Casually cooking Tea through the years, enjoying a half day of casual conversation.

Sitting around a pot, talking from the heart, listening to the sound of boiling water, and enjoying the pleasure of cooking tea is an extremely delightful thing.

However, many people still have misconceptions about cooking tea. Let's take a look at some tips so you don't turn Drinking Tea into an embarrassing situation.

What Kind of Utensil Should Be Used for Cooking Tea?

Generally, iron pots have pores and are “breathable.”

When cooking tea leaves, iron reacts with tannic acid in the tea to form ferric tannate, which is also a component of blue-black ink, hence the tea broth tends to be bluish-black.

Although not toxic, it can irritate the stomach lining, causing nausea, vomiting, and indigestion.

Suggestion: Iron pots can be used to boil water, but for cooking tea leaves, clay pots or glass pots are recommended as they provide better flavor. During the cooking process, the temperature of the clay pot stabilizes, allowing for good extraction of the tea's aroma.

Which Teas Are Suitable for Cooking?

Cooking tea extracts most of the internal substances of the tea, allowing one to taste the essence of the tea. If brewing tea is like hot pot, then cooking tea is more like making soup, resulting in a richer tea broth where the tea can be fully utilized.

Fresh and New Teas Are Better Brewed, Not Cooked

Tea tenderness has multiple levels, from single bud to two leaves, three leaves, and four leaves, the fewer the leaves, the finer the tea. Compared to newly made teas, fresh teas' main characteristic is their freshness. Such teas are not suitable for Steeping or cooking, as this can easily ruin their taste.

Blended Teas Are Suitable for Cooking

Blended teas refer to teas mixed with other flavorings. The most well-known type is black tea, and even young people who do not typically drink tea may have had milk tea, which is made from black tea.

Cooking blended teas remains a popular way of drinking tea in border regions, such as the Tibetan butter tea made by boiling butter and strong tea. For blended teas, cooking the tea is best, as it results in a more robust broth that can stand up to the addition of other flavorings while ensuring the tea's aroma is preserved.

Old and Coarse Teas Are Suitable for Cooking, Not Brewing

Old and coarse teas are the opposite of new and tender teas. Coarse teas often have more leaves and larger stems, containing abundant sugars and other substances that are not easily extracted through brewing. Old teas are those stored for a longer period. New teas are appreciated for their freshness, while old teas are valued for their richness; therefore, the methods for brewing old and coarse teas differ from those for new and tender teas.

Which Teas Are Suitable for Brewing?

Green tea, yellow tea, black tea, new white tea, new Oolong tea, and new sheng Pu-erh.

Which Types of Tea Are Best Suited for Cooking?

Firstly, heavily fermented teas such as ripe Pu-erh, Liubao tea, old tea heads, dark tea, and Tibetan tea.

Secondly, aged teas with significant vintage, such as aged white tea, aged Pu-erh, aged Wuyi rock tea, and aged Tieguanyin.

How to Control the Amount of Tea and Water Temperature?

Amount of Tea

The amount of tea should be less than when brewing. Tea should be drunk lightly, neither too light nor too strong. Of course, the amount of tea can be adjusted based on personal taste, gradually discovering what flavors you enjoy.

Taking white tea as an example, if the initial method is brewing, the amount of tea is 5g, then after the tea has been brewed six or seven times, all the remaining tea can be added. For new tea, it is recommended to use 2-3g of new tea, with a water-to-tea ratio of 1:150-200.

Water Temperature for Cooking Tea

First Method: Cold Water with Tea

Second Method: Hot Water with Tea

Third Method: Boiling Water with Tea

The first two methods result in longer contact time between tea and water, allowing caffeine and polyphenols to release excessively. When these substances exceed what our palate can handle, bitterness and astringency develop. It is suggested to add the tea when the water reaches 80-85 degrees Celsius.

How to Cook Tea?

Brew First, Then Cook

Suggestion: There are two ways to cook tea – directly cooking it or brewing it first before cooking.

A good tea can first be brewed to evenly release its contents bit by bit.

In the end, you can cook another pot, allowing the full content of the tea to be completely presented through different forms.

Lighter teas like aged white tea and aged Tieguanyin are suitable for direct cooking in a pot, while stronger teas like Pu-erh can be brewed five or six times before cooking, so the tea broth is not overly concentrated.

Do Not Cook Tea for Too Long

The cooking time of tea should not be too long. For new teas, it is best to cook them for 10 to 20 seconds after adding the tea. For the leaf base, extend the cooking time to 2-3 minutes.

Bring the water to a gentle bubbling state just before boiling, then add the prepared tea to the cooking utensil. Once it boils, it can be consumed.

This way, you can re-cook after drinking about two-thirds of the pot, rather than repeatedly boiling it.

The number of times a tea can be cooked really depends on the specific tea.

Leaving Some Tea for Refilling

Cooking tea is not just for one serving. After finishing a portion of the water, leave about one-third for refilling, otherwise, subsequent brews will be too light. How many portions of water can be consumed from a tea depends on the type of tea and the preferences of the tea drinker.

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