Memorize 7 steps to make tea and become a "tea master"

 To make tea, if you want to taste the real good tea soup, you must rely on the good skills of the tea maker. In daily life, when tea lovers encounter scenes such as friends gatherings, business discussions, etc., if they can play effective tea brewing steps on the spot, they can not only ensure the quality of the tea aroma, but also quickly advance to become tea masters.

In fact, tea lovers only need to memorize the 7 steps to make tea to show their tea art.

Know about tea before making tea

From observing the appearance, color and luster of a tea with the naked eye, and distinguishing the types of tea leaves, and then using the senses to judge the degree of fermentation, degree of rolling, degree of withering, etc., only by fully understanding the knowledge of the six major types of tea can we choose the most suitable one. method for brewing.

Brown tea, the color is mostly black gold, the tea buds are few, and it exudes a sweet fragrance;

Green tea, the color of dry tea is mostly yellow-green;

White tea, the tea body is covered with Pekoe, and the color is green and white;

Oolong tea, with thick and curly strands, green leaves bordered with red;

Yellow tea, plump in appearance, bright yellow in color;

Black tea, dark in color, with old fragrance.

The "Tea" in Tea Culture

Tea refers to tea leaves, and also refers to beverages brewed with tea leaves. During the development of tea, some plants, leaves, seeds, rhizomes, etc. that can be used to brew beverages, are also called tea, such as "herbal tea" brewed with medicinal herbs, "herbal tea" brewed with petals scented tea".

China is the hometown of tea, and Chinese people have the habit of drinking tea and drinking tea since ancient times. The cultivation and utilization of tea trees have a very long history. China's tea plantation area is larger than that of other countries. Comprehensive history, climate, category and other conditions, my country's tea area can be divided into four: South China tea area, Southwest tea area, Jiangnan tea area, Jiangbei tea area. From the tea production process, there are green tea, black tea, yellow tea, dark tea, green tea and white tea. Green teas include Mengding Ganlu, Lu'an Guapian, Longjing tea, Biluochun, Xinyang Maojian; black teas include Chaoshan Gongfu tea; yellow teas include yellow bud tea, yellow tea, and yellow small tea; dark teas include Yunnan Pu'er tea, Shaanxi Fuzhuan tea, Guangxi tea Liubao tea and Sichuan side tea; green teas include Tieguanyin, Dahongpao, and Dongding Oolong tea; among the famous white teas are Baihao Yinzhen and White Peony from northern Fujian and Ningbo.

Sen Rikyu: A Japanese who Leverages history with the tea ceremony

 Sen Rikyu is undoubtedly the most famous name in the history of Japanese tea ceremony, but his "imperial" potter Nagajiro has always been hidden behind the aura of the master, so foggy but impossible to ignore. In the written materials left by Sen Rikyu, it is difficult to find Nagajiro's name. However, Nagajiro's name has long been integrated into the precious tea sets over the years, and solidified into a rich history of Japanese tea ceremony culture.

The Japanese like to say that Nagajiro was born in a family of "dulai people". Nagajiro's father, Ami Ye, was a pottery craftsman who was good at firing low-temperature glazes. He departed from Fujian, China, and finally arrived in Japan via the Korean Peninsula. The pottery technology brought over from China started a family and settled down in Japan. Although some insist that Nagajiro's father is Korean, his mastery of the Tang Sancai technique may be a powerful proof that he is a Chinese craftsman.

Chinese Tea Ceremony and Gongfu Tea

What Is Chinese Tea Ceremony

Tea ceremony is the way to appreciate the beauty of tea.  The tea ceremony originated in China and flourished in southern China and Japan. The Sencha ceremony in Japan and the tea ceremony in Taiwan of China all originated from Gongfu tea from Chaozhou, Guangdong, China. The royal has a royal tea ceremony, the common people, the Zen and the Taoist all have their different tea ceremonies! In a word, the way to appreciate the beauty of tea varies.

In a broad sense, "tea ceremony" is a collection of various tea-making techniques gradually developed after humans know and consume tea, as well as the concept and methods of tea-drinking corresponding to their tea products for health care and pastimes. In a narrow sense, "tea ceremony" refers to the methodology tea lovers consume tea as a way of self-cultivation and the values reflected from it.

Tea Ceremony History in China

In the Tang Dynasty or earlier, the Chinese first took tea as a way of self-cultivation in the world. It is such recorded in the Feng's Records (Feng Shi Wen Jian Ji) in the Tang Dynasty: "The tea ceremony is popular, and the princes and dynasties are all drinking." This is the earliest record of the tea ceremony in the existing literature. At that time, tea ceremony was already a very popular social activity. Tang Luwen gave a very vivid description of the elegant atmosphere of the tea banquet and the wonderful charm of tea tasting in "The Preface to the Tea Banquet on March 3". During the Tang and Song dynasties, people were very particular about the environment, etiquette, operation methods and other tea-drinking rituals. There were some customary rules and rituals. The writer Wang Xinjian also has a profound understanding of the role of tea in self-cultivation. He said in the poem "Yong Tea": There are thousands of choices among the white clouds, roasted in a copper pot and fried with firewood. The mellow fragrance of the clay pot enhances the poetic interest, and the porcelain pot is green and green. The old man enlightened Tao and cultivated elegance, and Yuan Liang talked about dispelling vulgar noise. Without passing through Nirvana, how can you keep your source fresh.

