The globalization of society and the widespread internetization of life have significantly expanded the horizons of consumer opportunities. If in Soviet times everyone drank black Indian tea in cubes with elephants, now Russians have become connoisseurs of Chinese teas and Japanese ceremonies. Puer, oolong, assam - these words no longer sound like gibberish. Thanks to the simplicity of orders from Chinese sites and a democratic price, our customers have become tea gourmets.
Pu-erh is a fermented, naturally or artificially aged green tea belonging to the "dark" varieties. Unlike other types of tea, it does not deteriorate over time, but only gets better: the taste and smell of sweetness, which is specific to it due to the technology of preparation, disappears.
How to brew pu-erh correctly
Utensils: preferably a glass teapot, never earthenware. It is recommended to wash it from plaque only with soda, salt or dry mustard, and not with chemical agents, rinse with clean water.
Tea leaves: before use, it must be chopped off from the bar, cleaned of dust, rinsing or doused with boiling water. For greater safety, in order to avoid the ingestion of harmful microorganisms and bacteria, you can lightly fry over low heat to dry.
Water: it is better if it is soft (melted or filtered).
Brewing temperature: optimal - 80-90 degrees Celsius. Visually, such heating is achieved when small bubbles rising from the bottom are replaced by larger ones. You cannot bring water to a boil.
Recipes
Recipe 1. Scald the kettle with boiling water, swirl the water in it to warm up, drain. Pour in the brew at the rate of a teaspoon per person and fill it with hot water by a third. After a few seconds, pour the water into tea bowls - let them heat up. This should "awaken" the tea leaves: they will begin to come to life and unfold into a leaf before our eyes. Fill the kettle halfway by pouring hot water from a height to enrich it with oxygen and let it brew for a few minutes.
Recipe 2. Cooking pu-erh, common in the old days, requires certain skills and dexterity: when heating water in a container made of heat-resistant transparent glass, you should scoop it up several times and pour it back to enrich it with oxygen. After that, pre-soaked in cold water, pour the tea into hot water. The teapot is removed from the fire when bubbles begin to rise from the bottom of the dish with threads - not earlier and not later. Otherwise, the tea has every chance of being either empty, or bitter and cloudy. Let stand for a minute and pour into cups.
How to drink pu-erh
No sweets and starchy foods: sugar dulls and changes the characteristic tea taste, destroying some of the beneficial properties.
Only fresh: it is unacceptable to withstand the brew for even an hour, not to mention a day. Over time, the medicine turns into poison.
The higher the quality of the tea, the shorter the brewing time: the first brewing takes 40 seconds, with each subsequent brewing it takes 10-30 seconds more. The longer the brew is infused, the more tart and aromatic the drink turns out.
