Tea Knowledge: 4 Common Mistakes When Brewing Ripe Tea!

There's no absolute good or bad way to brew tea, but there are some habits you might not even notice. These seemingly insignificant details often affect the taste of the tea.

Tea lovers, let's discuss some common mistakes when brewing ripe tea. See how many you've made.

01. Poorly Brewing Tea

A friend who loves brewing ripe tea often brews too strong. He found it strange. He always brewed the tea too strong, even though the amount of tea, water temperature, and brewing time were perfect.

Later, I carefully observed his brewing method and finally discovered the problem.

It turned out that every time he brewed tea, a small amount of tea remained in the purple clay pot. Although the amount was small, it was this tiny amount that affected the taste.

Failure to drain the tea thoroughly will make the next brew too strong, especially in the first few infusions. This will make the tea taste strong and bitter, losing the original flavor of the brewed tea.

However, there is a situation where you should intentionally leave some tea in the brewing container—this is what we call "leaving the tea in the brewing container."

When brewing cooked tea in a thermos, don't pour out all the tea at once. Leave some in the thermos and continue to top up with water. This will enhance the flavor of the next brew.

02. Too Much Tea Leaves

Many tea lovers use their intuition to adjust the amount of tea leaves they add. If they add too little, the flavor will be weaker at best, but if they add too much, the tea will easily become too strong, affecting the taste and wasting the tea.

It is recommended that tea lovers keep a small electronic scale and weigh the tea leaves before brewing. This will help ensure a more accurate tea-to-water ratio, making brewing easier. This is especially helpful for beginners who are just starting to learn how to brew tea.

03. Low Water Temperature

Brewing Pu'er cooked tea with boiling water extracts more of its essential ingredients, making the tea richer.

However, sometimes, when drinking tea while chatting, the water temperature drops after two infusions. This can cause the tea to become thinner.

It's recommended not to boil too much water at once; just enough for two or three infusions. Also, avoid reheating boiled water and then re-boiling it after it's used up.

04. Poorly Controlled Infusion

Sometimes, the first few infusions of tea may be too strong, while the last few may be too weak, giving the impression that the tea isn't long-lasting. This may be due to poorly controlled infusion.

Pu'er cooked tea comes in both loose and compressed forms. Compressed tea comes in various forms, including cakes, bricks, tea tuosos, and dragon balls.

For example, when brewing loose tea and Dragon Ball tea, loose tea releases its flavor quickly, so the brewing time should be faster for the first few infusions. It can basically be brewed as soon as the water is added. As the number of infusions increases, the brewing time can be extended.

Dragon Ball Pu'er tea leaves are tightly packed together, so the brewing time should be slower for the first two or three infusions. Once the leaves have fully expanded, the brewing time can be extended as the number of infusions increases.

The brewing rhythm should be adjusted according to the shape of the tea leaves to avoid a situation where the tea is too strong at one moment and too weak at another. Controlling the brewing rhythm ensures a more balanced flavor and a better taste with each infusion.