Novice enthusiasts of Pu'er Tea often get caught up in the details and etiquette of brewing and drinking tea, which is, of course, a key way to understand the tea ceremony and appreciate Pu'er. However, this is not the ultimate essence of savoring Pu'er. A tea cake goes through a long journey from growing, picking, sorting, making, fermenting, transporting, and finally, handling, appreciating, and breaking it by the tea drinker. Through wind, frost, rain, and sun, and numerous travels, only proper brewing can do justice to this “carving of time.” Faced with the dark and round tea cake, boiling water, and quietly waiting tea ware, as an elegant and simple tea drinker, one must remember four important keywords for brewing Pu'er.
Water: Fragrance comes from dew on flowers, and water absorbs from springs among stones.
Whether considering the aroma or color of the tea, water is an irreplaceable carrier. To brew a good cup of tea, choosing the right water is particularly important. From a scientific perspective, good water for brewing tea should be weakly alkaline and highly active. It's best to use water with a pH value around 7.3-7.4, as such water best stimulates saliva secretion in the mouth, giving the drinker a lingering and refreshing taste. Highly active water can be understood as naturally flowing water rich in oxygen and fresh gases like carbon dioxide.
Experienced tea connoisseurs don't need these rigid scientific data; their source of water is an important criterion for judging water quality. Mineral water is the first choice, and there's no need to mention the many famous springs that have been passed down through legends. Almost all tea masters have personally gone to the sources of famous springs to collect natural spring water to brew tea. This might be too much effort for ordinary enthusiasts, and naturally collected spring water may also pose health risks if not professionally treated. Therefore, choosing well-reviewed, high-quality mineral water from reputable brands is a good option.
In addition, river water and well water are less ideal choices. Xu Cixian's “Tea Commentary” from the Ming Dynasty states: “The water of the Yellow River comes from the heavens, its murkiness due to the soil. Once clarified, its fragrance emerges naturally.” There's an interesting story behind this: One day, when Xu Cixian was crossing the Yellow River and suddenly felt the urge to brew tea, he was frightened by the murky water. Hesitating, the boatman scooped up the river water and added alum to let it settle. After boiling and brewing, the tea was surprisingly sweet and delicious, offering a unique flavor.
Well water requires careful discernment; there are more impurities in the ground layers, making the water harder. Well water, hidden underground, has less contact with air and lacks sufficient activity, making it unsuitable for brewing fresh and refreshing tea. Some well water has high salt content, making it unsuitable for brewing tea. The tea sage Lu Yu also said that well water is inferior for brewing tea.
Even lower on the list are pond water and tap water. Rainwater and melted snow were excellent choices for tea in ancient times, but in today's heavily polluted environment, they've become the least desirable options. To carefully judge the quality of water for brewing tea, you can follow three steps: observe, test, and taste. Observing the water means using your eyes to check if the water is clear, clean, colorless, and transparent. Water rich in oxygen has a lively spirit. Testing the water involves using technical methods indoors to determine the softness and quality of the water. Professional tools include pH paper and filter paper, while simpler methods involve observing the curvature on the surface of a cup and the sinking speed of a stone in the water to determine the water's softness.
Water Temperature: When guests arrive, treat tea as wine; the water boils as the fire turns red.
The saying goes: “Old tea is best brewed, while tender tea is best steeped.” Different aged teas should be matched with appropriate water temperatures and brewing methods. Brewing tea involves pouring just-boiled water over the leaves, while Steeping uses slightly cooled water to slowly unfurl the leaves and release their aroma. From a rational perspective, excessively hot water may directly destroy vitamin C in the tea and cause excessive bitterness due to overly active compounds. However, too low a temperature prevents the full release of the tea's aroma, making the taste less harmonious.
This is because older and younger teas have different thicknesses of epidermal cells and waxy layers. Proper brewing should use hot water to open the leaves without destroying their cell walls, allowing the internal aroma to naturally overflow, rather than directly rupturing the cell walls and causing cell fluids to spill out. This would lead to the rapid breakdown of nutrients inside the tea leaves, severely affecting the color, taste, and composition of the tea.
Therefore, choosing the water temperature according to the type of tea is especially important. Pu'er cake tea, brick tea, compressed tea, and aged teas can be directly brewed with boiling water. For premium bud teas, green cakes, and delicate green teas, the water temperature should be slightly lower at around 80-90 degrees Celsius. For exceptionally tender teas, the water temperature can be even lower during brewing.
The choice of water temperature also applies throughout the brewing process. First, to maintain and increase the water temperature, the tea ware should be preheated with boiling water before brewing, and after brewing, hot water should be poured over the outside of the Teapot to enhance the tea's aroma. For aged materials like brick tea, they can be broken into pieces and boiled in a pot. After everything is ready, use freshly boiled water to rinse the tea, with the highest water temperature but shortest duration. Consider the number of rinses, and after pouring out the water, smell the aroma of the leaves to ensure it is pure and free of stale flavors before brewing with hot water. Although the water can be reheated multiple times during the brewing process, it's best not to exceed five times and avoid overheating, as this will reduce the oxygen in the water, affecting the tea's activity.
It's particularly important to note that cooled water should not be reused for brewing. Instead, it can be used to clean the tea ware or water tea pets on the tea table, adding to the enjoyment of Tea drinking.
Time: Half of the dream returns from the mat, and the new stream water is first boiled.
“Brewing tea” itself is an art of time, blending the appreciation of tea's aroma with an elegant ritual. In the slow flow of time, one can feel the tranquility and beauty of life. True tea connoisseurs naturally integrate the control of each step's timing into the tea drinking experience and presentation of the theme. If it feels overly lengthy and complicated, it only proves that the tea brewer's understanding of tea art is still superficial. When familiar with the tea ware as if it were one's own hand, and when the concentration, heat, and procedures of brewing are all clear, one can achieve a state of natural harmony. And all of this is inseparable from the passage of time.
Before brewing, there's plenty of preparation needed. Besides selecting the tea and water and cleaning the tea ware, the time for waking up the tea cannot be neglected. Especially for aged teas, they should be broken into pieces and placed in a purple clay jar in a dry and ventilated area for three months to half a year. If possible, turn the tea over evenly every half month. Only after this waking-up process can the tea fully expand, releasing a richer and livelier aroma when brewed.
The length of brewing time also varies depending on the type of tea. Aged teas and coarse teas require longer brewing times, while newer and finer teas need shorter times. Hand-rolled teas take longer, while machine-rolled teas take less time. Compressed teas take longer, while loose teas take less time. The specific duration depends on a thorough understanding of the characteristics of various teas. Notably, for new teas with a strong bitter taste, not only should the brewing time be shortened, but the amount of tea used should also be controlled, so that the unique fragrance of the new tea can be enjoyed before the bitter taste seeps out.
Taking Pu'er tea as an example, after waking up the tea, boiling water, and preparing the tea ware, the first one or two rinses take