

Pour boiling water over the tea and quickly discard the liquid. This helps to awaken the tea's flavor and also cleanses any impurities.

4. Brewing the Tea

Tea enthusiasts can adjust according to their preferences. For new enthusiasts, use a smaller amount of tea. Try to use mineral water or purified water. The water temperature should be at 100°C, but not excessively hot.

Pour the water along the side of the bowl, trying not to stir the tea leaves at the bottom. Avoid directly pouring water onto the leaves to prevent scalding fresh leaves, which can affect the freshness and clarity of the tea broth.

The first infusion, used for washing the tea, can be discarded after 5 seconds. For the first five infusions, keep the Steeping time at 5 seconds each. Afterward, you can gradually increase the steeping time by 5-10 seconds per infusion.

5. Tasting the Tea

Pour the brewed tea into a fair cup, then serve it into small porcelain cups for savoring the aroma and taste of the tea.

Conclusion:

Start by washing the tea, usually once is enough, and you can wash ‘Silver pieces' twice. The success of an infusion depends largely on this step, so don't underestimate its importance. It is also determined by water temperature and steeping time, as well as the speed of pouring out the tea. After pouring out the tea, open the lid of the pot or bowl to prevent damage to the aroma and quality. Strive to pour out all the tea each time.