I was out of town on a business trip. After finishing my work, a friend contacted me and invited me for Tea. However, since it was a weekday, we decided to meet in his office. This tea session made me realize a profound issue: what would the Infusion of top-quality Pu'er tea taste like when brewed with hard water that had been sitting for half a month?
Good Tea, Lesser Water
My friend has grown up around tea and has maintained a clean lifestyle for years within the system, almost abstaining from Smoking and drinking, with his greatest hobby being tea.
When we arrived at his office, he opened a cabinet against the wall, which was packed with metal tea boxes, wooden tea chests, and various kinds of tea, including Pu'er cakes, Tieguanyin, and Green Tea, some of them quite expensive.
The tea was excellent, but the brewing utensils were excessively simple. He used a standard government-issued white porcelain mug with a handle for drinking and a low-quality portable brewing cup for brewing, while boiling water in a cheap thin-steel electric kettle.
With a wry smile, my friend apologized, saying, “The environment here can't compare to your meticulously arranged tea room. I don't fuss about these things; having hot tea is good enough for me.”
He then went to fill the kettle with water from a water dispenser. I glanced at the label on the water bottle, which had been nearly a month since its production date. It was a brand of purified water I hadn't heard of, likely a local small brand.
After boiling, the water had a visible layer of white floating particles. The city where my friend lived had particularly hard water. Despite using relatively clean bottled water, the kettle wasn't old, yet it had developed a thick layer of scale.
Considering my preference for Pu'er tea, my friend rummaged through the cabinet for a while before finding a cake of Lao Banzhang. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be one I had given him previously. There was another problem: without a tea knife or scales, my friend had to break off a piece and toss it into the brewing cup, hastily rinsing it once as a pre-infusion. After the second infusion, we each had a full mug.
Brewing such high-quality tea this way was a first for me. I took a sip, and as expected, the taste was overwhelmingly bitter and astringent, lacking aroma, with a dull mouthfeel and a coarse texture. Observing the infused leaves, they were plump and covered with fine hairs, each strand distinct. Such good tea leaves produced a disappointing infusion. What a waste!
After taking a sip, my friend also frowned, “I always find Pu'er tea too bitter and astringent. I rarely drink it. I only brewed this tea because you came over. Shall we brew a pot of Tieguanyin instead…?”
This friend, an experienced tea drinker, still didn't realize the importance of choosing the right water. Using bottled purified water for brewing is not wrong, but he overlooked the local water quality issues and directly used a kettle filled with scale.
From a modern scientific perspective, good water for tea brewing should, at the very least, have the following characteristics: softness, weak alkalinity, and high activity. Only good water is worthy of good tea and capable of producing a good infusion.
After explaining the importance of selecting the right water in detail, my friend remained skeptical. He sent a subordinate to buy a large bottle of Nongfu Spring and took out a set of gaiwans from the bottom of the cabinet, also rinsing the scale from the kettle.
This time, we rinsed the tea once with boiled bottled water and poured the second infusion into the white porcelain mugs. After swallowing a mouthful of tea, my friend's expression changed dramatically: “Huh? The taste is completely different than before. Pu'er tea is actually so fragrant!”
Water is the mother of tea, and the vessel is the father. Brewing is the foundation. The presentation of aroma and flavor cannot be separated from the most fundamental elements: water, vessel, and person. Often, the problem isn't with the tea but with the water, vessel, or incorrect brewing technique.
Mother Water, Father Vessel
To brew a good pot of tea, one must first find the most suitable water. The basic principle for tea brewing water is to use soft water. For example, bottled purified water and mineral water, after filtration, are generally suitable for brewing tea.
The minimum requirement for tea brewing water is that it must be boiled to remove impurities. If the type of tea requires brewing at 85°C, the water must first be boiled to 100°C and then cooled down.
The choice of tea vessel should be flexible based on the type of tea being brewed. Beginners can start by practicing with a gaiwan, which has a wide range of applications and can be used to brew many types of tea with ease.
However, note that green tea is typically brewed in glassware. Other auxiliary vessels, such as a pitcher and tasting cups, should also be selected based on the occasion.
Endless Steeping
Pu'er tea is highly resistant to steeping, and some tea enthusiasts often brew a single portion throughout the day, drinking a few infusions in the morning and a few more in the afternoon. The infused leaves remain wet for long periods, which can present some problems.
Firstly, Pu'er tea is a tea meant to be brewed and consumed immediately. Leaving the infused leaves for too long causes the polyphenols, amino acids, and other nutrients inside to oxidize, reducing both the flavor and nutritional value.
In terms of food safety, the amines in tea can cause the infusion to spoil and develop a sour taste if left for too long. In the case of ripe Pu'er, the infusion may turn a deep brown color like soy sauce, significantly diminishing both the visual and drinking experience.
Moreover, cooled infused leaves provide an excellent medium for bacterial proliferation, especially during the hot summer months, where a night can result in the growth of countless bacterial colonies. Therefore, unfinished Pu'er tea should be promptly discarded.
No Pre-infusion Before Brewing
A pre-infusion (or rinsing) is essential for Pu'er tea before drinking, especially for older ripe teas. During the process of killing green, sun-drying, pile fermentation, and subsequent storage and aging, dust can accumulate, affecting the taste.
Additionally, pre-infusion has the benefit of making the infusion more uniform, allowing the tea leaves to unfurl and rejuvenate. However, to avoid washing away the true essence of the tea, the number of pre-infusions should be limited to three or fewer.
High Pouring
When brewing highly aromatic teas, pouring water forcefully onto the tea leaves can help release their aroma. Some enthusiasts bring this habit to Pu'er tea, letting a rapid stream of water pour into the gaiwan and directly onto the leaves.
However, Pu'er tea, made from Yunnan large-leaf arbor tea, is not suited to the high-pouring method. An overly turbulent flow can cause excessive extraction of polyphenols and Caffeine, resulting in an overly bitter and astringent infusion.
Pu'er tea seeks a stable fragrance and a rich, smooth infusion. When pouring water, it is best to do so gently, softly, evenly, and slowly. High pouring can cause the infusion to become superficially aromatic, losing its richness and smoothness.
Regardless of the category or price, to truly taste the essence of the tea, it depends on the skill of the person brewing it. Reflect on the key points every time you brew tea, think more, and practice more. I believe that the tea-b