Essential Factors for Brewing Good Tea 3
One Tea One World, One Pot One Universe; In One’s Palm move the Heaven and Earth, With the delicate fragrance heart is contented.
The Quantity of Tea Leaves Used and the Length of Time of Steeping The length of time of steeping the tea leaves will directly influence the quality of tea; therefore the length of time should be controlled with the utmost care. The amount of tea leaves should also be considered along with the tenderness of leaves and the water temperature. If you’re confronted with tea that is of poor quality, steeping too long will draw out tea tannin from tea leaves resulting in a bitter and astringent taste. Just how much tea leaves should you put in when making tea? First you have to notice the looseness or tightness of the leaf shape; if it’s loose, the amount should be more compared to the tighter ones. Take Dong Ding Oolong as an example, one-third of the teapot amount is sufficient. If you put more than that, the steep time should decrease. For tightly curled tea leaves, the amount should not be more than half the teapot to avoid the leaves not being able to stretch out when they unfold. For spherically shaped tea leaves, the steeping time should be critically controlled; otherwise the flavor would be too rich and concentrated. For thin and tender leaves, steeping time should be less, while for thick, aged tea leaves, the steeping time should be longer to let out the flavor. In addition, when using a teapot to make tea, you should observe the changes in the teapot spout in order to control the time to pour tea out. When first pouring water into the teapot, water will be spilled out when you put the lid on. The tension on the surface will form the half spherical globule at the spout; after steeping for a while, the leaves within the teapot will unfold. When tea leaves absorb water, the globule will decrease in size or even shrink inward. At this time, you can prepare to pour the tea out. What’s presented above is a reference guide; the amount of tea leaves and the length of steeping time should be adjusted according to personal taste.
