Sexy and seductive people have two lines of defense on the tea table that cannot be easily revealed, one is to pour water and the other is to serve soup.
Of course, this is not only related to people’s external image, but more importantly, the slightly humorous skills directly affect the final presentation of a tea. For skilled tea makers, a tea brewed with a 7-point brewing process has the ability to turn the tide by brewing 8-9 points.
For us all who are struggling with brewing tea, the performance of tea leaves is purely a probability event. It seems that every time the tea leaves are washed down to cover the bowl, a tragic music can be played: “I dare not open my eyes, hoping it is my illusion.” Just like the current state of tea leaves and weather conditions, true technology is also limited in the face of force majeure.
For this reason, we have been criticized and ridiculed by teachers and subject representatives. It’s not that I don’t want to brew it well, it’s just that there are too many varieties of rock tea that make it difficult for me. Don’t mind
Learning from our mistakes, today we will focus on water injection!
PART 01 Physical password for water injection:
How does water flow affect the release of tea endoplasmic reticulum
Water injection, aside from performance and ornamental techniques, is actually a technique for taming water flow and serving tea soup in daily life. The use of different techniques results in differences in water injection temperature, water flow impact, and soaking methods, which affect the expression of tea aroma and taste.
Whether you are a good student or a poor student, the choice of stationery is also crucial when injecting water well. The smoothness of the water flow and the size of the water column from the spout of an electric kettle, as well as the self weight of the kettle, which makes it easy to hold with one hand, all affect the brewing of tea to varying degrees.
I remember when we first brewed tea, we secretly planned to study at home. We used a short mouthed fish mouth household kettle with a capacity of 2L, aside from its own weight, to brew tea. With a shaking hand and a large blowing nozzle, we didn’t produce any explosive tea aroma when we poured it down. However, we managed to remove half of the dry tea from the lid bowl. In terms of technique, it was called a broken piece.
However, nowadays the design of tea brewing kettles is very suitable for brewing different types of tea. Our friends use the sword shaped spout the most, which has a powerful and efficient water collection. The capacity of a tea kettle is generally chosen to be 500-800ml, which is very suitable from the perspective of stable control of water flow, aging and tenderness of boiling water, and speed.
For rock tea, generally speaking, the higher the water temperature, the better. Many tea makers even say that the water boiled in the kettle is poured back into a boiling container such as a sand pot and boiled twice.
There are few ways to brew rock tea on the table by elongating the water line and cooling the water column. The method of high water line and slow infusion of fine water is common in white tea, especially in grades with high bud content such as peony and silver needle. Lowering the temperature appropriately can increase the sweetness and purity of white tea soup.
In addition, for multi hair white tea, the fuzz will form a natural waterproof layer, and gentle water injection is more conducive to the full infiltration of tea leaves compared to strong water injection.
Under strong water injection, increasing the rolling of tea leaves is more conducive to the precipitation of internal substances in rock tea. Generally, strong water injection is used in the first three stages, and in the latter half, as the extracted internal substances from the tea leaves decrease, fixed-point and rotating water injection can be used to increase the impact on the tea leaves.
White tea drinks fine water flowing continuously, while rock tea seeks a cavity of rolling red dust.
PART 02 Different rock teas have different water injection methods
Of course, if there were a fixed and simple formula for water injection, we would not have been in a predicament until now. The profound brewing ability is still based on the basic principle of “watching tea to make tea, watching tea to make tea”.
Having experience is the key to success. To enjoy a good cup of tea, one must first understand the personality, temperament, and current state of the tea maker, and approach it with different methods.
For example, for high aroma and some high aroma varieties, the method of fixed-point high steeping can be used to make the tea leaves churn and stimulate their aroma. This technique also has technical components, which require mastering the water injection angle, water uniformity, and strength. Otherwise, before the dry tea can spin around in boiling water, the lid bowl will already be full.
If it is not possible to rotate the tea leaves at a fixed point, you can choose to manually rotate the kettle and use high impact rotary water. The water column is about 30cm away from the cover bowl and is injected in a spiral along the wall of the cover bowl. The purpose is still to allow the tea leaves to fully contact the boiling water and promote the stimulation of aromatic substances.
We have also read relevant papers that the rotary flushing method can increase the release of aroma substances by 18%.
For mellow aged tea or high fire rock tea, a low position slow soaking method is usually used, with the spout close to the bowl wall and a gentle water flow, focusing on pouring the bottom layer of the tea leaves.
This subtle and silent way of moistening can slowly release polysaccharides, enhancing the texture of the soup.
In addition to differences in fire skills and varieties, it is also necessary to observe the current state of brewing tea. For example, when there are a lot of tea chips, a relatively gentle fixed-point low pour should be used to amplify the bitterness, acidity, and other flavors of the tea chips.
If encountering some extreme cases, such as rejuvenated rock tea, water can be used to awaken the tea. The first time, only 60-70% of the capacity of the cover bowl needs to be filled, soaked for about 10 seconds, and poured out to remove impurities. In the second infusion, it enters the normal brewing mode.
The amount of water injected also affects the aroma and taste of tea leaves. Generally, a standard 110cc lid bowl has already optimized the ratio of rock tea water to tea water, but the degree of overflow of the water sometimes varies from person to person.
When we first started learning how to make tea, it was always difficult to get through the hurdle of hot soup. The trick we came up with at that time was to only add 70-80% of the anti scalding guide to the water. The result was that the concentration of the tea soup was amplified, the tea leaves were unevenly soaked, and it did not help to smell the aroma. As a result, the tea was soaked until it was completely mushy.
In addition to reversing the adverse effects mentioned earlier, filling the tea with water can also scrape off the foam and impurities on the surface of the tea soup, allowing for a clearer perception of the optimal state of brewing tea.
Rock tea brewing has never been a standardized operation, but a dynamic sensory game. The expert’s strength lies in adjusting the water injection strategy in real time based on the state of the dry tea (color, evenness, compactness), the type of aroma (high aroma variety, craft aroma, etc.), and changes in the soup texture.
For experts, the best brewing method is always the adjustment plan for the next brew.