When brewing tea, if there's too much tea and not enough water, the tea soup will be too concentrated, resulting in a bitter taste and underutilization of the effective components in the tea. Conversely, if there's too little tea and too much water, the concentration of the tea soup will be very low, with a bland flavor and weak aroma. Therefore, the amount of tea added does affect the taste. Theoretically, different types of tea contain different amounts of aromatic components and their solubility ratios vary, as do the tea-to-water ratios preferred by different tea-drinking habits.

“How much tea do you usually use?”

“I use a pinch of tea.”

“Ah? How many grams is a pinch of tea?”

Often when drinking tea, each infusion yields a different taste, sometimes too strong, sometimes too weak. Why is this? Nine times out of ten, it's due to an inaccurate amount of tea used. So, how much tea should one use?

I. Green Tea

1. Standard Method of Adding Tea

When brewing green tea, I follow the standard method, which is 1 gram of tea for every 50 milliliters of water, or 3 grams of tea for 150 milliliters of water.

This standard applies to glass cups or covered cups.

However, many people don't weigh their tea when they drink it, so how can one brew good tea without specific measurements? Here's an introduction to the volume method of adding tea.

2. Volume Method of Adding Tea

Green tea is widely recognized as the freshest among all teas. After rolling, its soluble components come out quickly, so when using a covered cup, just enough tea to cover the bottom of the cup is sufficient.

Reminder:

The water temperature for brewing should not be too high, as excessively hot water can damage the green tea leaves, making the tea soup bitter and astringent. However, the water shouldn't be too cold either, as this would prevent the tea's aroma from being fully released. A suitable temperature range is 85°C to 90°C.

II. Black Tea

The amount of black tea used is similar to that of green tea; just enough to cover the bottom of the covered cup is sufficient, but slightly more than for green tea.

The infused tea color should ideally be golden, orange-yellow, orange-red, or bright red.

Reminder:

Those who often drink foreign black teas often consume broken black tea. Since broken black tea has a very fast extraction rate, the amount of tea used should be reduced by nearly half.

III. Oolong Tea

Oolong Tea emphasizes fragrance and aroma and can be brewed to be strong with a small volume of water and a rich taste.

When using a covered cup, the amount of strip-shaped oolong tea should be about one-third of the cup's capacity, while spherical oolong should just cover the bottom.

Reminder:

This semi-Fermented tea is strongly stimulated by hot water, which intensifies its aroma and flavor, especially for high-altitude oolongs, which must be brewed with boiling water. If warm water is used instead, the tea will be wasted.

IV. Pu'er Tea

1. Standard Method of Adding Tea: 1:50 (tea to water ratio)

In professional Pu'er tea evaluation, 5 grams of tea are typically placed in a 250-milliliter standard evaluation cup, and a two-step brewing method is used.

First, fill the cup with boiling water, cover, and steep for 2 minutes. Then evaluate the color, aroma, and taste of the tea soup.

Second, fill the cup with boiling water again, cover, and steep for 5 minutes.

2. Covered Cups and Purple Clay Pots: 1:16 (tea to water ratio)

If using a covered cup or purple clay pot to brew Pu'er tea, the preferred tea-to-water ratio is 1:16, which means 7 grams of tea for a common 110-milliliter covered cup and 10 grams of tea for a common 170-milliliter covered cup.

Reminder:

If you don't know the capacity of your covered cup or purple clay pot, the simplest method is to use a 500-milliliter mineral water bottle. See how many times it takes to fill the cup with tap water, and you can roughly calculate the capacity of your tea ware.

3. Travel Cup: 1:150 (tea to water ratio)

If using a 470-milliliter travel cup, I would add around 3 grams of Pu'er tea and leave it to steep continuously without it becoming undrinkably strong.

Note: After reading the above, someone might ask me, why 1:16 at one point and 1:150 at another. Let me explain: First, the reason for using more tea with covered cups and purple clay pots is because when brewing at home, the tea can be quickly poured out, which is suitable for multiple servings and multiple infusions. Second, less tea is used in travel cups because when traveling, the tea remains in the cup for extended periods, which can make it become too strong and bitter, so less tea is recommended. Third, avoid using thermos cups to brew tea, as it affects the taste.

V. White Tea

Since white tea is not rolled, it is made simply by withering and drying fresh leaves, so the dry tea is generally light and fluffy, requiring a larger amount, usually about one-third of the capacity of the covered cup.