Making Chinese Tea by: Wong Yee Lee

Chinese tea - water
quality

The quality of tea
is controlled by the quality of the water. It was said in ancient China that
water is the mother of tea.

There are three
categories of water: best is water from a hill, average is water from the
river, bottom is water from a well. The best water from a hill is on a hilltop;
the best water from a river is in the middle of a river; the best water from a
well is from a well which is frequently used.

It is not easy to
get water from a hill. So water from a tap is the most common. There are two
ways to make the best use of tap water when making tea. 1. Leave the tap water
in a bucket for 24 hours in order to let out the chlorine inside. 2. Boil the
water then open the lid for 5 minutes in order to let out the chlorine inside.

Distilled water is
a kind of artificial soft water. It is the most hygiene but it would not be the
ideal water for making tea.

Best water
temperature for making tea:

1. Low temperature
(70 - 80c)

Good for making
young shoot green tea such as Long Jing (Dragon Well) or yellow tea (Silver
Needle).

2. Medium
temperature (80 - 90c)

Good for making
white tea (Silver Needle White Fur), red tea or Oolong.

3. High temperature
(90 - 100c)

Good for making tea
such as Tie Guan Yin (Iron Guan Yin), Pu'er, Shui Xian (Water Fairy).

Low temperature
water tends to be more suitable for young tea leaves while high temperature
water tends to be more suitable for ripe tea leaves.

Chinese tea - tea
leaves

Chinese tea used to
be categorized by its place of origin or place where it went to. Only till
recently that Chinese tea is categorized based on its way of manufacture.

6 types of tea:

Green, yellow,
black, white, light green and red.

Green tea

Green tea has the
longest history and it can be dated over 3000 years ago. People picked the
young shoots of leaves and dried it in the sun without fermentation.

Examples of green
tea:

• Long Jing


• Fur Tip


• Green Spring Snail

Yellow tea

Yellow tea is to
ferment the tea leaves before they are totally dry. A degree of 10% to 20%
fermentation would be expected.

Examples of yellow
tea:

• Silver Needle


• Yellow Soup


• Big Leaf Green

Black tea

Black tea is to
ferment tea leaves to a degree of 100%. It is a kind of commonly consumed tea
in Mongolia.

Examples of black
tea:

• Pu'er


• Cake tea


• Brick tea

White tea

White tea is a kind
of day dry tea which is lightly fermented to a degree of 20% - 30%. Tea leaves
are usually young ones covered with white fur.

Examples of white
tea:

• Longevity Eyebrow


• White Peony


• Silver Needle White Fur

Green tea

Light green tea is
a kind of tea lightly fermented to a degree of 30% - 60%. Tea leaves are green
in the middle and red on the fringe. This type of tea gives a taste of fruit or
flowers.

Examples of Light
green tea:

• Water Fairy


• SONG Species Long Bush


• Iron Guan Yin

Red tea

Red tea is a kind
of tea fermented to a degree of 80% - 90%. Western countries usually call it
Black Tea. It usually gives a taste of roses.

Examples of red
tea:

• Red Tea

Tea sets

Tea pot - Zisha tea
pot is known as the best tea pot for making tea with. Colours vary from dark
purple, red to light yellow. Zisha tea pots have very tiny holes suitable for
brewing tea. Also, it prevents any chemical changes from taking place.

Tea spoon - The
best tea spoon would be made of bamboo. It is also used for removing any tea
leaves from blocking the tea mouth.

Tea boat - It is
used for laying tea pot and tea cups. The first rinse of water would be poured
into the tea boat. This water can also be used for rinsing tea cups.

Tea cloth - It is
used for wiping the water outside the tea pot.

Tea cups - The
right size of tea cups would be used for their appropriate corresponding size
of tea pots.

Healing aspects of
Chinese tea

Chinese tea is
known to have good healing power. It not only boosts health but also allows
longevity. However, we should avoid tea which has been left cool for a long
time or overnight.

Take Oolong as an
example, it can reduce the fat in blood. It has been known for a long time that
tea can reduce the fat in human body. Or take Pu'er or white tea as an example,
it would be ideal for people to maintain a slim body. Apart from the effects
above, all the three teas can reduce the possibility of developing cancer.

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About The Author

Wong Yee Lee

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