Green tea's heat-relieving and cooling effects make it especially suitable for drinking in summer. Let's learn how to brew high-quality green tea.

Method/Steps

1. Tea Ware: For high-grade, tender, and famous green teas, it is generally recommended to use transparent glass cups or white porcelain cups for drinking, without a lid. This increases transparency, allowing one to appreciate the tea's appearance, and prevents the delicate tea from being over-brewed, which would cause it to lose its fresh color and清爽 flavor. As for ordinary green tea, since the focus is not on appreciating the tea's charm but on quenching thirst, accompanying snacks, or enjoying conversation with friends, a teapot can also be used for brewing. This is often summarized as "delicate tea brewed in a cup, mature tea brewed in a pot."

2. Cleaning Utensils: This involves rinsing the selected tea ware with hot water one by one to clean them, enhancing the tea-drinking experience.

3. Observing the Tea: For fine, tender, and famous green teas, it is common to observe the tea before brewing. During observation, take a portion of dry tea leaves (enough for one cup) and place them on white paper. Allow the drinker to first appreciate the color and shape of the dry leaves, then smell the aroma, fully savoring the natural charm of the famous green tea. For ordinary bulk green tea, this step can usually be omitted.

4. Brewing the Tea: Typically, clean, high-quality mineral water is chosen. The water should be heated until it just begins to boil (the first boil), as this results in a fresher, more pleasant tea. The ratio of tea to water should be appropriate, usually between 1:50 and 1:60 (i.e., 1 gram of tea leaves to 50–60 ml of water). This produces a tea soup that is moderately strong and has a fresh, mellow taste. For brewing famous green teas, three methods are generally used depending on the tightness of the tea leaves: The first is the top-pour method, suitable for high-end, tightly rolled famous green teas such as West Lake Longjing, Dongting Biluochun, and Lushan Cloud Mist. This involves first pouring water at 75–85°C into the cup, then adding the tea leaves, which will slowly sink. For high-end famous green teas with looser strips, the middle-pour method is generally used: first add water, then place the tea, and finally pour in the hot water. As for ordinary mass-market tea, the bottom-pour method is of course used, which means placing the tea first and then adding water.

5. Appreciating the Tea: This refers to high-end famous green teas. During the brewing process, the drinker can observe the unfolding of the leaves, the change in the tea soup, the dispersion of the tea aroma, and the final presentation of the leaves and soup, thereby appreciating the tea's natural grace.

6. Drinking the Tea: Before drinking, it is common to first smell the aroma as a prelude, then taste and sip the tea to savor its true flavor. Additionally, green tea is generally best brewed 2–3 times. If more is desired, it is advisable to brew a new batch.

Green tea is very suitable for summer drinking. Learning these 6 steps allows you to better taste the tea's aroma and enjoy the乐趣 of brewing tea. Well, take some time to brew a cup of green tea for yourself and your loved ones. Don't forget to share this good method with tea-loving friends.