How to Make Chinese Tea

We choose water

Tap water in the city is quite hard. The so-called tap water in Warsaw is of good quality and suitable for drinking, but not for brewing tea, because it contains chlorine. Distilled water is also not suitable - the taste of the tea will not come out.

The best water for brewing tea is one with a very low level of mineralization (TDS > 50 mg/l), from a natural source and with a neutral pH (slightly above 7). The water should have a pleasant taste, be sweetish, better from flowing streams than from a well. If a lot of scale remains in the kettle, look for softer water. Green teas brew well in soft water, red and shu - in harder water. We recommend using Żywiec Zdrój brand water for green and yellow teas and more mineralized Primavera brand water for the rest of the tea types.

We are boiling water

Each tea needs a different brewing temperature. For delicate white and green teas, it is best to pour water at 70-75°C, for light South Fujian oolong and Wuyishan oolong and young shens - 80-85°C, for Guangdong and Wuyishan oolong and red teas - 90-95°C, and for old shens and shu pu erh - 95°C. Boiling water to large bubbles and cooling or immediately heating it to the desired temperature, listening to the "wind in the pines" is a matter of taste and convenience. After boiling, leave the kettle for 2-3 minutes with the lid open to lower the temperature from 98°C to 80-85°C. To prevent the water from cooling down, use a thermos when drinking tea.

We choose the dishes

White teas, green teas, Guangdong and southern Fujian oolongs, golden bud reds, GABAs, and young (up to 5 years old) shens brew well in gaiwans. Wuyishan teas, rougher reds, old shens, heicha, and shu pu-erhs all prefer clay teapots.

To drink tea properly, you need a gaiwan or teapot, a bowl, a chahai to pour the infusion, a chahe to get to know the aroma of the tea leaves, a tea table or mat, and half an hour to an hour of time. If you don't have anything - don't worry, all you need is a kettle and a porcelain cup. For everyday teas, a 3-in-1 teapot or just a cup will be convenient.

We measure the tea

It's all individual, but for a 120ml gaiwan or a small Yixing teapot, we recommend starting with 5g for light and red teas, 7g for oolong and shen pu erh from Wuyishan, 10g for shu and heicha. A flat tablespoon of twisted oolong tea contains about 6-8g.

We brew tea

Place the tea in the chaha and inhale the aroma. Heat the dishes with boiling water, pouring it from the kettle into the chahai and bowls. Pour the tea into the heated teapot and shake a little - the aroma of the leaf will become more pronounced. Brew the tea with water at the right temperature. It is better to pour out the first infusion of pressed teas and light oolong teas - the leaf needs time to open, and the first infusion has almost no taste. For other teas, it is not recommended to pour it out - it will be weaker than the second, but already with a pronounced taste. Green, red and young shens should not be brewed for too long, and the shu will forgive you if you exceed the recommended brewing time. Over time, you will learn to feel when to pour the infusion into the chahai.

Don't steep the tea for a minute or more - for the above proportion of tea, 5-10-20 seconds is enough to steep, this is the process of revealing the potential of the tea layer by layer. Try to observe the change in the taste and aroma of the tea, as well as your feelings and thoughts. Relax and enjoy. Steep again until the taste of the tea is diluted.

These are the basic guidelines, so don’t be afraid to do things differently, develop your own brewing style and experiment – ​​experience comes with practice. Observe the results and what makes your heart beat faster, remember and use that experience.

Warm and tasty tea parties!