Almost everyone loves green tea, but the real, true taste of this tea can only be obtained if you brew it correctly. In fact, many of us do not know how to properly brew green tea. Therefore, in this article, we will tell you with great pleasure how to do it correctly in order to achieve the most delicious tea.

What you need to brew green tea

First of all, in order for you to be able to brew delicious green tea, you need high-quality tea. Today, green tea is produced everywhere. Of course, if you are a green tea lover, then it is best to give preference to expensive tea brought from China. We recommend purchasing green tea in special tea shops or tea houses.

Equally important is the quality of the water with which you will brew tea. In no case do not use tap water for brewing, as well as water that has gone through several degrees of purification and, in fact, is “dead”. The best water for brewing green tea is well water or table water.

How to brew green tea

To make green tea you will need:

• Teapot;


• teapot;


• Green tea cups (small).

So, in order to brew green tea, you need water at a temperature of 80 degrees. Thus, if you have a water-heating kettle with a heating temperature controller, then set this temperature, but if there is no such kettle, then prepare a container with cold water in advance to dilute the boiling water in the kettle for brewing, in the proportions: 80% boiling water and 20% cold water.

How to brew Chinese green tea

When the water for brewing is ready, pour the required amount of tea into the teapot. Then pour water into the kettle, reaching a temperature of 80 degrees. After that, if you mixed boiling water and cold water, then shake the kettle. Fill the tea leaves with a small amount of water and cover this container with a lid. Next, drain the water from the teapot into the teapot, set the tea container aside, and rinse the cups with drained water so that they are warm, then pour out the water. Thus, we made the first brewing of tea: we washed it and also heated the cups.

Then we move on to the next procedure - the second brewing. Pour the required amount of water of the desired temperature into the kettle and pour it into the teapot. Tea is infused for just a few seconds, and after that the water is drained back into the kettle, in fact, this is already tea. Next, the tea is poured into cups and is ready to drink.

It is important to note that the Chinese drink green tea without sugar. If you cannot do without sugar, then it can be added in very small quantities, since the more it is, the more the taste is distorted. Also, there is one very important nuance in the use of tea: it is drunk with the so-called “serbation”.

Video of how green tea is brewed in China

In order to clearly see and understand the procedure for brewing green Chinese tea, we suggest watching a video about this.

In the video below, a girl - a resident of China, conducts a master class on brewing green tea, according to all the rules.

Of course, how you feel about this procedure is also very important. The Chinese say that it is necessary to brew green tea with pure thoughts and a good soul. Also be sure to purchase a special set for brewing green tea.

In China, the culture of tea drinking has evolved over the centuries. Tea has become not only food for the body, but also food for the soul - a spring of self-knowledge, peace, harmony. This article will not talk about the tea ceremony. This topic is for a separate post. Or even a series of publications. Today the topic of our article will be "daily" tea drinking. Not many people can afford a couple of hours for one single tea party. And in order for tea to begin to show its own properties, such as taste and aroma, it is necessary to follow a few simple rules. For the "correct" brewing of tea, neither lengthy rituals nor a master of the tea ceremony is needed. But in any case, the first thing to do before starting brewing is to clear your thoughts of fuss. Only 15 minutes of comfort and peace, if desired, can always be found for yourself.

Water for making tea

For brewing, we use the water that is available. Although it should be noted that the purer and softer the water, the brighter the tea will show its qualities. If your area has hard water, use hard water cartridges or special filters that soften the water. In order to get rid of chlorine, you need to leave water in an open container for the whole night and the chlorine evaporates. Freezing water is a great way to purify water. Such water must be melted, but not all, leaving a small “ice barrel” - it must be sent to the scrap. The resulting water can be filtered again.

