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The Knowledge of Tea Tasting |
Storage
It is very important to store your tea properly. The way you store your tea will affect the later quality of the brewing. Some teas are best after long storage, for example, Aged and Vintage tea. The following pointers are useful:
1. Keep it away from the open air to avoid humidity.
2. Keep tea out of the direct sun.
3. Keep the tea away from any odors.
For frequent tea drinkers, it is suggested that you store tea in two airtight containers; one big and one small. When the small one is consumed, transfer tea from the big container to the small one. This method is designed to avoid frequent contact with the air, which may spoil the tea.
Taking Care of a Yixing Purple Clay Teapot:
Before using your newly bought Yixing Clay teapot, please follow these steps to prepare the pot in order to achieve the best result when brewing:
1. Boil the teapot in clean water for two hours. The water level must be three times the teapot’s height.
2. Take the teapot out the boiling water and let it dry. (About 15 minutes)
3. Fill the teapot with 1/2 pot of tea leaves. Pour in boiling water to brew the tea. Retain the brewed tea. Repeat this around ten times and then discard the tea leaves.
4. Use the brewed tea from step (3) to boil the teapot again for another hour.
5. After every use clean the pot with hot water and rinse the teapot. Do not use detergents.
The Basic Brewing Technique
Always consume the freshly brewed tea. Do not leave the leaves soaking for a long time as the tea will taste rough, bitter and have lost all the natural scent. If you can master the brewing techniques, you will have years of enjoyment with tea.
There's a saying "Boiling water make delicious tea". In fact it does not apply to all types of tea making. There are two basic methods for brewing:
Low Temperature Brew: This method is suitable for brewing Green and White tea. First, pour in boiling water (100°c) until half of the teapot size. This is for rinsing the water and not for drinking. Pour out the water immediately. We call this "Tea Rinse". The hot water will loosen and expand the dry leaves, which brings out the scent and aroma. We call this "Releasing the Scent". Then use 80°c temperature water to brew the Tea.
High Temperature Brew: This method is suitable for brewing Dark Green tea (Oolong), Aged Tea (Pu-erh) and Black Tea. First, pour in boiling water (100°c) until overflow slightly. This is for rinsing the water and pours out the water immediately. Then use 98°c water to brew the tea.
Water Management
As we are living in a high-tech environment, we all have to face the consequences of industrial waste. Our drinking water is tainted and even polluted. Tap water may not be clean and suitable for drinking.
“Maifanshi”, a precious mineral stone has the ability to absorb odor and help purify water. It can also releases adequate amounts of minerals into the water. Brewing tea with this treated water will upgrade the quality of the tea, achieve clearer color, and better scent with a sweeter taste. (Note: if you are already using a high quality water filter at home, it is best to soak the Maifanshi in the filtered water.)
Another choice is our home-style water filter. Fill the filter container with Maifanshi to improve the quality of the tap water. You can use it as drinking water without boiling or use it for brewing tea.
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