Puerh is a unique variety of Chinese tea that has been unfamiliar to Europeans for many decades. In order to fully appreciate the richness of the gustatory range that different types of pu-erh give us, as well as to note its unique tonic effect, you need to learn how to brew this tea correctly.
Puerh is no longer such a rarity today - you can buy it in any city. It is known that this tea has truly miraculous properties, as well as unique taste.
The first and most important mistake people make when making tea is pouring water at the wrong temperature. In no case should you brew delicate green teas with boiling water, but pu-erh tea, on the contrary, requires practically boiling water. Highly fermented teas are brewed with very hot water. To brew shu pu-erh, water is required from 90 to 100 degrees, and for sheng pu-erh, a temperature of 85-95 degrees is sufficient. The water temperature should be the higher, the older the tea leaves, the longer the pu-erh is aged.
Never add tap water to tea. Even if you boil it, it becomes "dead", does not bring any benefit to the body. All tea masters recommend filtering the water and using purified bottled water to make tea. The best taste is revealed if you make tea in spring water.
Another important aspect of making pu-erh tea is the need to rinse the tea leaves. The first infusion is always drained: it removes dust and dirt from the tea, rinses and disinfects it, and also makes its taste richer.
First you need to warm up the kettle with a small amount of boiling water, and then chop off a small fragment from the pressed pu-erh and crush it. The better the brew is crumbled, the better it will interact with water. Some masters recommend brewing the pu-erh in a spill the first two or three times, without leaving the tea leaves in water for a long time. This will help keep the beneficial properties of the drink longer.
Puerh, like other Chinese teas, loses its positive qualities if it is in water for a long time. Prolonged contact of the tea leaf with water contributes to the appearance of a bitter taste, which means that the tea is no longer suitable for drinking. Never leave the brew for more than an hour: an hour after preparation, the drink begins to be considered harmful.