Utensils for brewing tea

Utensils for brewing elite teas are teapots made from famous Issin clay. Although, in the absence of the latter, you can use teapots made of faience, porcelain, ordinary clay, and even simple cups. Obviously, a more important criterion than the material will be the volume of the teapot. Chinese teas are consumed without leaving the brewed infusion and without diluting, in other words, everything cooked in the teapot is poured completely and completely. Thus, its volume, or rather, the amount of boiled water for brewing, must exactly match the number of people who will drink tea. For example, if there are two people, then a teapot of 250-350 ml will be enough. Another feature that indicates that teapots are not recommended to be washed thoroughly. It is enough to throw away the tea leaf after brewing and rinse the teapot with running water. Gradually, the walls of the kettle will be covered with a coating that “remembers all previous brewing”, which will have a positive effect on future brewing. That is why it is recommended to keep a couple of teapots: one for each group of teas. This will avoid the mixing of such different flavors as, for example, wild pu-erh and delicate milky oolong.

How many times can tea be brewed

The next important feature of high-quality Chinese teas is the ability to brew them repeatedly. Moreover, from brewing to brewing, the aroma and taste of high-quality tea changes, each time revealing other facets of a wonderful drink. By the way, this is another reason why you need to spill all the liquid from the teapot. The next time you need to brew tea only when the steamed "gruel" has cooled down. Almost any Chinese tea is brewed at least three times. How many times you can brew tea to the maximum depends on the quality and variety of tea leaves. Ancient aged pu-erhs are sometimes brewed 12-15 times. Our store presents in its assortment Royal Pu-erh, aged 20 years, and a fairly large selection of pressed Pu-erh. Each type of tea has its own dosage, in addition, each has its own individual taste. The more different types of tea you try, the more subtle your perception will become. This will allow you to accurately set the optimal amount of tea for your personal enjoyment. For starters, we recommend using a ratio of 3-5 grams of tea leaves for every 100 ml of boiled water.

Brewing process

So, the volume of the teapot and the amount of tea are determined. The next step is to boil the water. It should be noted that any type of tea requires its own water temperature for brewing, but let it remain for the next stage of our tea craftsmanship. At the moment, we just use slightly cooled boiled water, the temperature of which should be about 85-95 degrees. Before brewing tea, it is necessary to scald the teapot well in order for the clay to heat up. Next, you can pour tea leaves (initial dosage of 3-4 grams per 100 ml of water). It is necessary to pour the tea leaves with a small amount of boiling water (so that the water only covers the tea leaf), leave for 20-30 seconds and drain. This tea leaves are not drunk, the tea is washed in this way from dust (since high-quality tea is hand-picked tea, which is often stored for many years before reaching the table) and prepared for real brewing (the tea leaf is steamed, which ensures the full effect tea leaves). For brewing, in fact, everything is ready. Pour boiling water over the tea leaf and let it brew. Brewing time can vary from 30 seconds to 3-4 minutes, depending on the desired strength and type of tea. In addition, with subsequent and repeated brewing, the time needs to be slightly increased.

How to brew da hong pao

To prepare da hong pao tea, you need to use purified bottled water. If the water is tap water, the taste and aroma of the tea will be significantly different from the original. Before brewing da hong pao, it is necessary to rinse the teapot with boiling water. If you want to prepare a medium-strength drink, pour dry tea into the prepared teapot (two ordinary teaspoons of tea with a slide per teapot, 100 ml). The water used to brew tea should be at a temperature of 90-95 degrees. Pour water into a heated teapot with tea and immediately drain it. From now on, the tea is ready for brewing. Pour water back into the kettle. The infusion time is no more than 30-60 seconds. When a maximum of 1 minute has passed, the resulting drink must be poured into an intermediate vessel, initially heated with hot water after the first rinse. Then pour the tea from this vessel into small cups. You can open the teapot and enjoy the aroma of tea leaves, which is no longer the same as before brewing (with each brewing, the aroma will change). Da hong pao tea can be brewed in this way up to 15 times. The aroma, taste, and aftertaste of each new serving, however, will be different. Brew it in this way and in the future you will not be able to deny yourself such pleasure. If you hold this mini-ceremony for friends, no one will remain indifferent! Da hong pao tea is most useful and pleasant if you drink it warm, not letting it cool.

