How to drink tea: Drinking tea is not like drinking simple water
There are several ways to enjoy tea offered to us. Preparing tea is mostly an art, but, for one time in your life, it’s an art which is accessible to everybody, including you! No need to have technical skills or an artistic talent.
A tea is not simply a beverage. You will notice – I do not have any doubt – that your sense of smell is well activated when you are preparing it. What comes to your nose is what we call the “aroma”. Smelling tea is a part of the process. You can’t miss this step. Plus, you will be able to admire its color, which can be dark or pale, depending on what tea you chose. For example, a Pu-erh tea will be a lot darker than a Darjeeling tea.
And, obviously, what you have in your cup not only serves to be observed, you have to taste it! And now, you can find it sour, bitter, tart, aromatic, complex, spicy, raw, strong, fresh, soft, biting, nervous, creamy, soft, sustained… I would have 1000 other qualifiers to tell you, but I’m already out of breath just by thinking about it. I suggest you to choose the qualifier you find yourself, feel inspired.
The first way consist in using a bowl that will receive the tea from a serrated cup with a lid. This set is used to prepare Darjeeling, but also for tasting teas before choosing one of them in the industry.
The second method is the “kyusu”. It is a kind of teapot employed to make green tea. It is made of clay or porcelain. It possesses a handle (to lift it, obviously, this is not rocket science) and a metallic grid to prevent that your Sencha organic tea, infused, is found in your cup and that your tea get more spicy.
Finally, the last but not least way, is to use the “zhong”, most commonly called “gaiwan”. It’s similar to the cup used in the “kyusu”, but it’s only a cup with a lid. We use it for infusions and teas. This method allows us to see the tea leaves changing from the first second to the last one.
Even if we learned some manners to prepare a tea, it’s not only about it. We have to follow several rules.
- Used water must be low mineral and with high-standard (spring water would be perfect).
- Never use boiling water. All teas have their own temperature.
- Wash the teapot with boiling water (you now know that you have to throw it away if you read the rule number 2).
- The dosage is made according to personal taste.
- The infusion time should be respected.
Enjoying tea is an extraordinary moment that combines all our senses. We should take more time to do this. But, be careful to not burn your lips, tongue and mouth… We all know that it’s very annoying and long to heal. Now, enjoy your tea time!