1. The first infusion is mainly to wash off pesticide residues;

2. The first infusion is used to rinse away impurities and dust;

3. The first infusion has not undergone "warming rinse," so it still has a bitter taste and cannot bring out the best flavor. After summarizing the above three reasons, we find that there is actually no strong scientific basis for whether the first infusion can be drunk. It is more formed by people's mistaken understanding of the cleanliness of tea leaves, and through word of mouth, such a saying has emerged.

In fact, due to the特殊性 of tea leaves, they cannot be washed like fruits and vegetables. Therefore, whether it is pesticide residues or dust and debris, it is difficult to completely remove them solely by soaking in hot water. Most pesticides are脂溶性 substances, and hot water brewing can only dissolve and dilute a very small amount. At the same time, modern tea mostly adopts natural planting methods, and the residue content is far from reaching a level that harms human health.

In addition, for teas that have been stored for a certain period, the first infusion does have a rinsing function and does not need to be drunk. But calling it a "useless brew" is actually somewhat biased because, as the first brew, it contains a lot of quality information about this tea and is highly expressive.

Finally, regarding the statement that the first infusion does not achieve the best taste, many experienced tea tasters have expressed different opinions. Usually, the maximum析出 of beneficial substances in tea occurs in the first infusion. Some have jokingly called the first infusion the "black box" of Pu-erh tea, containing much information that merchants are unwilling to tell you. So next time you buy Pu-erh tea, perhaps take a small sip of the first infusion and carefully taste any abnormal flavors. This method is very useful.

In fact, there is no strict rule on whether to drink the first infusion or not. Sometimes it needs to be judged based on different types of tea. We simply divide tea into the following three categories to decide.

Category 1: Natural state or lightly processed tea

Here, "natural state" refers to tea products presented in their original form, such as flower tea and white tea; while "lightly processed tea" includes most green teas, black teas, and yellow teas. For them, what you drink is the taste of the tea itself, so there is no need to pour out the first infusion. Especially for some famous high-quality green teas, the most beautiful aroma and freshness of the tea are all in the first infusion.

Category 2: Highly processed tea

For example, ball-shaped oolong or Pu-erh tea, tuo tea, brick tea, etc. Due to their special shape, tea leaves undergo a "slow unfolding" process when soaked. Therefore, the first infusion is often used to warm and moisten the tea leaves, and this brew is completely drinkable. However, in formal settings, since the tea soup has not reached its best state for drinking, the warming rinse is not served to guests.

Category 3: Aged tea

This category refers to aged teas and old teas represented by Pu-erh tea. The first infusion often serves as a "warming" function and more importantly, a "waking up the tea" function. Even for teas with storage issues, many people rinse multiple times to试图掩盖 the negative effects brought by storage. Therefore, as mentioned earlier, in such cases, it is not recommended to drink the first infusion, but you can inspect its "health" status by smelling the dry leaves, observing the color of the first infusion, smelling its aroma, or even taking a small sip and spitting it out.

So, now do you have an idea about whether to drink the first infusion of tea or not?