How to brew te guan yin

There are several ways to brew te guan yin. Let's look at the most common and easiest way. To do this, we need a kettle, te guan yin tea, cups and water. First you need to boil water in a kettle. When large bubbles appear, remove the kettle from the fire and our water is ready for further preparation. If you boil water - tea will lose all its properties. In order to avoid a strong temperature difference, all the dishes used for brewing must be scalded with boiling water, which will preserve the aroma and taste of tea. Next, fill the tea te guan yin with water and immediately drain it. This is done in order to disinfect the kettle. In addition, this procedure allows the tea leaves to slowly bloom before the next brewing. Then again fill the tea with water to the top of the teapot and cover with a lid. Pour enough water so that the top layer of tea, together with the foam, overflows when closing. Tea te guan yin is infused for about a minute, after which it can be poured into cups. This tea is brewed up to 10 times. Although it all depends on your taste preferences and on its quality. In addition, each subsequent brewing is recommended to be increased by 15-30 seconds.

How to brew milk oolong

Before brewing milk oolong, the teapot is filled with one third of the leaves, poured with boiled water over ninety degrees and drained, washing the cups. Then the teapot is poured again, while the tea leaves swell and open, filling the entire volume of the teapot. This infusion also needs to be quickly drained and enjoy the taste and aroma of the first tea leaves. Similarly, one can fully understand the absolute uniqueness of this type of tea by pouring it many times, up to an average of fifteen. Since each subsequent brew carries a special note of aroma and taste of milk oolong. Drink this tea from porcelain or glazed cups, because earthenware can take away most of the wonderful aroma. At the same time, milk oolong leaves a pleasant aroma for a long time even in an empty cup.

Green Chinese tea can be brewed several times, from 3 to 7 times, depending on the type of tea. This is its main difference from black tea. It is necessary to brew green tea in slightly heated, because cold will lower the temperature of the water by a couple of tens of degrees. The first brew will be spoiled, the tea will be tasteless. In addition, essential oils will not be able to stand out from the leaf at this temperature.

Green tea is not brewed with boiling water, because all the beneficial components will be destroyed. This will certainly affect the taste and aroma in a negative way. The temperature of the water for brewing should be between 60-80 degrees. Only some varieties are brewed with hotter water, and this is usually indicated on the packaging.

If you still boil water out of warnings, do not bring it to 100 degrees. As soon as bubbles appear at the bottom of the container, turn off the water, then cool to the desired temperature. If you allow the temperature to reach 100 degrees, all the oxygen will leave the water. This will affect the taste of the drink.

How to infuse green Chinese tea?

The first water is drained, it is needed only in order to rinse the tea. Immediately after this, it is necessary to fill in the water again. After pouring water for brewing, be sure to watch the time. Too long brewing will not be beneficial. Too many tannins will be drawn out of the leaves, and the drink will be unpleasantly bitter. If you are satisfied with such a taste and strength, keep in mind: tea leaves are unsuitable for reuse.

The brewing time for each variety is different, it is also indicated on the package. You don’t need to focus on color, each variety of green tea has its own. For one, transparency is normal, the other will have a deep amber color.

Try to use brewed green tea before it cools down, because cooled tea loses many of its beneficial properties. Essential oils evaporate, antioxidants are destroyed. So do not brew a whole kettle for several times, count on your strength.

The characteristics of the utensils for brewing green tea are very important. The best option is a clay teapot, it will retain heat and allow the leaves to "breathe". You can also use glass or porcelain, but the conditions they create are not so good. Avoid metal or

The story of the Middle Kingdom would be incomplete without a mention of Chinese tea. This drink in China has a thousand-year history - the first mention of the tea bush appeared about 4700 years ago! And China is the birthplace of tea. According to legend, one Chinese saint fell asleep during prayer, and, angry with himself for this, cut off his eyelids so that he would never sleep again. From the abandoned eyelids, a tea bush grew. That's what we drink with you =). The hieroglyphs "eyelids" and "tea" are the same.

Hieroglyph "tea"

In China, tea is called "cha", which means "young leaf". Naturally, in different provinces this word is pronounced differently: “cha”, “cha”, “whose”. However, the hieroglyph for tea is the same throughout China. Why do you think this drink has a similar name in Russia? Tea came to Russia through the northern regions of China, where it was called “tea”. This is how the name appeared in Russia.

