Chinese people have been drinking tea for several thousand years. As a common beverage in daily life, tea has a fresh and elegant flavor that can quench thirst as well as promote health, making it a favorite of many. While everyone loves to drink it, not everyone knows how to correctly choose a container for brewing tea.
Brewing tea requires the right container.
In addition to good tea and good water, the right vessel is also essential. In daily life, the choice of what teaware to use depends on the type of tea, the number of people, and local tea-drinking customs.
Green tea: Fine and precious green teas such as West Lake Longjing, Dongting Biluochun, Junshan Silver Needle, and Huangshan Maofeng are best brewed in transparent glass cups, which allow you to observe the slow unfolding, movement, and transformation of the leaves in the water—a process known as “tea dance.”
Second- and third-grade stir-fried green teas, pearl tea, and baked green teas are mainly enjoyed for their taste or to quench thirst and can be brewed in porcelain cups. Lower-grade green teas contain more fiber, are more durable when steeped, and have a stronger flavor, making them suitable for brewing in Teapots. If fine and precious green teas are brewed in a teapot with too much water, it will be difficult to cool down the temperature, resulting in the tea being over-steeped and losing its fresh and fragrant aroma.
Black tea: For high-quality black teas like gongfu tea and lapsang souchong, white porcelain or glass covered bowls are generally selected. On one hand, the red-bright color of high-quality black tea is best displayed in white or cream-colored porcelain, allowing the tea drinker to appreciate the color. On the other hand, using a covered bowl helps to release the inherent aroma and flavor of black tea without compromising its quality, making it convenient for tasting and smelling the aroma.
For black tea in strip form, a purple clay teapot is an excellent choice, enhancing the rich and long-lasting flavor. Additionally, using the same purple clay teapot consistently for the same type of black tea can enhance the aroma, making it even more intense. For broken or fannings black tea, a white porcelain pot can be used, which excels at bringing out the concentrated and fresh flavors, although it may not be as beneficial for the aroma.
Oolong Tea: Oolong tea can be primarily divided into four categories: Southern Fujian oolong (such as Tieguanyin), Northern Fujian oolong (such as Dahongpao), Guangdong oolong (such as Dancong), and Taiwanese oolong (such as Tungting oolong). For Southern Fujian oolong, especially Tieguanyin, appreciating the tea broth, aroma, and leaf base is important, and using a covered bowl makes it particularly convenient for observing the leaf base and smelling the aroma.
For Northern Fujian oolong and Guangdong oolong, using a covered bowl highlights the original flavor and aroma of the tea and makes it easy to observe the leaf base. Brewing with a purple clay teapot produces a richer and more aromatic broth. Generally, for aged teas, a thick-walled, flat, round purple clay teapot is recommended to maximize the flavor. When using a purple clay teapot, it is best to dedicate each teapot to a specific type of tea to avoid compromising the taste.
Precautions
Avoid using boiling water for brewing.
Some people prefer to brew tea with freshly boiled water, but this is actually very harmful. The high temperature of just-boiled water can destroy heat-sensitive nutrients (such as vitamin C) in the tea and cause the aroma to quickly dissipate. The water temperature for brewing tea should vary according to the age of the leaves: older leaves can be directly infused with 95°C water, while younger leaves are better suited to around 80°C.
Do not over-infuse the tea.
Tea is best consumed regularly but not excessively. It should be brewed and consumed immediately, rather than left for a long time. Infusing tea for too long releases substances that can be harmful to the body. Over-infused tea has a dark color, poor taste, and weak aroma, losing its value for appreciation. Moreover, due to prolonged exposure, the tea water can become contaminated by the surrounding environment, increasing the number of microorganisms (bacteria and fungi), which affects hygiene. After three or four infusions, there is no need to continue brewing the tea.
Do not drink the first infusion of tea.
Some people believe that the first infusion of tea is strong and invigorating, so they enjoy drinking it. However, during cultivation and processing, tea leaves are exposed to pesticides, leaving some residue on the surface. The concentration of pesticides and other harmful substances is higher in the first infusion. Therefore, the first infusion should be used to “rinse” the tea and then discarded.
In addition to good tea and good water, the right vessel is also essential. In daily life, the choice of what teaware to use depends on the type of tea, the number of people, and local tea-drinking customs.