When it comes to brewing techniques and ways of drinking tea, it often feels intimidatingly complex. This time, we bring you a very practical tea brewing method. With this one trick, you can brew tea from all over the world.

As the saying goes, "firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea." Although tea is listed last, it is indispensable for many people. How can you brew tea for better flavor? For this, the brewing method varies slightly depending on the type of tea leaves.

● Green Tea:

Brew with 80°C–85°C water and drink immediately after brewing. Green tea is non-fermented tea. Common examples include West Lake Longjing and Biluochun. This type of tea is relatively tender and not suitable for brewing with freshly boiled water. 80°C–85°C is ideal. The tea-to-water ratio should be 1:50, with a brewing time of 2–3 minutes. It's best to brew and drink immediately. If the brewing temperature is too high or the time is too long, the polyphenols will be destroyed. The tea soup will not only turn yellow, but its aromatic substances will also evaporate and be lost.

It is best to brew green tea in a porcelain cup. When brewing, first use 1/4 of the water to rinse the tea leaves. After 20 seconds or half a minute, then pour in the remaining water to drink. When brewing green tea, generally do not cover the lid, otherwise the tea soup will turn yellow.

● Black Tea:

First, rinse the cup with hot water, then brew with boiling water. Black tea is fully fermented tea. Common types include high-grade Gongfu black strip tea and black broken tea. Unlike green tea, soaking at high water temperature can promote the dissolution of its beneficial components. Therefore, it is best to brew black tea with freshly boiled water. The amount of water used is similar to that for green tea. The brewing time should be 3–5 minutes. High-grade Gongfu black strip tea can be brewed 3–4 times, while black broken tea can be brewed 1–2 times.

Black tea is best brewed in a glass cup, allowing you to appreciate the tea leaves unfurling and rolling in the water. The specific method can use the middle-fill technique: first pour about 1/10 hot water into the cup to warm it, then add 3–5 grams of tea leaves, and then pour water along the wall of the glass cup for brewing. Cover the lid when brewing black tea to make the tea aroma more intense.

● Oolong Tea:

Brew multiple times with boiling water. Oolong tea is semi-fermented tea, such as Tieguanyin and Dahongpao. When brewing oolong tea, have a boiling kettle nearby. Pour the water immediately after it boils. Discard the first infusion. Use the discarded water to rinse all the cups, then pour in boiling water to brew and drink. Oolong tea can be brewed multiple times. Good quality oolong can be brewed 7–8 times. The brewing time for each infusion increases from short to long, ideally 2–5 minutes.

It is best to brew oolong tea with a professional Yixing clay teapot or a lidded bowl (gaiwan), and you must use 100°C boiling water. The amount of tea leaves for oolong is relatively large, basically half or more of the pot or gaiwan used. Cover after brewing.

● Dark Tea:

First rinse the tea, then brew with boiling water. Dark tea is post-fermented tea. It can still undergo natural aging during storage over time. Within a certain period, it even has the characteristic of improving with age. For dark tea, also use 100°C boiling water for brewing. For the first brew of dark tea, quickly rinse the tea for 10–20 seconds. That is, first put the tea leaves into the cup, pour in boiling water, wait a moment, pour out the water, then pour in boiling water again, and cover the cup lid. This not only filters out impurities from the tea leaves but also makes the brewed tea soup more mellow and aromatic. Subsequent brewing times are usually 2–3 minutes.

Dark tea is generally brewed with professional tea utensils. Yixing clay teapots or lidded bowls (gaiwan) are both suitable. The amount of tea used is generally twice that of green tea.

Finally, it should be reminded that to preserve the aroma of the tea leaves, it is best to use "soft water" with low metal ion content for brewing tea, such as purified water and high-quality mineral water.

Source: Tea Culture