Dark Tea is a post-fermented tea and both boiling and brewing are great methods. There's no rule that it can only be boiled or only brewed; for example, some northern regions prefer boiling while southern areas tend to brew the tea. Therefore, there's no good or bad between brewing and boiling dark tea—it depends on different people, places, ages, and grades of raw materials. There's no absolute answer.

How to Drink Dark Tea Best?

1. Traditional Method (Boiling)

Sit around a stove, enjoy fine tea, and talk about life—it's very pleasant. It's recommended to brew the tea about five times before boiling. For urban indoor use, a “clay pot + induction cooker” is suggested.

Take about 6 grams of tea and heat the water to around 60 degrees Celsius before adding the tea (first rinse the dark tea with boiling water before placing it in the Teapot). Slowly boil the tea, then continue boiling for about 5 minutes after it comes to a boil before drinking.

2. Iced Tea Method

Use cooled water or mineral water. First rinse the tea with boiling water, then put the tea into a cup (bottle/pot) filled with cold water. In an indoor environment, you can steep the tea all day, just refill the water as needed.

3. Milk Tea Method

Brew the tea traditionally and mix it with milk in a one-to-one ratio. Mix the brewed dark tea with milk to make milk tea, which has a smooth and creamy taste.

The distinct aftertaste of dark tea leaves a sweet sensation in the mouth. The unique milk aroma complements the tea aroma and sweetness, leaving a lingering taste and a desire for more. You can also add stir-fried rice, stir-fried soybeans, or pair it with cheese and dried beef.

4. Honey Dark Tea

Dark tea was sold far into Tibet and Xinjiang during the Tang Dynasty. At that time, people in the northwest would add milk, salt, honey, etc., to their tea. Modern honey dark tea involves slightly cooling the brewed dark tea and then adding honey. The taste is sweet but not cloying.

Dark tea and honey are a perfect match: both are rich in nutrients and have various benefits such as cleansing the intestines and detoxifying. In particular, the gentle nature of dark tea and its significant stomach-protecting function can offset the stimulation of honey on cold digestive systems. Drinking this regularly can also prevent colds. This method is suitable for those who focus on health preservation.

Note: Boiling water will destroy the nutrients in honey, so wait until the dark tea cools to 50-60°C before adding honey for optimal nutritional benefits.

Honey Dark Tea for Sore Throat: After boiling or brewing dark tea, add an appropriate amount of honey to make honey dark tea. Drink one or two servings per day, and continue for three to five days to see results. Persisting for half a month can lead to recovery.

Dark Tea + Chrysanthemum + Honey: These ingredients complement each other and have the effects of nourishing the kidneys, clearing fevers, and improving vision.

5. Chrysanthemum Dark Tea

Mix dark tea and chrysanthemum in a 3:1 ratio in your teaware and brew together. The taste is refreshing. Chrysanthemum is known for detoxifying and cooling, while dark tea is mild. Drinking them together balances their properties and enhances their effectiveness. This method is suitable for those with a hot constitution.

6. Goji Berry Dark Tea

Add several goji berries to dark tea leaves and brew together. The taste is refreshing. Goji berries are known for improving vision, while dark tea helps protect against radiation. Drinking them together enhances their effects. This method is suitable for students, office workers, and others who frequently use their eyes and computers.

7. Lemon Dark Tea

Add lemon juice to well-brewed dark tea, or add lemon slices (fresh or dried, fresh being best). Then add sugar or honey. The taste is pleasantly sour and sweet. Lemon and dark tea both have the effects of refreshing and quenching thirst, as well as aiding digestion. Drinking them together makes these effects even more pronounced. This method is suitable after a full meal when you need to aid digestion (can also be chilled and drunk in summer).

8. Flowered Dark Tea

Add flowers such as roses, jasmine, osmanthus, or lavender to dark tea and brew together. The best choice is ancient tea flowers. Over the aged aroma of dark tea, the fragrance of flowers spreads, making the flowered dark tea both robust and elegant. While promoting health, it also creates a relaxing and warm atmosphere. This method is suitable for women who focus on beauty and enjoy romance.

Boiling or Brewing Dark Tea

Generally, dark tea with high tenderness and short storage time is suitable for brewing; most substances soluble in water are low-boiling-point substances.

1. Dark tea with higher grade raw materials, such as spring tea, is relatively tender. It contains a lot of substances, including amino acids that give a fresh and pleasant taste, as well as higher levels of tea polyphenols and Caffeine, which impart bitterness and astringency. Using the brewing method allows you to better appreciate the freshness and complexity of the tea.

Brewing also makes it easier to control the concentration of the tea soup, avoiding overly strong bitterness and astringency.

2. Fresh dark tea (within 3 years) retains its freshness and aroma. If directly brewed, it allows you to better experience the changes in color, aroma, and taste.

If boiled, fresh tea amplifies its shortcomings, making it more astringent, which might not be acceptable to new dark tea drinkers.

Dark tea that has been stored for a long time or has rich raw materials is most suitable for boiling due to its higher content of high-boiling-point substances.

1. Dark tea stored for more than 3 years is best boiled.

After a long period of storage, various substances in dark tea undergo continuous changes. For instance, tea polyphenols undergo non-enzymatic autoxidation, reducing their content and lowering the bitterness and astringency of the tea. Soluble sugars increase during the transformation process, and the content of water-soluble pectin substances increases.

Boiling at high temperatures brings out all the nutrients in the tea, making the tea soup fragrant and the taste thick and smooth.

2. Coarse and old tea leaves contain relatively fewer substances but higher sugar content. The tea contains a lot of stalks, and using the general brewing method makes it difficult to fully extract the flavor of the tea.

When boiled, the inner quality of the stalks is fully extracted, giving the tea soup a sweet and refreshing taste along with a rich aged aroma.