The culture of tea drinking in China has more than 13 centuries. During this time, the way of brewing tea has changed somewhat. So, when initially only green varieties of tea were grown in China, dry tea leaves were ground in special marble or jade mortars to a powdery state, poured in a small amount of water and whipped with a bamboo stick, split at the end into a panicle. With the advent of yellow and red teas, brewing methods have changed somewhat.
Instructions
Step 1
The most important thing you need to have in order to properly brew Chinese tea is water. Without good water, free from caustic chlorine, even strictly following the Chinese tradition of brewing tea, you will not be able to fully reveal its taste. Therefore, use spring water or one that you can buy in the store for brewing.
Step 2
Choose the right dishes. For brewing, the Chinese use gaiwan - a bowl-shaped porcelain cup with a lid of a smaller diameter than the top edge of the cup. There must be a hole in the lid so that the tea leaf does not sputter during brewing. Gaiwan tea is poured without removing the lid, slightly sliding it, so that the aroma does not evaporate. You can also use a teapot or a special container with an insert in the form of a strainer glass.
Step 3
Half or a third of its tea leaf volume is poured into a strainer glass, which is about 10-25 grams. The temperature of water poured into green, white or yellow tea, in no case should be more than 90 ° C, only for red teas, which we call black, practically boiling water is used - from 90 to 100 ° C.
Step 4
Red teas are poured with boiling water once and infused for 3 to 7 minutes. White and green - at least 3 times. High quality Pu-erh and Oolong can be filled with water up to four times.
Step 5
Yellow teas are brewed at the rate of 3 grams of tea leaves per 250 ml of water. These varieties can be brewed up to 8 times, while each time its infusion should be increased from 30 to 90 seconds.