Initially, tea was consumed in China for medicinal purposes from the 7th to 9th centuries AD, during the Tang Dynasty. Chinese philosophers said that tea is better than wine, because, strengthening and invigorating, it does not cause intoxication, and better than water, since it is not a carrier of infection. In 760, the Chinese poet Lu Yu wrote The Book of Tea, where he set out a set of rules for the correct brewing of this drink. At this rate, tea became a very popular drink and trade item in China by the 10th century.

Chinese tea was introduced to Europe by Portuguese and Dutch merchants in the 17th and 18th centuries. In the Old World, the drink was appreciated, at first tea drinking was a sign of luxury, and then it spread among the general population. In 1793, the seeds of the tea bush were exported from China to India, where they were actively cultivated and subsequently grown. In the 19th century, tea was already grown in Africa and South America, and at the moment - even in Australia!

Varieties of Chinese tea and how to brew Chinese tea

1. Pu-erh tea (普洱茶) - highly fermented black tea prepared using a special technology. There are two types - sheng ("raw", green) and shu (post-fermented, black). Grown mainly in Yunnan province. This tea is distinguished by a special production technology: the collected leaves are subjected to natural or artificial aging, under the action of microorganisms.

How to brew Chinese Pu-erh tea?

Pu-erh is usually brewed with hot water at a temperature close to boiling water. The first tea leaves are drained in order to wash off the dust and disinfect. It can be brewed repeatedly, pu-erh can withstand 5-10 brews.

Pu-erh has now become popular and "fashionable" among Europeans. When we went to tea houses in China, we were immediately offered this particular type of tea. Unlike other teas, pu-erh does not deteriorate over time, but only gets better. According to our own observations, pu-erh promotes digestion and helps the intestines)).

It is made in the form of a hockey puck, rectangular briquettes, pumpkin and many others.

2.Tea Oolong (乌龙茶) - medium fermented tea. common in different types - dark oolongs, with a higher degree of roasting (Northern Fujian (or cliff, Wuyishan), Guangdong), light oolongs, with a low degree of roasting (South Fujian, Taiwanese). According to the Chinese classification, it ranks between green and red. During its processing, not the entire sheet is subjected to fermentation, but only the edges.

Oolongs are divided into fermented and weakly fermented. Highly fermented are made from adult and fleshy leaves, these include Da Hong Pao (big red robe), Te Lo Han. Weakly fermented are made from the same raw materials, only fermented for less time. These teas include Te Guan Yin - the most famous and popular variety in China, and my favorite too)). We bought Tie Guan Yin in Chengdu and Guilin, all teas have a different taste, aroma and price =).

How to brew oolong?

Oolongs are brewed in different ways - less fermented with not too hot water 70-80 ° C, more fermented with water hotter than 90 ° C. A good oolong can withstand up to 7-8 brews. By the way, Te Guan Yin was brewed for us in tea rooms with just boiling water, without cooling. The Chinese store tea in the refrigerator, away from foreign odors.

3. Red tea (红茶) - in the European and Russian classification - black long leaf tea. Yes Yes. What in Russia they used to call black tea is considered red in China =).

Red teas are made in 12 provinces of China, but the highest quality in the provinces of Yunnai and Fujian. In the production process, they are steamed and fried over a fire. At the same time, the tea leaf is almost completely fermented and darkens.

How to brew Chinese red tea?

Such tea is brewed almost with boiling water (t ° from 90 to 100 ° C). It turns out a drink of red-brown color, with a characteristic taste. The tea must not be allowed to stand, otherwise it will be bitter. This rule applies, in general, to all Chinese teas.

4. Green tea(绿茶) - tea that has undergone minimal processing (in China it is called "killing greens", "shaqing"), unfermented.

The same raw materials are used for the production of green and black teas. The difference is in the method of collection and the fermentation process. Fermentation is the main stage of tea processing, then in tea, under the influence of its own enzymes, oxygen and microorganisms, oxidation processes begin. They occur during wilting and drying or stacking. During fermentation under the influence of oxygen, complex chemical transformations occur in the tea leaf. The juice of the leaves and the leaves themselves undergo oxidation and fermentation, and the process can go from several hours to several days. It is after fermentation that tea acquires color, aroma and its properties. Examples of such tea: Bi Lo Chun, Mao Feng and others.

