Fermented Chinese teas are gaining in popularity. Connoisseurs of Pu-erh tea know that not only drinking, but also the process of making this wonderful drink gives pleasure.
Many people tend to regard Pu-erh exclusively as a Chinese grade of tea, but at the time of its appearance, the modern northern provinces of China belonged to Tibet. The properties and taste of this drink have been appreciated since ancient times: Pu-erh perfectly tones and invigorates, has a specific pleasant aroma and delicate taste. In the best way, the features of this drink are revealed only with proper brewing, for which you need to have not only certain knowledge and skill, but also the necessary tool.
Brewing utensils for pu-erh
For the tea ceremony, only glass or porcelain dishes are used. Of course, the original material for teapots and glasses is Chinese black stone clay, but such sets are exclusive products and are very expensive. Metal utensils can spoil the taste of pu-erh tea, and earthenware containers absorb its aroma very quickly. The set should contain several tea glasses, as well as gaiwan and chahai - containers for brewing.
Making tea leaves
Pu-erh is packed in compressed tablets or discs of different sizes. Tea should be chipped off in large pieces, while the fine chips formed during the grinding process are usually thrown away. The required amount of tea is calculated according to the number of guests attending the tea ceremony. For each, you need to break off one and a half slices of pressed tea, half the size of the little finger.
Water for brewing pu-erh
Particular attention should be paid to the choice of water for brewing pu-erh. Tap water contains chlorine, so its use is excluded. It is better to take spring or artesian water, although any natural source is suitable. You can also use filtered or bottled water. The water from the well will need to be purified through a homemade sand-coal filter, thus eliminating excess hardness and filtering the liquid from a suspension of fine sand and limestone. You need to brew pu-erh with water that has cooled down to 90 degrees after boiling.
The subtleties of cooking
Shredded pu-erh should be put into gaiwan and poured over with cool boiling water. After a few seconds, the liquid is poured through a sieve of the chahawka and glasses are filled with it, the remainder is evenly poured over the table with holes, spreading the aroma and giving guests the anticipation of the pleasure of tea. Gaiwan is again poured with boiling water, while the lid must drive off the formed foam and cover the container. From the glasses that have already warmed up, the liquid should be poured back onto the table. Usually, tea tables made of wood or bamboo are used: they are saturated with moisture and slowly exude a pleasant intoxicating aroma.
After the hot water has been poured from the glasses, the already distinct smell of puerh will hover in the room, which guests will enjoy during one to one and a half minutes of brewing tea. It is necessary to rinse the tea both to remove dirt and to obtain full disclosure of the leaves. Raw pu-erh tea is washed once, while the black variety of this tea is poured with boiling water twice before brewing. It is highly undesirable to add sugar to pu-erh, but the drink can be eaten with sweet flaky cookies.
