When the concept of “water flavor” appeared, our minds immediately popped up with words such as clear, light, scarce, thin, and scattered… These words can be described as ordinary in terms of taste and aroma. Zhuangzi’s “friendship between gentlemen is as light as water” is the most true principle, but when applied to tea soup, it is a bit of a complete reversal.
In the jargon of rock tea evaluation, the term “water flavor” often appears, which sounds similar to the taste of working tea while swiping water at a workstation.
Water flavor is mostly explained as the separation of tea and water, often referring to the ability to clearly feel the taste of water over the aroma and flavor of the tea itself during the process of drinking tea. The fusion of tea and water is poor, and the taste of water is prominent, resulting in a sense of separation between tea and water.
So, the key question is whether the factors that contribute to the separation of tea and water are people slacking off or tea slacking off?
What are the factors that affect the separation of tea and water?
The separation of tea and water is naturally related to two major factors: water and tea.
Let’s talk about water first. We have conducted numerous evaluations on brewing tea, and in our opinion, water is like a carrier for tea. There are generally two ways to present tea: one is to accurately reproduce it under the original camera, regardless of its quality, similar to the evaluation and brewing methods we use for tea brewing.
Another type is the built-in filter type, and the filter itself has aesthetic differences. Some can achieve overlapping decoration on the basis of a good brewed tea, or present the unique “direction” of the tea leaves. Some water can express the aroma more richly and fully, while others can highlight the richness and fullness of the tea soup.
At present, we usually predict the compatibility between water and tea based on the mineral content in the water, which is commonly known as the softness or hardness of water.
Simply put, the higher the content of calcium and magnesium ions, the harder the water quality, and vice versa, the softer the water quality. In daily life, hard tap water can be used to supplement the body’s demand for calcium and magnesium ions. However, for brewing tea, water with higher hardness is less conducive to the interaction between polyphenolic substances and metal ions in tea leaves, inhibiting the dissolution and leaching of tea polyphenols, resulting in uneven tea water fusion and affecting the taste of the tea.
Want to know how to quickly judge the hardness of this water, the simple and convenient way is a TDS test pen, and the home way can be identified by soapy water. Hard water with less foam and more scum, and soft water with more foam.
Let’s talk about tea again. One viewpoint is that the probability of water flavor occurrence can be roughly predicted from the state of fresh tea leaves. Raw materials with insufficient internal quality, such as those harvested at an older age, affected by drought, thin leaves, and poor soil quality in mountainous areas, are prone to dullness, insufficient foam resistance, and water flavor.
Another perspective is that tea grown during the rainy season has sufficient moisture, grows quickly, and its taste and aroma are easily weakened. If the craftsmanship level is not up to par, tea leaves harvested in these situations may also have a water taste.
That kind of taste is just like the dry powder that people usually brew milk powder and soybean milk powder. Let’s smack it, eh? Why did milk and water fight? The milk flavor was elusive, but only after drinking it did I realize that some of the dry powder had not completely dissolved, and the whole mass was below. That’s why I suddenly realized the reason.
In addition, if the tea soup has a watery taste as soon as it meets, there is a high possibility that the tea leaves have turned green. In this case, there is a watery taste accompanied by a mixed green flavor. If it has been boiling water from beginning to end, it is necessary to consider reheating it.
Finally, there is no correlation between the taste of the water and the brewing technique. One is the amount of tea added. Generally speaking, the popular packaging for rock tea includes several common sizes such as 8g, 8.3g, 8.5g, 9g, and 10g. 8g is usually suitable for the majority of consumers’ taste buds.
Going larger can indeed increase the concentration and steepness, but to some extent, it can also increase the bitterness and difficulty of brewing the tea. However, investing less often leads to a significant prerequisite for the appearance of water odor.
On the other hand, the brewing water temperature is too low, the contents are not stimulated, the conversation is not hot enough, the precipitation rate slows down and is not full, the tea and water are like two strangers on a blind date, the fit is not enough, and the relationship between each other can only be described by the taste of water.
No.2 Can the smell of water be avoided?
From the root, choosing soft water is the best choice when brewing tea. There is a higher degree of fusion between tea and water, which often achieves better results in delicate taste and tea water fusion. No matter how good the quality of tea meets unreliable teammates, it must be like a couple sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams.
Zhang Ailing was extremely sensitive to colors, musical notes, and words, while tea lovers were concerned about the material, shape, and size of tea brewing utensils, as well as the amount and brewing time of tea. A person who knows how to drink tea knows how to adjust the best brewing combination based on the variety, quality, and personal taste of the tea leaves.
I remember at the 2022 Yuanxiang Tea Party, we used Erquan Yin tea water for the first time to hold a triple tea party. The combination of Yuanxiang and water received unanimous praise on site, which expressed Yuanxiang’s sense of both heaviness and lightness to the extreme.
For some old teas, we should avoid direct sunlight during the process of waking up, especially in humid and high incidence areas such as Nantian and Meiyu seasons. It feels like a room that has been visited by a sprinkler truck, and we have to say, ‘It can’t be wiped off, it can’t be wiped off at all!’.
After meeting these basic conditions, the action of awakening tea can be carried out, allowing the tea leaves to fully contact with the air and awaken the activity of the tea.
Furthermore, the appearance of water flavor does not completely negate the quality of a tea. If you have insufficient internal qualities when drinking the soup, the start will be out, just like the uphill of the third grade of the exam. If the acceleration power is insufficient in the early stage, you can’t escape the fate of stalling even if you step on the accelerator later.
However, it is normal for the tea soup to start to drip after drinking the last bit of water. At this point, although the color and taste of the tea soup become lighter, you can still feel the tea leaves returning to their natural woody sweetness in your mouth. With a good combination of tea and water, you can feel the ups and downs of the tea soup’s taste and rhythm. They have already soaked it for almost 20 water, what else do you want!?
Tea soup is like an artist who is good at expressing oneself. By understanding the relationship between tea and water, one can objectively evaluate the quality of a tea. However, whether it is the lack of skills or the quality of the tea, we just want to say, “It’s not me! I didn’t ‘scratch the water!’