The brewing method of Pu’er tea is different from other teas, which is related to the uniqueness of Pu’er tea itself. Pu’er tea is produced from Yunnan Daye, mostly compact tea, with the characteristics of “the older the more fragrant”, which can be divided into raw Pu’er tea and cooked Pu’er tea according to the degree of fermentation. Although there is no specific mode for brewing Pu’er tea, the skill of brewing Pu’er tea must be mastered in order to drink a good pot of Pu’er tea. So how to make Pu’er tea taste good?
1. New Raw Pu’er Tea (Slightly Lower Water Temperature, Short Infusion Time)
It should be between 90 and 95 degrees Celsius to avoid “hot and cooked taste” caused by too high water temperature. In principle, the water temperature with strong taste is slightly lower and the soaking time is shorter, while the light taste is the opposite. Do not use boiling water to pour tea directly, so as not to scald the fresh leaves, so that the tea soup produces water stuffiness, affecting the freshness of the tea soup. At the same time, after the soup is taken out, the cover can be slightly half-opened to dissipate heat, and the freshness of the tea soup can also be maintained.
2. New Ripe Pu’er Tea (High-Temperature Tea Rinsing, Slightly Cooler Water for Brewing)
Normally, compared with the old tea, the new tea has some shortcomings, such as the tea soup is not bright enough, the aroma is not pure enough, the taste is not mellow enough, and often with some unpleasant feelings, such as “heap taste” and heavy bitter taste, etc. The water extract of the new ripe tea dissolves quickly, so we should try our best to develop its strengths and avoid its weaknesses, and wash the tea at high temperature. (Pour boiling water into a glass and let it sit for about 30 seconds, or use a temperature-controlled kettle at 95 degrees Celsius.) Slightly lower the temperature and drink, and the brewing rhythm is slightly faster to avoid bitter and astringent taste.”Miso soup” shape. Some tea with a slightly lighter degree of fermentation can also be properly opened in the first three times to maintain the fresh and sweet taste of the tea soup, while opening the lid is also conducive to the emission of ripe flavor.
3. Aged Raw Pu’er Tea (Boiling Water Brewing, Moderate Steeping)
Relatively speaking, the amount of old raw tea is lower than that of old ripe tea, while the temperature of brewing water is slightly higher than that of old ripe tea. For many old raw teas, there will be a different feeling when the lid is opened at the interval of brewing and brewing, so that the bottom of the leaves can be slightly cooled and then re-brewed. Low-flush water injection, boiling water brewing, appropriate stuffy bubble.
4. Aged Ripe Pu’er Tea (High-Temperature Tea Rinsing, High-Temperature Brewing)
Brewing of ripe Pu can take low flush water, fast out of the soup, can be used to leave the root of the bubble method (5 bubble after each time out of the soup after leaving a part of the tea soup, and then inject water to brew, generally take “leave two out of eight” or “leave half out of half”, can increase the degree of resistance to foam, adjust the taste of the tea soup.)
5. Highly Compact Pu’er Tea (Slow Rinsing, Fast Soup Pouring)
Generally speaking, the amount of tea put into the tighter and heavier tea is smaller, and the brewing water temperature is slightly higher, which can fully wake up the tea. Once the tight knot tea is dispersed, the dissolution rate will be very fast, so the amount of tea should be relatively small.
At the same time, we should pay attention to controlling the rhythm of brewing, usually “tight before and loose after”, washing tea slowly, making soup quickly, after several times of making soup quickly, we can slow down the rhythm, let the tea rest, you will be surprised to find that a cup of good tea is in your hand.
6. Loosely Compacted Pu’er Tea (Proper Tea Awakening Is Key)
Relatively loose tea is gently moistening tea, when brewing formally, each bubble should be slightly longer than previous one, the longer the extension time, in order to make the tea soup play smoothly.
7.Tea Texture: Coarse/Old vs. Tender
The tender Pu’er tea (such as Palace Pu’er) is not resistant to soaking, so it can be brewed with the method of “leaving the root”, that is, the tea soup is not exhausted every time, so as to maintain the stability of its taste; the water temperature should also be properly controlled to avoid “boiling tea”, especially to eliminate the unnecessary loss of active ingredients in tea caused by high temperature, repeated and long-term washing of tea, resulting in loss of taste and drinking value.
Due to the reduction of the content of coarse old tea, it is necessary to greatly increase the amount of tea and prolong the brewing time, which can be brewed at high temperature or even boiled.
Small Details for Brewing Pu’er Tea
- If the cake is in the shape of a brick and is tightly pressed, when the small pieces are put into the pot, please add some loose pieces to facilitate the stable and uniform taste between the soup and the water.
- After the first tea rinse and pouring out the soup, let the tea rest for 30 seconds to “awaken” fully.
- If it is not necessary, please do not pour the boiling water high into the pot center. Slowly pouring along the pot edge will always give people a leisurely and leisurely swim.
- It is better not to stay too long between each two brews.