Year-end is approaching again, and many friends are preparing their various summaries and reports. But have you also reflected on your experiences and gains from drinking tea? Below, the editor specially shares a report on common mistakes made by tea drinkers, especially beginners—be careful not to relate! Knowing your mistakes means it's time to correct them, making your tea drinking experience more enjoyable!

Drinking tea is an ordinary daily activity, and many people are accustomed to drinking it every day. However, precisely because it's a habit, people often neglect the correct methods of tea drinking. This not only prevents them from savoring the beauty of tea and its health benefits but can also harm the body. Today, we summarize several common incorrect tea drinking methods for everyone to pay more attention to.

▶ Mistake One: A handful of tea leaves in a big cup, drinking it all day!

This method is particularly common in northern China. Office workers might use a large enamel mug, teachers often have a space cup full of tea leaves during class, and bus drivers usually keep a large lidded teacup handy. Drinking from morning till night—this is probably the impression many Chinese have of tea drinking. In fact, this practice is the most harmful. Tea leaves should not be steeped in water for too long. Prolonged steeping increases the theamine content in the tea, which can affect health. Additionally, separating tea leaves from the water ensures the best taste.

▶ Mistake Two: Drinking tea without 'awakening' it first!

Awakening tea means allowing dormant or sealed tea leaves to revive through contact with air and moisture, absorbing the essence of nature, so they regain their true character for brewing. Methods vary for different teas. For more durable teas like Pu-erh and black tea, the method involves taking them from storage, placing them in a brewing vessel like a purple clay pot, and using 100°C boiling water to awaken them. For more tender teas like green tea, white tea, and yellow tea, the awakening water temperature should not be too high; 85°C–90°C is sufficient.

The degree of awakening crucially determines the expression of the tea's intrinsic quality during the entire brewing process and directly affects subsequent infusions. Note that the first infusion after awakening is not suitable for drinking and should be discarded.

▶ Mistake Three: Drinking overnight tea!

When brewed tea is left standing for a long time, the tea polyphenols in it further oxidize, deepening the tea's color. This is why a clear, green tea turns reddish-brown after being left overnight.

Generally speaking, overnight tea does not spoil nor cause cancer. In the scorching heat of summer, a cup of cold overnight tea can clear heat and relieve summer heat, but its cold nature can harm the stomach, so one should not indulge in drinking too much. Moreover, as the nutritional components of overnight tea are greatly reduced and its taste becomes bland, regular consumption will not provide health benefits. Tea is best brewed and drunk promptly to ensure its flavor and efficacy.

▶ Mistake Four: Drinking raw Pu-erh or green tea every day!

Raw Pu-erh and green tea have a fresh, fragrant taste with a pleasant sweet aftertaste, which many people enjoy and insist on drinking daily. In fact, both are non-fermented teas. Their characteristics include refreshing the mind, clearing heat, relieving summer heat, promoting saliva production, quenching thirst, reducing internal heat, and improving eyesight. However, green tea and raw tea are cooling in nature. Excessive consumption can easily harm the stomach and body. They should be drunk occasionally or alternated with other teas. Fermented teas like black tea and ripe Pu-erh are warming in nature and more suitable for daily consumption to nourish health.

▶ Mistake Five: Women drinking tea every day!

From a nutritional perspective, tea contains few calories and is rich in vitamins A, B, and C. It is not only nutritious but also relieves concerns about weight gain, making it highly favored by women. Besides plain tea, one can add roses, dried tangerine peel, goji berries, red dates, etc., to make scented tea or blended tea, offering additional benefits like beauty and health maintenance.

However, women should avoid drinking tea during menstruation and pregnancy. Usually, tea should not be brewed too strong.

▶ Mistake Six: Drinking the same type of tea all year round!

Some friends think raw Pu-erh is particularly good and drink it every day throughout the year. In fact, Chinese health cultivation follows seasons. Drink different teas in different seasons, even at different times of the day. The same applies to the four seasons: in cold autumn and winter, drink more ripe tea and black tea; in hot summer, drink some raw Pu-erh and green tea.

If you also have these poor tea drinking habits, it's not too late to change them now.