In recent years, Anhua dark tea has been widely pursued and favored by consumers due to its remarkable effects. brewing Anhua dark tea is a simple yet somewhat challenging art; if not careful, the brewed tea may have a light taste, weak aroma, and thin mouthfeel. Even worse, well-stored aged dark tea can produce a drying and slightly astringent tea soup in the throat. So how can we make Anhua dark tea taste better?
Step 1: Place the Tea
Control the tea-to-water ratio to lay a foundation for the concentration. For a 100ml teapot with a lid, use 10 grams of tea. This amount generally ensures a balanced ratio, which you can adjust according to personal taste. Also, adjust the steeping time accordingly. For example, if brewing several infusions, increase the amount of tea used and try to pour out the water quickly during the initial few steeps.
Step 2: Rinse the Tea
Moisten the tea leaves and clean the surface. From this rinsing step onward, pour the water gently. You can pour in a circular motion or in a steady stream, but the water flow must be calm and stable. Avoid making the tea leaves tumble violently. If rinsing twice, for the first rinse, raise the pouring point, thin the water stream, and lower the temperature of the rinse water. For the second rinse, lower the pouring point and increase the water temperature. After rinsing, drain the tea leaves as thoroughly as possible. Typically, warming the cups is necessary when rinsing the tea, but since rinsing also cleans the tea, it's best not to warm the cups with the rinse water.
Tips: When warming the cups while rinsing the tea, keep the container holding the tea open to allow any off-flavors to escape and to help cool down the tea leaves.
Step 3: First Three Infusions
Suppress off-flavors and improve the mouthfeel. The basic method is to pour water slowly and steadily in one spot. Minimize the relative movement between water and tea. When the water is poured slowly and steadily enough, you will notice that the color of the water in the teapot is very light, unlike when pouring vigorously, which can stir up the Orange-Yellow Tea soup and even the residue. When decanting the tea, it is recommended to use a fair cup. This allows the color and flavor components to recombine in the fair cup. The tea soup extracted by slowly pouring water is soft and viscous but lacks aroma. After each infusion, it is suggested to drain the tea leaves completely. Leaving some tea in the pot might increase the number of infusions, but it changes the rhythm and balance of the flavor components, adding instability to the brewing process.
Step 4: Middle Three to Five Infusions
Aroma and flavor blend harmoniously. The basic method is to pour water slowly in a circular motion and keep it steady. Avoid pouring too vigorously. To achieve a balance of aroma and flavor, the water temperature and the relative movement between water and tea need to be controlled at a reasonable level. Although slow circular pouring sounds simple, it requires skill. In practice, how fast to pour, how thick the water column should be, and how high to pour are all factors the brewer needs to adjust based on the characteristics of the tea and the preferences of the drinkers.
Step 5: Last Three Infusions
Aroma rises, the mouthfeel becomes smooth, and the tea tastes sweet and light. The basic method is to pour water quickly, keeping the tea leaves at a consistently high temperature. Pouring can be done from a high or low position, either in one spot or in a circular motion. What's important is to agitate and tumble the tea leaves while maintaining a high water temperature to fully stimulate the aged aroma. When the tea reaches the end of its infusions, to extract more substances and enhance the aged aroma, we need to increase the water temperature during steeping. At this stage, contrary to the initial steps, we should not leave the lid open to cool down and disperse flavors; instead, we should immediately pour more water after decanting to maintain the high temperature of the soaked tea leaves. purple clay Teapots naturally retain heat well due to their poor thermal conductivity.
Precautions
Throughout the brewing process, do not shake, stir, or move the tea leaves. Doing so will make the tea soup cloudy and may cause the tea flavor to become thin and watery. Similarly, maintain a steady pour. Even when pouring from a high position, keep the water stream calm and smooth.