How to Brew Tea

Tea brewing, a Chinese invention, has greatly promoted the development of Chinese tea culture. Particularly, it has promoted the development of tea wares, tea ceremonies, and tea arts. Tea brewing pays attention to tea wares, water quality, water temperature, environment, mood, and even clothing. Before they knew how to brew tea, people would only chew tea leaves in their mouths. It wasn’t until people learned to brew tea that tea was truly loved by people around the world.

Steps for Brewing Tea

Tea Wares

• Wash your hands and appreciate tea wares

First of all, you should wash your hands, because cleanliness is also important when drinking tea. It is recommended to use porcelain tea wares from Jingdezhen or purple sand teapots from Yixing. This step can give guests a relaxed mood before drinking tea.
 

• Hot the tea cups and teapot

Spray the tea cups and teapot with hot water to prevent the teapot from absorbing the heat of the tea liquid and to maintain the original flavor of the liquid.
 

Teapot

• Put tea leaves into the teapot

It is an easy step. Just put some tea leaves into the teapot. The amount of tea leaves to be brewed varies depending on personal preference.
 

• Wash tea leaves

Pour boiled water into the teapot. Quickly pour out water in three seconds after it mixes with tea leaves. The purpose is to remove the unclean substances on the surface of tea leaves, and to filter out the tea leaves that have not been fried.
 

Tea Cooling

• Steep the tea leaves

Pour boiled water into the hotpot again and steep the tea leaves. During the pouring process, let the spout “nod” three times. Do not fill the teapot at one time. This step is called “Phoenix’s Three Nods” and is designed to pay tribute to the guests.
 

• Cover the teapot

Cover the teapot and spray the teapot with hot water to maintain the fragrance of tea liquid.
 

• Place tea cups

Put tea cups onto the tea tray. This step is the beginning of drinking tea.
 

Pour liquid

• Pour liquid into the tea cups

Pour the tea liquid into the tea cups. Each tea cup is 70% full with liquid, which is also a show of respect to the guests.
 

• Serve tea

Hold the cup with both hands and bring it to the guests. Serving guests with tea is the basis of ancient Chinese etiquette.
 

Sniff the Fragrance

• Sniff the fragrance

Guests sniff the fragrance of the liquid in the tea cup. At this time, the guests should be intoxicated to show their appreciation and admiration for the host’s tea.
 

• Savor the liquid

Finally, the guests can savor the tea liquid in the tea cup. Guests should take a slow drink in three sips and then put down their tea cups.

Tips for Brewing Tea

• Water Quality

To make good tea, you must first find the water that is best for it. Soft water, purified water, mineral water and filtered water are all suitable for brewing tea. The minimum requirement for brewing tea is to boil the water. Even if the tea needs to be brewed at 85 °C, the water must be heated to a temperature of 100 °C and then let it cool.
 

• Tea Wares

Tea bowls and teapots are widely used to brew tea. But green tea is usually brewed in a glass tea ware.
 

• Water Temperature

1. The water temperature varies for brewing different teas.
2. Oolong Tea, Pu’er Tea and Dark Tea: 100℃
3. White Tea: white tea with high tenderness 80-90℃; white tea with low tenderness 100℃
4. Green Tea, Yellow Tea and Black Tea: 80-90℃

Tea Ceremony

authorName23242: Yaqi Xiong

Date: 19/11/2020

Email: info@chinatourstar.com

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