Is the best way to brew Longjing tea in a Gaiwan or glass?

As the top spring tea, the quality of West Lake Longjing tea is beyond words. But you also need to know how to drink good tea, as Lu Xun wrote in his essay "Drinking Tea": Having good tea to drink and knowing how to drink good tea is a "pure blessing".

If you don't know how to brew good tea, it will be wasted! West Lake Longjing is known for its "green color, rich fragrance, mellow taste and beautiful shape". How to brew it better? It is important to choose the right tea brewing utensils!

As we all know, green tea is mostly brewed by "cup brewing method", and glass cups are undoubtedly the most suitable tea utensils for brewing West Lake Longjing. However, the "universal tea set" Gaiwan is also one of the tools for brewing West Lake Longjing.

Two completely different tea brewing devices, each with its own advantages, glass cup vs. Gaiwan for brewing West Lake Longjing, what is the difference? Which one is better? Let's reveal the secrets for you today~

Cup Brewing Method

The key point of brewing West Lake Longjing Green Tea is to "lock in the freshness". The open glass cup has outstanding air permeability and heat dissipation, which is perfect for brewing fresh West Lake Longjing Green Tea.

Compared with other brewing methods, the "cup brewing method" is undoubtedly the simplest, but it is also quite particular. It is best to choose a transparent glass cup with a thick bottom and thin wall.

Before brewing, you need to prepare well. Choose pure water or natural water with soft water quality. Then boil the water and let it cool down to 90~95℃ for a few minutes.

Of course, the authentic West Lake Longjing tea and Shifeng Longjing tea from the first-level core production area are not afraid of 100℃ boiling water. The lower the water temperature, the better the drinking experience.

1. Warming the cup

Warming the cup is an essential step in brewing West Lake Longjing Green Tea. Before brewing, pour 90~95℃ water into the glass, fill it to one-third of the cup, and warm the cup.

After warming the cup for a while, pour out the water in the cup. This is done for cleaning and to increase the temperature of the cup to ensure that the cup temperature does not lower the water temperature for brewing tea and stimulate the tea aroma.

2. Adding tea

The ratio of tea to water is 1:50, which is the best ratio to brew the true color of West Lake Longjing Green Tea. Generally, the amount of tea added to a 150ML glass is about 2.5g, which can be increased or decreased according to preference.

Avoid touching dry tea with wet hands when adding tea. It is best to put the tea leaves in the teapot first, and then put them into the warmed glass. Gently shake the dry cup to shake the fragrance, and smell the tender bean curd fragrance.

3. Moisturizing the tea

Before brewing, moisten the tea first, that is, pour water at about 90~95℃ along the wall of the cup to cover all the West Lake Longjing tea at the bottom of the cup, and pour water to one-fourth of the cup.

Moistening the tea can make the tea leaves fully stretch and better release the aromatic substances and tea polyphenols in the West Lake Longjing tea. Usually, let it stand for 1.5 to 2 minutes before pouring water.

4. Brewing

After the tea leaves are fully soaked, pour water to 2/3 of the cup for the second time. Similarly, it is necessary to slowly pour water at 90~95℃ along the wall of the cup to prevent hot water from directly rushing to the tender buds and affecting the taste of the tea soup.

When pouring water, you can pour high and soak low, or you can use the "Phoenix Three Nods", three high and three low water, and watch the West Lake Longjing tea rise and fall in the transparent glass cup, and swirl slowly.

5. Refill tea

You can drink it after brewing for a while. The fragrance of tender bean curd is released quickly, and the soup is sweet and refreshing. However, since the tea and water are not separated, it is best to drink the West Lake Longjing Green Tea brewed in a glass cup as soon as possible!

The tea soup will become bitter and astringent as time goes by! If you want to refill the tea, it is recommended to add water when you have drunk about one-third of the tea soup. This "root retention method" can even out the concentration of each cup of tea soup.

How to brew Gaiwan Tea Set

Gaiwan usually has two forms. One is the most common iconic "Sancai bowl" in modern teahouses, which is a set of tea sets with a lid on top, a bowl in the middle, and a tray at the bottom.

The other is a lidded bowl consisting of a bowl and a lid, commonly known as a "two-color lidded bowl". The wide-top and narrow-bottomed Gaiwan with a wide opening is also highly compatible with West Lake Longjing Green Tea.

Most Gaiwan Tea Sets are made of porcelain. For brewing West Lake Longjing Green Tea, a thin and light white porcelain Gaiwan is generally used. It also has good heat dissipation performance, but Gaiwan brewing is more complicated than cup brewing.

1. Prepare utensils

Prepare tea utensils in advance, including white porcelain Gaiwan Tea Set and fair cups. The size of the capacity is determined according to the number of people who drink, and prepare tea cups for the corresponding number of people.

2. Boil water

No matter which brewing method is used, the best brewing water temperature for West Lake Longjing Tea is 90~95℃. Boil the water and let it cool to a suitable temperature, or brew it directly with high-temperature boiling water.

3. Warm the bowl

Pour hot water of appropriate temperature into the Gaiwan Tea Set, close the lid, open the gap, pour the tea into the fairness cup, and then heat the tea cups one by one to enhance the drinking experience.

4. Add tea

Put an appropriate amount of dry tea in the teapot (tea to water ratio is about 1:50), put it into the Gaiwan while it is hot, close the lid and shake it gently, and smell the fresh and pleasant aroma of the tea leaves.

5. Brewing

Wait for a while to let the tea fragrance spread, then pour in hot water of suitable temperature to brew. Gaiwan Tea Set can be filled with fixed-point diving water or circular water, and the lid can be closed after it is filled.

6. Draining tea

Green tea is all about freshness. When brewing tea in a Gaiwan, you should quickly drain the tea into the fair cup. Generally, the first brew of West Lake Longjing green tea can be drained in about 10 seconds.

From the second brew, you can increase the draining time appropriately. Remember to open the lid after draining the tea to avoid steaming the fresh tea leaves.

7. Dividing the tea

Divide the tea in the fair cup into the tea tasting cups in turn. Pay attention to the tea table etiquette of "pour the tea 70% full"! If you pour too full, it will be hot to hold the cup. Drink the tea while it is hot after dividing it.

8. Taste

First smell the aroma. The aroma of West Lake Longjing brewed by Gaiwan Tea Set will volatilize better, and the aroma of tender bean curd will be rich and lasting.

Take three sips of tea. It tastes fresh, sweet and smooth. The aroma blends better with the tea soup and is not bitter.

In summary, brewing West Lake Longjing Green Tea with a glass cup has the advantages of convenient brewing and good viewing, but the aroma is relatively flat, and the tea and water are not separated, so it is easy to taste bitter if you drink it slowly.

Brewing West Lake Longjing Green Tea with Gaiwan Tea Set can better release the aroma of tea! The brewing method of separating tea and water makes the tea soup less bitter and the drinking experience is better! However, the viewing quality of Gaiwan brewing is not as good as that of glass cups.

Both have their own unique features and shortcomings. Which one is more compatible with West Lake Longjing Green Tea? If you have to make a conclusion, you can refer to the drinking needs. Glass brewing is more suitable for one person.

Gaiwan Tea Set brewing is suitable for multiple people. As the number of brewing increases, the flavor of each tea soup is different when you taste it carefully...