How do you brew Pu'er raw tea properly? What should you pay attention to during the brewing process? And how do you evaluate a raw tea? Water is the mother of tea. For tea drinkers, good water is as important as good tea, and good tea requires good water to brew it.
Generally speaking, the higher the water temperature for brewing Pu'er tea, the better, especially for aged teas and ripe teas. For newer teas, we suggest a temperature around 92-95 degrees Celsius is more suitable. If the water temperature is too high, the aroma can easily rise and the tea may become bitter, affecting its freshness, which requires a quick pour.
If the water temperature is too low, it is difficult to fully bring out the flavor of the raw tea. The ratio of tea to water and Steeping time: As they say, “one size does not fit all,” there are no strict ratios between tea and water, and it depends on personal taste.
In addition to the tea-to-water ratio, factors that influence taste and mouthfeel include water temperature and steeping time. If the water temperature is too high or the steeping time is too long, too much bitterness and astringency can be released, causing significant damage to the quality of the tea leaves, making it difficult for the tea to return to its normal character in subsequent infusions.
To achieve a delicate, sweet, and less bitter and Astringent Infusion, you can reduce the amount of tea used, lower the water temperature appropriately, or shorten the steeping time for each infusion.
How to brew? How do you control water temperature, amount of tea, and brewing time? Use a 150ml white porcelain gaiwan, a fair cup, tasting cups, and a kettle for boiling water. Prepare 6-8 grams of tea; lighter-tasting tea enthusiasts may use 6 grams (those who prefer a stronger taste can increase this amount appropriately).
Typically, for a 120ml gaiwan, use about 6 grams of tea; for a 150ml gaiwan, use about 7 grams of tea; and for a 250ml gaiwan, use about 9-10 grams of tea. Brewing: Since spring teas are relatively delicate, the water temperature for brewing should not be too high, but controlled between 92 and 95 degrees Celsius.
Warm the vessels: Pour boiling water into the medium-sized white porcelain gaiwan, tasting cups, and fair cup to rinse them. Add tea: Place the prepared Pu'er tea into a 150ml white porcelain gaiwan. Rinse the tea: Pour hot water at 92-95 degrees Celsius into the gaiwan containing the tea leaves, rinse once, and pour out the liquid immediately.
1-4 infusions: Pour hot water into the gaiwan, pour slowly and steadily in a fine stream, and pour out the tea immediately without letting it steep. 5-8 infusions: Pour hot water into the gaiwan, pour slowly and steadily in a fine stream, and let each infusion steep for 15-30 seconds.
After the 8th infusion, the water temperature should be above 96 degrees Celsius, pour slowly and steadily in a fine stream, and let each infusion steep for 30 seconds to 1 minute. After the 12th infusion, each infusion can steep for over 1 minute. Serve: Pour the tea into tasting cups and enjoy the tea.
Understanding the nature of the tea is key to brewing it well. In addition to mastering the basic brewing process for raw tea, to present the flavor of a raw tea as much as possible, one must have some understanding of its nature, including the age of the trees and the strength of the leaves. Generally, the nature of the tea can be judged according to the following rules.
Teas that are tender, loose leaf, new, raw, spring harvest, autumn harvest, small tree, large leaf, and strong in nature should be brewed with less tea and a quick pour. Teas that are old, compressed, mid-aged, aged, ripe, large tree, ancient tree, and small leaf should be brewed with more tea and a longer steeping time, i.e., increasing the amount of tea and extending the steeping time.
Pu'er tea is a living entity that is constantly changing. Over time, new raw teas gradually transform into mid-aged and aged teas. New teas are the starting point for mid-aged and aged teas, a necessary stage in their development, so to age teas to excellent quality, in addition to good storage conditions, the selection of new teas is also important.
Finally, it's worth noting that newly pressed teas, whether raw or ripe, are not suitable for drinking. After going through processes like steaming and Drying, the nature of the tea has not yet stabilized, and it cannot fully express the flavor of Pu'er tea. Moreover, such teas tend to have a heavy water taste and may have a grassy flavor. Therefore, we recommend waiting three months after pressing before drinking them.