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Drinking tea is good for health, and there is a rare consensus between ancient and modern China and foreign countries.
Mainland tea culture has a long history, in ancient times people generally believed that drinking tea is beneficial to the body and mind, and the relationship between modern tea and health is also inseparable. In foreign countries, the well-known journal "American Clinical Nutrition" published a list of health drinks, unsweetened tea is second only to water health drinks.
Tea is indeed a very good thing, it contains polyphenolic compounds (especially catechins) and tea polysaccharides, has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
These ingredients in the tea leaves need to be released by water, and the water used to make tea is very important. In ancient times, there was a saying that "water is the mother of tea". Today's people also pay more and more attention to the water used to make tea, and there are not a few people who drive to the deep mountains to collect water for a few mountain springs.
1
Ancient "human flesh big data" discovered the importance of water
In fact, the ancients attached great importance to the water used to make tea, the so-called "fine tea contains incense, borrowed water and hair, no water can not be discussed with tea", and even emphasized that the quality of water can affect the "tea nature", "tea nature must be in water, eight parts of tea meets ten points of water, tea is also very good; eight points of water, try ten points of tea, tea is only eight points ear." ”[1]
The ancients, who valued the water of making tea so much, how did they choose water? In the famous "Tea Classic", Lu Yu gave a clear grade classification of the water for brewing tea according to the source: "On the mountain, in the river, under the well." ”
From a modern scientific point of view, this division is actually quite reasonable.
The principle behind "landscape and water"
This starts with the hardness of water, one of the indicators of water quality.
The hardness of water generally refers to the content of calcium salts (calcium ions) and magnesium salts (magnesium ions) in water, with a large content and high hardness. In general, the hardness of well water and river water is greater than that of river water and also greater than that of spring water.
The ion concentration content in the water was inversely correlated with pH and the final taste score.
Image from references[2]
That is to say, the ions in the water have obvious modification effects on the quality of the tea soup, in order to make the overall taste of the tea soup good, it is necessary to control the content of minerals in the water, and the water sample with moderate mineralization is better than the water sample with high mineralization.
Although the ancients did not know the scientific principle behind this, they summed up the conclusion of "mountain and water" with "living human flesh big data".
2
Modern Ingredient Party's study of tea making
Compared with the ancients, our current knowledge reserves and technical conditions have long been far beyond, that in addition to the hardness of water, modern science has also found that which ingredients of tea water affect the "tea taste", or the "health effect" of tea?
This has to start from which substances are affected by the "taste of tea".
Image from: References[3]
Look at the ingredients in the chart, friends who love tea must have heard more or less, and the health effects of tea also come from these ingredients
Tea polyphenols (catechins, flavonoids, anthocyanins are all polyphenols): it has the function of lowering blood lipids, antioxidants, improving vascular endothelium, and inhibiting thrombosis.
Tea polysaccharides: Helps control blood sugar.
Here's also a supplement: these ingredients require long-term large intake to have some effects on human health. Without adding additional sugar and fat, drinking tea properly is indeed a healthy eating habit.
Tea polyphenols
Tea polyphenols will affect the bitterness and astringency of tea leaves. At the same time, it is also a very powerful antioxidant.
Human experiments have shown that after drinking tea, the antioxidant capacity in the plasma will be enhanced, and the biomarkers associated with the lipid peroxidation reaction will be reduced. In randomized controlled trials of heavy smokers, drinking tea reduced some DNA damage.
Since tea polyphenols are a polar component, they are significantly affected by the conductivity of water when brewing tea.
In 2021, Hunan Agricultural University published a study in the journal Food and Fermentation Industry, and they found that the higher the conductivity, the higher the leaching of polyphenols in tea soups. [4]
In addition, the residual chlorine or some chlorides in tap water may also interact with the polyphenols in the tea soup, producing rust oil and affecting the taste of the tea soup. [5]
amino acid
Amino acids are the main substances that determine the freshness of tea soups.
If the calcium and magnesium ions in the water are too high, the free amino acid content in the tea soup will decrease significantly.
However, appropriate ions can modify the presentation characteristics of the flavor substances in the tea soup, including changing the freshness and sweetness, and even tap water will sometimes feel more flavorful than pure water. [5]
Therefore, the proportion and coordination of polyphenols and amino acids are also exquisite.
color
I am talking about taste before, in fact, the color is also very influential on the perception.
