<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="1" > this article was originally written by Sen Olyue</h1>
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="35" > first published in the headline number: Sen Olyue</h1>
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="36" > Author: Xi Ming</h1>
Sip bitter throat sweet, tea also. From the "Tea Sutra", it means that there is a bitter taste when it is ingested, and it is "tea" that is sweet when swallowed. Drinking tea is a pleasure, but tea soup is too bitter and too astringent to make people feel uncomfortable. In order to make a tea soup that is not bitter, we must first understand where the bitterness and astringency of the tea come from.
1, alkaloids - bitter taste
Alkaloids account for 2%-5% of the total dry matter. The reason why tea has a bitter taste is related to the alkaloids in tea, which include caffeine, theobromine, tea alkali, etc., of which the content of caffeine is the most, and the other content is very small. Caffeine is easily soluble in water, if you feel that a tea is bitter, it means that the caffeine content is relatively high. Of course, the formation of tea bitterness is not determined by caffeine alone, polyphenol compounds, tea saponins, and some glycosides can also form a bitter taste, of which caffeine is bitter and not sweet, and polyphenols are bitter and sweet.
2, tea polyphenols - astringent
Tea polyphenols account for 20%-35% of the total dry matter, tea polyphenols are not a specific substance, but a general term for polyphenolic compounds in tea, including catechins, flavonols, anthocyanins, etc., the most important of which are catechins. When drinking tea, the astringency felt is mainly related to the tea polyphenols in the tea leaves, astringency refers to the astringent feeling brought by the tea leaves to the tongue, when the polyphenols in the tea leaves come into contact with human saliva, they will react with some proteins in the saliva, so that the lubrication effect of the saliva is reduced, resulting in astringency.
The three factors that most directly affect the taste when brewing tea are: tea-to-water ratio, water temperature, and soup time, so when you feel that the tea soup is too bitter, you can adjust from the following 3 factors!
1. Adjust the tea-to-water ratio
Tea has more water and less water, and the taste is bitter; while tea has less water and more water, and the taste is dull. Whether it is based on visual tea or purely by feel, there are subjective errors, and it affects the final taste of tea. Too much tea is often the culprit of the bitter taste of tea soup. Only when the proportion of tea and water is just right, can you brew a tea soup with a suitable taste. The amount of "water" can be controlled by the capacity of the tea vessel; and the amount of "tea" needs to be quantified by a tea vessel. When brewing Pu'er tea, use a 175ml lid bowl to pour 8 grams of tea, fill seven points with water, and the tea-to-water ratio is just right.
2. Adjust the water temperature
Don't be misled by "good tea is not afraid of boiling water", the water temperature suitable for different teas is different, and it is not that the higher the water temperature, the better. The tea soup brewed at different water temperatures has different tastes, and when the tea leaves meet the right water temperature, it is the icing on the cake. The water temperature is proportional to the leaching rate of the tea contained substances, the higher the water temperature, the faster the tea containing substances leach, which will make the tea soup taste too heavy; on the contrary, the lower the water temperature, the slower and even difficult to leach the contained substances, the tea soup is dull. Green tea, yellow tea is suitable for low temperature brewing, tea soup is clear and delicate, fresh and refreshing; black tea, black tea, Pu'er old tea, cooked tea, old white tea, etc. can be brewed at high temperature, which helps to stretch the bottom of the leaf, is conducive to stimulating the aroma, making the tea soup rich and mellow.
3. Adjust the soup time
When the tea-to-water ratio and water temperature are suitable, adjust the appropriate soup time. After filling with water, cover the lid, in the case of a long time without soup, it is easy to form a smouldering bubble. The soup time is too slow, the tea soaking time is too long, and the caffeine and tea polyphenols in the tea are excessively leached, resulting in the bitter taste of the tea soup, so the soup time is very critical. After brewing Pu'er tea, the first 4 bubbles are in and out, the soup is completed within 10 seconds, and the soup time can be appropriately extended according to personal taste preferences after 5 bubbles, and it is generally recommended to extend it for 10 seconds and 20 seconds.
"Food is tasteless, palatable is precious". Tea lovers can adjust the tea water ratio, water temperature, soup time, and brew their favorite tea flavor.
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