What tea helps you sleep

Drinking tea is a way to help sleep, but not all teas work. You need to choose the right tea and drink it correctly to help sleep; otherwise it will only aggravate insomnia. So, what tea helps you sleep at night?

Whether it is black tea or green tea, both of them have both the functions of "refreshing" and "soothing". The key depends on how to drink: different times and methods of drinking have different effects.

You can drink the following teas to help sleep：

Black tea

Black tea is a kind of fully fermented tea. After the process of "curing", the content of tea polyphenols is reduced, and the irritation to the stomach is also reduced, so it is suitable for drinking at night. Especially for people with weakened spleen and stomach, adding some milk when drinking black tea can warm the stomach to a certain extent.

Ripe Pu-erh tea

After eating three meals, the body will accumulate some fatty food in the digestive system. Drinking some ripe Pu-erh tea after dinner will help decompose the fat. It not only warms the stomach but also helps digestion and fat loss. Ripe Pu-erh is a kind of post-fermented tea. The tea soup is more warm and mellow. Drinking ripe Pu-erh has many benefits. 

What tea helps you sleep?

Of course, there are many other choices such as some herbal teas that help you sleep:

1. If you have symptoms such as upset, insomnia, emotional agitation, or sudden sweating, sores in your mouth and tongue, etc., you can use substitute teas like gardenia, Lily and wild chrysanthemum achieve the effect of refreshing, reducing fire, calming the mind and calming the mind.

2. If accompanied by symptoms such as palpitation, fatigue, or night hot flashes, night sweats, etc., presumably you're suffering from heart-yin deficiency, inflammation and loss of mind, you can use jujube, medlar, wild jujube and other tea to nourish the yin, clear the internal heart and soothe the nerves.

Tips for drinking tea in the evening: 

When the tea leaves are brewed for about 3 minutes, most of the caffeine in the tea has been dissolved in the tea infusion. Drinking such tea has obvious refreshing effect and makes people excited. If you are worried about insomnia, don't drink the first brew of tea soup, let alone strong tea! Drink lighter tea to avoid caffeine. Instead, drink tea with a sweetish taste, which contains many theanine. It is scientifically proven that theanine is better for sleep than sleeping pills without any side effects. And drink more fermented tea.

What Is Green Tea Good For?

Unlike black tea, green tea is an unfermented tea abd rich in tea polyphenols, caffeine, lipopolysaccharide, theanine, etc. Drinking green tea regularly can lower blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, prevent colds, tooth decay, cataracts, fatty liver, scurvy, cerebral thrombosis, myocardial infarction, arteriosclerosis, food poisoning, and can enhance immunity and prevent cancer. Bathing with green tea can prevent and treat skin diseases and whiten the skin; washing your face with green tea can lighten freckles and age spots; washing your eyes with green tea can treat redness, headache, conjunctivitis, and excessive eye feces. In addition to making pure green tea, you can also use green tea to make a variety of unique beverages, and use green tea to make a variety of exquisite and delicious dishes and snacks. Drinking more green tea and eating green tea foods will make your body and mind healthier.

What  is green tea good for?

Top 7 Health Benefits of Green Tea

1. Green tea has a strong antioxidant effect. 

Though all types of tea has an antioxidant effect to some extent, but green tea is the best in this respect. This is because more catechin compounds are retained in green tea, and catechins are the main substance that tea has an antioxidant effect. The antioxidant effect of green tea is mainly through scavenging free radicals, anti-lipid peroxidation, anti-oxidation effect on red blood cell membrane, and inhibiting the formation of low-density lipoprotein. Studies have shown that tea polyphenols are more effective in scavenging free radicals than vitamin C and vitamin E.

2. Anti-cancer effects of green tea

The role of tea in the prevention and treatment of cancer has been fully affirmed. No matter what kind of tea, drinking tea, especially green tea, has a certain effect on lowering blood lipids and preventing cardiovascular diseases. Whether or not to drink green tea and the amount of green tea consumed are closely related to the content of total cholesterol in human serum. According to reports, people with hyperlipidemia or hypercoagulable blood after taking green tea or its extract for a certain period of time can effectively reduce the total cholesterol and triacylglycerol (triglyceride) content in the serum, and the blood viscosity also tends to be normal. Discomfort symptoms such as headache, dizziness, and lack of sleep have also changed significantly.

3. Green tea's role in preventing radiation

Modern people are more and more exposed to radiation produced by television, computers, especially mobile phones. Radiation resistance is another unique feature of tea. The lipopolysaccharide extracted from tea can significantly improve the non-specific immune function of humans. At the same time, it can also transform the hematopoietic function, increase the number of white blood cells in the blood, and make the body have a significant anti-radiation effect.