Drinking Mao Feng tea in Chengdu

5. Yellow tea(黄茶) is a very special tea that acquires a peppery note due to a special light drying technology. Its properties are closest to green teas. Expensive yellow tea has a very characteristic effect that is difficult to confuse with any other tea. An example of such tea is Junshan Yinzhen.

6. White tea(白茶 - the most delicate Chinese tea. It has even weaker fermentation than green tea. It is made mainly from kidneys. The main idea of ​​white tea is to preserve the tea leaf as much as possible, leaving a maximum of natural and natural. Examples: Show Mei, Bai Mudian.

How to brew white tea?

White tea is brewed with water at a temperature of 60-85 °C, the brewing technology is the same as for other teas.

Buying tea in China.

Tea in China is sold in many places: in tea shops, small shops and supermarkets. Everything that we bought in supermarkets, as expected, was of poor quality (well, you should have tried it!). Therefore, I recommend that you go to a special tea shop to buy good tea. There you can taste different varieties and types of tea, chat, relax and buy your favorite tea. A small tea ceremony will be held especially for you, it is already included in the price of tea =). There are especially many tea shops in tourist places, but the prices there are touristic. Do not look at the chic and brilliance of the establishment - try the tea!

Bonus! Video about how to brew low-fermented oolong tea (te guan yin), For example.

And one more thing: brewing pu-erh by the method Lu Yuya- remember, that same Chinese poet.

The most-very frequent question: how to brew tea? How to do it right? How much tea to brew? We answer all the most common questions of beginners - how, in what and how much. Ready to find out?

Let's talk about what constitutes the right tea drinking.

Purpose of tea drinking

First, decide what you expect from tea drinking. Of course, not in the sense that "because I want to drink tea."

Imagine that you are going on a trip and look at the map while choosing your route. If you think literally “I want to go somewhere”, then most likely the trip will not take place at all. The more accurately you imagine, the more likely it is that your expectations will be justified, and you will get a lot of positive from this fact.

In the same way, before drinking tea, you should choose a “tea route”. Understanding what you want from tea here and now, you will improve the quality of your experiences at the moment of tea drinking, and the constant complication of your experiences is generally the key to human happiness, as Mr. Csikszentmihalyi teaches us, which, however, has nothing to do with tea .

So, we decide on a goal, listen to ourselves and try to understand what we want to get from tea. Cheer up and accelerate before work? Relax at the end of the day? Enjoy the taste and aroma? Immerse yourself in a contemplative state? Impress your friends with rare tea or tea of ​​the highest quality, or arrange a tea party for those who have only heard about tea? Chat with friends, creating a cozy and positive environment for this?

Understanding exactly what you want to end up with will allow you to choose the right tea and brew it accordingly.

tea place

To be honest, it can be anything at all, not necessarily classical Chinese - the interior of a tea room: bamboo, incense, etc.

The tea space is a place that is ideally comfortable for you. A small table, a tea board, dishes, and perhaps some nice things that set you on the right wavelength. Everyone has their own: someone immediately lights incense, candles or turns on tea music in the background, someone cannot do without their favorite tea toads, and someone just needs to carry their old teapot / gaiwan everywhere to immediately arrange a corner of the house anywhere, whether it is a summer house, a hotel in another city, an office or someone else's apartment. In general, find some items of your own that will make you feel comfortable anywhere. Even if it's a favorite old glass in a glass holder, inherited from my grandfather. If you are rushing from him, if he morally charges you and you consider him your family and loved ones - this is what you need!

Water

We talked about the choice of water for tea.

Dishes

And we wrote about the choice of dishes.

Process

Remember: there is no perfectly brewed tea - there is tea that is ideally brewed just for you and for a specific situation. To Each variety has its own characteristics, a different way of brewing creates a different tea. Three parameters that you can change when creating your own compositions:

• The volume of dishes.
• The amount of welding.
• Brewing time.

