Pu'er Tea is a natural free-radical scavenger with significant effects in antioxidant properties, delaying aging, and preventing cardiovascular diseases. As the public brand “Xianyang Pu'er Tea” gains increasing recognition, the Health benefits of Pu'er tea products are becoming more valued by consumers. Recently, we have been sharing excerpts from “Speaking of Pu'er Tea,” authored by Liu Xiang, Vice President of the Shaanxi Tea Circulation Association and member of the association's expert committee. The book was published by World Books Publishing and selected as one of the top ten tea books by the Tea Industry Media Alliance. This sharing aims to help consumers gain a more comprehensive understanding of Pu'er tea.
What kind of water is best for brewing Pu'er tea?
Tap Water: Although tap water meets national hygiene standards, it typically undergoes only preliminary filtration at the water treatment plant, followed by disinfection with sodium hypochlorite and clarification with other coagulants. Residual chlorine and the presence of iron, calcium, magnesium, and other cations make the water relatively hard. These cations can combine with fungal polysaccharides, amino acids, tea polysaccharides, theaflavins, thearubigins, theabrownins, phenolic acids, and flavonoids in Pu'er tea, resulting in a darker, sometimes turbid infusion with a bitter taste and the formation of rust oil on the surface.
Therefore, using tap water to Brew or boil Pu'er tea often results in an unsatisfactory flavor and color, with an overly concentrated release of internal components, unstable tea strength, and rapid flavor decline.
Purified Water: Due to the use of ultrafiltration technology, most people now drink bottled purified water. Purified water is produced through multiple layers of filtration and reverse osmosis, removing all organic substances and calcium and magnesium cations. Its pH level is nearly neutral or slightly acidic.
Thus, using purified water to brew Pu'er tea yields a more durable infusion with evenly released solutes, a crystal-clear color, pure aroma and taste, and a fresh, mellow, and refreshing mouthfeel.
Mining Water: Mining water comes from specific geological environments in nature, undergoing simple sand and gravel filtration while retaining the quality and trace elements of natural water. It is generally clean and has a slightly sweet taste, with high water stability. It is suitable for brewing tea, especially for unfermented or lightly fermented teas like green and white teas. Since mining water contains various trace elements and Pu'er tea is rich in internal components, using mining water to brew or boil tea may occasionally result in a turbidity similar to that seen with tap water. This is related to the specific mineral composition of the mining water and the geological conditions of its source.
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