red tea is the most consumed type of Tea worldwide, known for its mild and rich flavor that warms from throat to stomach. However, brewing high-quality red tea can be challenging for beginners. Many tea enthusiasts often encounter a bitter and astringent taste when brewing red tea. How can we avoid these issues?

How to Brew Red Tea Without Bitterness

One: The Amount of Tea Leaves:

The ratio of tea leaves to water is crucial. When brewing a pot of tea, how much tea should you use? Experienced tea brewers can determine the amount based on the tenderness and compactness of the leaves. This requires experience. For beginners, it's recommended to use a small scale to measure the quantity accurately. Also, brewing tea requires calmness, which helps in producing better tea.

Two: Water Temperature:

The water temperature is also significant, depending on the tenderness of the tea leaves. Different degrees of tenderness require different temperatures. For general red teas, a temperature range of 90°C to 95°C is suitable. Higher quality teas require a gentler temperature of around 85°C to 90°C. For coarser teas, boiling water at 100°C is best, as it brings out the fullest flavor.

Three: Speed of Rinsing the Tea:

The speed of rinsing the tea is also key, often overlooked. The correct process involves slowly pouring water along the side of the cup.

Red Tea Knowledge:

Red tea is a fully oxidized tea. It is one of the six major types of Chinese Tea, produced mainly in China but also in countries like India, Sri Lanka, and Kenya.

Red tea is processed through picking, withering, rolling, fermentation, and drying. Compared to Green Tea, red tea undergoes an additional fermentation step, where the leaves oxidize in the air. This oxidation reduces the levels of catechins and tannins, creating new components like theaflavins and thearubigins as well as aromatic substances such as alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and esters. As a result, the tea leaves are black or black with hints of orange-yellow from young buds; the tea liquor is deep red; it has a pleasant aroma; and due to the reduced bitterness and astringency, it tastes sweeter and more mellow.

Some tea-making machines produce tea in a rigid and rough manner, leading to inadequate drainage and higher levels of caffeine and catechins, resulting in a more bitter and astringent taste that strongly affects the palate.

Handcrafted tea made using traditional techniques ensures precise control over each step of the process, resulting in higher levels of theanine, which contributes to sweetness and freshness, thereby reducing bitterness and astringency and increasing smoothness.