People who often work at the computer or TV should drink green tea regularly. Long-term drinking, 1 to 2 cups a day,  is good for your health.

4. Drinking green tea can balance the intake of vitamin C

Vitamin C is very important to the human body and is also called ascorbic acid. It has an irreplaceable role in ensuring human health. Green tea contains a lot of vitamin C. Unlike fruits which also contain high fructose, there's no need to worry about it by drinking tea to supplement vitamin C.

5. Green tea promotes oral health

Green tea extract can inhibit Streptococcus and its mutant strains that can cause dental caries. Ordinary people usually rinse their mouth with green tea after a meal, which can not only remove part of the dirt between the teeth, but also the active ingredients in the tea have a strong bactericidal power to inhibit the decay of rice residue, thereby protecting the teeth and removing bad breath. Especially when you can't brush your teeth for some reason, gargle with green tea to prevent tooth decay.

6. Green tea has the effect of clearing away heat and detoxification

From the perspective of Chinese medicine, green tea is a cooling beverage for clearing away heat. For people with yin deficiency, especially the elderly, it is especially suitable to drink green tea regularly to clear away heat.

In the heat of midsummer, sip a cup of green tea, and feel full of fluids. In addition to the tea soup replenishing water for the human body, it is also because the active ingredients such as tea polyphenols, vitamin C, amino acids, and saponins in green tea react with the saliva in the oral cavity to moisturize the oral cavity, produce a cooling sensation, and also have an obvious thirst quenching effect.

7. Drinking green tea can eliminate some of the hazards caused by smoking

The carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and free radicals centered on oxygen and carbon that are produced when smoking is incompletely burned are harmful to human health.

What  is green tea good for?

Besides benefits of drinking green tea, there are also some external applications. For example, bathing with green tea can prevent and treat skin diseases and whiten the skin. Washing your face with green tea can lighten freckles and age spots. Washing your eyes with green tea can treat redness, headache, conjunctivitis, and excessive eye feces. In addition to making pure green tea, you can also use green tea to make a variety of unique beverages, and use green tea to make a variety of exquisite and delicious dishes and snacks. Drinking more green tea and eating green tea foods will make your body and mind healthier.

Types of Tea Trees

According to the size of their stems,  tea trees are classified into three types: arbors, semi-arbors and bushes. By the size of the leaf, there are three types of tea trees: large-leaf species, middle-leaf species and small-leaf species. According to the degree of evolution, there are three types: primitive type, semi-primitive type and evolution type.

Arbor-type Tea Trees

Arbor-type tea trees are tall and big with distinct trunks. The wild large tea trees that grow in the virgin forests of Yunnan and other places are all arbor-type tea trees.

These tea trees have thick trunks and high branches. If they are allowed to grow naturally, the tree height can reach several meters or even more than 10 meters.

During the tea picking season, local girls in Yunan province often use ladders to climb to the trees to pick tea leaves. In ancient times, it is said that monkeys picking tea may be an ecological phenomenon that appeared in the arbor-shaped wild tea forest.

Bush Tea Trees

In the process of northward propagation and evolution of arbor-type tea trees, due to the influence of low temperature and relatively dryness in Northern China, the tree type gradually became shorter and gradually evolved into shrub-type tea trees.

Most of the tea trees widely distributed in the tea areas of the Yangtze River valley in China are shrub-type tea trees. These tea trees are short in shape, have no obvious main trunk, and have lower branches and many branches. Especially in the case of pruning and picking, it is easy to form a steamed bun-shaped crown. Many branches, dense buds, and resistance to picking are the characteristics of shrub-type tea trees.

The tea trees cultivated in the hilly areas of the Jiangnan tea area, due to different cultivation methods, pruning and picking methods, have formed clusters, strips or carpets of tea gardens without branches.

Short Arbor Tea Trees

Half-arbor type tea tree, also known as small-tree type tea tree, is an intermediate type tea tree between the tree type and the shrub type.

The tree type is generally not as tall as the arbor type, but it has an obvious main trunk and lower branches.

This kind of tea trees are often seen in the tea areas of Guangdong and Fujian. Arbor-type and half-arbor-type tea trees, under the condition of man-made pruning to control the growth of the trunk, can also dwarf the tree shape, increase branches, and form a tree shape suitable for people's picking height.

Tea Trees Classified by Leaf Shapes

They are divided into large-leaf species, middle-leaf species and small-leaf species

The shape and size of tea leaves are closely related to the size of the tree. Arbor-type tea trees tend to have larger leaves, and shrub-type tea trees tend to have smaller leaves.

The large-leaf tea trees distributed in Yunnan and Hainan are suitable for making black tea because of their high content of tea polyphenols; the small-leaf tea trees distributed in the tea areas of the Yangtze River Basin have relatively high amino acid content and are suitable for making green tea.

The middle-leaf tea trees distributed in Taiwan, Guangdong, and Fujian are generally suitable for making oolong tea.

Tea leaf shape size

The genetic characteristics of large-leaf tea trees are generally primitive, and the small-leaf tea trees are generally evolutionary.