Imagine three scales, moving the slider back and forth, you make your own recipe for making tea. You can put a lot of tea leaves and brew very quickly. You can put a little tea leaves and let it brew longer. In general, experiment and learn from your own experience. Here are your options:

3 g / 300 ml = 1 minute

3 g / 100 ml = 20 seconds

6 g / 100 ml = 10 seconds

6 g / 50 ml = 5 seconds

Friends came and asked for a fortune in tea, “so that the pearl can finally be like this”? Take wuyishan oolongs, chaozhou cha or pu-erh and brew them stronger. If you want relaxation and positive, and the company has gathered thin and resonant, a help will help you, or maybe shen pu-erh or Taiwanese oolongs.

By brewing the same tea in different ways, you will recognize it from all sides. At first, it is even useful to write down all the technical conditions of welding, so as not to forget. You may spoil the tea several times, but it is the mistakes that give a useful experience, do not be afraid of this. It's an interesting interactive process.

But note that high grades require more subtle and careful handling than everyday categories.

How to understand that you did everything right: correctly decided on the goal, with the choice of tea and furnishings? Everything is very simple: if you feel a sense of joy and pleasure from the taste, aroma, and simply from the fact that tea exists at all and you have the opportunity to drink it, then this means that you have come to the right address. In China, they say about it like this: "drink tea for the benefit of all living things." And then it becomes completely unimportant whether you drank tea surrounded by bamboo, candles, guqin music and incense, or on the river bank, holding an old country cup with a tea bag in your hands. Proper tea drinking is not in the parameters, but in the feeling that everything, in general, hurts, and live well :)

Brewing tea in the traditional way

In the end, as promised, we talk about directly brewing tea. Here's what you'll need to brew tea the traditional Chinese way:

• Teapot for 100-200 ml or gaiwan of the same volume;
• thermos 1 liter;
• bowls according to the number of people;
• chahai - a container where tea is poured from a teapot before being poured into cups;
• tea board with a double bottom - chaban (optional);
• tea 5-8 grams.

1.

We heat the water

It should not be boiled boiling water and water heated again. How to determine the correct water temperature? Throw away all thermometers, you don't need them! All you need to do is turn off the kettle at the very beginning of the bubbling, when the first large air bubbles begin to rise from the bottom of the kettle to the surface. Owners of opaque kettles - listen to the water: remove the kettle as soon as the loud noise subsides and is replaced by a dull roar. It is convenient to pour water into a thermos so that it does not cool down.

2.

We warm up the dishes

Tea utensils must be warmed up before brewing, so that the water does not lose temperature later, and the tea is well brewed. Pour water into an empty teapot, gaiwan, chahai and bowls, and then pour it all onto a tea board, if you have one.

3.

Washing the tea

Rinsing tea is not exactly a mandatory process, but we recommend doing it. First, it prepares the leaf for brewing (especially with oolongs and pu-erh). Second, for hygiene reasons. Tea can collect various dirt and dust, fertilizer residues or even pesticides, if, for example, you bought tea of ​​dubious quality.

To begin with, pour the tea leaves into a hot teapot / gaiwan, close the lid and shake a little in your hands so that the tea dust settles on the walls. Now open the lid and inhale the aroma! Fill the tea with water just enough to cover the tea leaves and immediately drain. This is called rinsing the tea. Do not drink this infusion, but pour it onto a tea board.

4.

Brewing tea

Now it's time for the brewing, the multiple brewing, which is the hardest thing psychologically for a beginner to get used to. Brewing Chinese tea lasts from 5 to 20 seconds, but many times. This is not a strictly set time, it all depends on the type of tea and your preferences. With each new brewing, we slightly increase the time - by 10-15 seconds.

5.

Pouring

First of all, we pour the tea into the chahai, from it - in bowls. Chakhay is needed so that the tea does not overbrew while you pour it into bowls, and so that all participants in the tea party have tea of ​​the same strength and saturation. It is not for nothing that chahai is translated from Chinese as “chalice of justice”. From it we pour the infusion into bowls. Profit!

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