To brew ripe tea in a way that brings out its best, I conducted some experiments regarding the choice of vessel, water, and brewing techniques. Here are my insights. The general approach is as follows: first, analyze the nature of the tea and identify its characteristics; second, determine the brewing goals based on these characteristics, aiming to work with them and highlight their strengths while minimizing weaknesses; third, consider specific methods to achieve these goals; finally, through practice, further analyze, validate, and adjust the process.
Analyzing the Nature of the Tea
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In terms of aroma, new ripe teas have a piling scent, but good teas will exhibit floral honey aromas or even aged aromas later in the brewing process. Older ripe teas have storage and dry leaf scents, but high-quality aged teas will develop excellent aged aromas or even medicinal aromas later on.
In terms of taste, new ripe teas are no longer very stimulating or astringent, but they do have a pleasant broth-like texture. When brewed properly, they can have a smooth and grainy mouthfeel like red bean soup. Older ripe teas become clearer in broth and milder in taste, but can have a very high level of smoothness and oiliness. When brewed properly, they can reach a state of “transformation.”
Establishing Goals Based on the Nature of the Tea
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First few infusions: Suppress any coarse or impure odors (such as piling or storage scents), enhance viscosity and oiliness, and shift the balance from aroma to broth quality. Aim to brew a cup of tea with a mild aroma but soft, smooth broth. At the same time, try to control the concentration of the initial infusions to preserve the performance of the final infusions and increase overall brewing endurance.
Middle infusions: Once you notice the aroma has started to turn “pure,” appropriately stimulate the aroma. Strive for a balanced harmony between aroma and broth. Brew a cup of tea that is aromatic and broth-like, with a well-integrated perfume and broth.
Last few infusions: By this point, most of the flavor and broth qualities have been extracted. Without ensuring broth quality, focus on fully stimulating the aroma to brew a sweet, smooth broth with a high fragrance.
Selecting Methods to Achieve the Goals
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1. Use a purple clay teapot with thick clay walls and low firing temperature. Take full advantage of the physical characteristics of the purple clay pot to both absorb and suppress impurities and allow the leaves to breathe and retain heat. Additionally, teapot shapes with wide mouths, large bellies, and short bodies, such as antique or shi piao styles, are more conducive to controlling the water temperature and allowing impurities to dissipate. Finally, the teapot must have a quick and smooth water flow. The concentration of ripe tea changes rapidly during soaking, and the wet leaves can easily block the spout, making it difficult to control the strength of the broth if the flow is slow.
2. Use mineral water with a higher pH (7-8) for brewing.
3. Allow the tea to wake up. This involves changing the storage environment of the tea before brewing. For example, break off a piece from a Compressed tea cake and place it in a clay jar for a period of time. Expose the tea to air to adjust its internal moisture content.
4. Pre-heat the teapot with hot water. Common methods include:
First method: Open the teapot lid and pour hot water over the body of the teapot (suitable teapot shape required).
Second method: Open the teapot lid and place the teapot on a rack inside a container of boiling water, similar to steaming buns.
Third method: Open the teapot lid and place the teapot on the lid of a container of boiling water, also steaming.
5. Control the brewing water temperature. Generally speaking, lowering the water temperature will make various odors less pronounced; increasing the water temperature will strengthen them. In particular, continuous high-temperature soaking is the only way to stimulate the aged aroma of older teas.
Purple clay Teapots naturally retain heat well, and you can cover them with a lid and continuously pour boiling water over them to increase the soaking temperature. On the other hand, gaiwans (covered bowls) have poor heat retention, especially when the wet leaves are not submerged in water and cool down quickly. To maintain the temperature of the wet leaves, there's an important technique: after pouring out the broth, add water to the Gaiwan first, then use the sharing pitcher to serve the guests. We'll discuss the specific operation in the practical demonstration section later.
6. Control the stability of the water flow when pouring. The technique used is a key point. Generally speaking: Aroma relies on a fast pour, while broth quality relies on a slow pour. If you want the broth to be highly fragrant, pour water quickly and vigorously so that the tea leaves move vigorously within the container and rub against the water, but this will sacrifice broth quality; if you want the broth to be smooth and soft, pour the water steadily and slowly into one spot in the brewing vessel, but this will sacrifice aroma.
This saying is too broad. Brewing is about achieving balance, and in actual application, many adjustments need to be made based on different tea natures and different tea-making processes. However, in the brewing of ripe tea, it is still quite practical. Below, we will specifically analyze the main effects of five basic pouring techniques.
High pour: Long, thick water stream. The water cools less in the air, and it takes less time to fill the gaiwan, with the strongest agitation of the water and leaves.
High suspension: Long, thin water stream. The water cools the most in the air, and it takes longer to fill the gaiwan, with less agitation of the water and leaves.
Low suspension: Short, thin water stream. The water cools less in the air, but it takes longer to fill the gaiwan, with the least agitation of the water and leaves.
Circular pour: Move the spout of the kettle when pouring. Its primary effect is to increase the agitation of the water and leaves and improve the uniformity of contact between the water and the leaves in different parts of the container.
To ensure a harmonious and integrated mouthfeel and avoid a scattered broth, here are two tips for circular pouring:
First, rotate around the entire circumference and finish the pour at the starting point. This requires adjusting the rotation speed according to the pouring speed. If the water column is thin, rotate slowly; if the water column is thick, rotate faster.
Second, maintain the stability of the water column during rotation, keeping its thickness and height constant, and the water column should be smooth and even throughout.
Pointed suspension pour: No rotation, the spout remains fixed at one point when pouring, known as pointed suspension pour.
7. Choose the right kettle. To control the water flow, a kettle with a well-designed spout is essential. Regardless of price and material, priority should be given to kettles that can produce a smooth and steady water stream and allow for precise control over the thickness, thinness, slowness, and rapidity of the water stream.
In the following practical demonstration, a gaiwan is used instead of a purple clay teapot for convenience. Gaiwans are harder to control than purple clay teapots, which makes them better for honing skills. If controlled properly, gaiwans can also produce a pleasant, broth-like tea just like a purple clay teapot.
Practical Demonstration
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1. Measure the tea: Control the tea-to-water ratio to lay the foundation for the desired strength.
For an 110ml gaiwan, use 7 grams of tea. This amount of