Of course, different teas have different colors, such as black tea itself has not undergone high temperature treatment, coupled with the fermentation process, tea polyphenols have been a lot of oxidation, the color has become reddish yellow, reddish brown.
Different teas, the color of the brewed tea soup is also different, but it is usually preferable to have a clear and clear color, otherwise, it may be considered that the quality of the tea is not good. [6] But sometimes, it may just be that the water is not working well...
The water of tea will also affect the chemical reaction of tea components, from the result, the higher the mineralization of tea water, the darker the color of the tea soup, if there are many metal ions in the water, anthocyanins and yellow pigments will become gray, green, blue, brown, etc., and finally the color of the tea soup will feel more turbid.
And the turbid color of the tea soup usually means that the antioxidant substances in the tea leaves are destroyed...
This is probably what the ancients said, "Tea must originate from water, eight parts of tea meet ten parts of water, tea is also very good; eight points of water, try ten points of tea, tea is only eight points of ear." ”
Therefore, it is particularly important to choose the right water to make tea.
3
Is there a brewing water that can be brainlessly selected?
Based on the above-mentioned research on "tea brewing water", the China Tea Society issued the group standard of "Packaged Drinking Water Natural Tea Brewing Water", which set clear requirements for physical and chemical indicators such as conductivity, calcium and magnesium.
Having said all that, is there a product that can be bought directly?
Yes!
That is the Nongfu Mountain Spring Wuyi Mountain Bubble Tea Mountain Spring Water.
Good water of the same origin as tea
Wuyi Mountain is the origin of the king of tea, Da Hong Pao, and the originator of black tea, Zhengshan Small Seed.
The primary forest of Wuyi Mountain belongs to the forest ecosystem of the central subtropical native, and the water quality is clear and thorough.
Deep ploughing of the water source of the Nongfu Mountain Spring, deep into the famous tea town of Wuyi Mountain, to obtain professional tea mountain spring water, will be pregnant with the world's famous tea Wuyi Mountain Spring, to everyone who loves tea.
Speak with data
This water also meets the requirements for conductivity and minerals in the "Packaged Drinking Water Natural Tea Brewing Water" standard.
The conductivity of this tea brewing water is between 10-100μS/cm, and the total amount of ions (TDS) is between 20-70mg/L, which can very well "stimulate" the color and aroma of the tea soup, not only the soup speed is moderate, the mellowness of the tea soup is also higher, but also more transparent and clear, elegant and long, and the overall senses are very good.
Suitable conductivity and total amount of ions, with this water to brew tea, not only the leaching of antioxidant polyphenol compounds in the tea will increase, but also the damage to them will be reduced to varying degrees.
The packaging is exquisite
Considering that the amount of water used for drinking tea is relatively large, and at the same time to ensure the freshness of the water, the comprehensive measurement, Nongfu Mountain Spring, which drinks mountain spring water, has chosen a 4L barrel design. It can not only meet the water demand for making tea in one day, but also avoid the problem of not being fresh the next day.
Versatile
It is suitable for many different teas, and after many tests by me, the effect is very good: green tea - tender chestnut fresh aroma, fresh and sweet; black tea - orange yellow bright, mellow and long; rock tea - fragrant, domineering and spicy.
If you love tea, you should try it
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Resources
Cao Lu, Liu Jia, Bai Dechong, et al. Study on the effects of water with different hardness and pH on brewing quality of green tea[J]. Journal of Xinyang Agriculture and Forestry University, 2012, 22(003):81-84.
Yin J F, Xu Y Q, Chen G S, et al. Effects of different types of drinking water on flavor and main quality components of West Lake Longjing tea[J]. China Tea, 2018, 40(5):6.
Yan Jieneng. Research Progress on the Influence of Drinking Water Quality on Flavor Quality of Tea Soup[J]. Yunnan Chemical Industry, 2019, 46(7):3.
Liu Q L, Niu L, Wei Y W, et al. Effects of different types of packaged drinking water on the quality of green tea soup[J]. Food and Fermentation Industry, 2021, 47(11):5.
Yin J F, Xu Yongquan, Chen Gensheng, et al. Analysis of main water quality factors affecting the quality of Longjing tea soup[J]. China Tea, 2018, 40(6):4.
ZHOU Zhangping. Analysis of the Correlation between Tea Soup Color Difference and Tea Sensory Quality[J]. Food Safety Herald, 2020(18):1.
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