Japan has popularized the tea ceremony throughout the world, but the origin of this infusion is in China, where 2,000 years ago they learned to use heat and pressing to extract flavors and colors from the leaves of the tea tree, Camellia. sinensis. Little by little the technique evolved, and about a thousand years ago tea was already a basic element of the diet of the Asian giant, which in the 17th century was exported to Europe and Russia, with great success.
Nowadays, we have various varieties of tea and specialized stores, but do we know how to prepare a good cup of tea while respecting all its flavor? How long should water boil? Can we use any teapot? Is it right to put milk in it?
To answer everything, we asked Jing Jing Yuan and Ambròs Genís, owners of the Tetere and Tetereria store in Barcelona and experts in the ancestral culture of this essential element in Chinese culture, and now universal. Our tea lady discovers the 10 mistakes you make when preparing a cup of the most popular infusion in the world.
Harold McGee’s reference book Cooking and Food (Discussion) details the three types of tea that account for most of the tea consumed in the world. The expert says that green tea maintains many of the qualities of the fresh leaf. Oolongs, more orange-infused teas, emerged around the 17th century “probably after the accidental observation that the leaves develop a distinctive aroma and color when allowed to wither or pressed before drying.”
Due to the way in which both oolongs and black tea are made, they usually have rich and strong floral and fruity aromas. With more moderate consumption, white tea (a tea leaf that is left to wither for a long period of time with sweet and light aromas) and pu-erh, “a tea produced exclusively in the Chinese province of Yunnan with an aromatic breadth that “It ranges from leather, cereal or straw to wood, earth, undergrowth, humidity…” explains Jing Jing Yuan, owner of the Barcelona tea shop Tetere.
For the expert, we should not be afraid to confront teas that may seem strong to us, because the preparation method (time, teapot…) is as important as the variety: “I can prepare a black tea for you in a way that “It’s very soft,” he says. The important thing “is to be open to trying new flavors that may surprise us and to know the most appropriate way to prepare it.”
Water is an essential element to make a good tea. These infusions, like coffee, are made up of 95-98% water, therefore, it is obvious that their quality will influence the result. It is important that the water is not hard, with a lot of calcium and magnesium carbonates, “because these minerals can change the taste,” explains Jing Jing, and adds: “If we use tap water we must also try to avoid chlorine.”
Another important point is to heat it without letting it boil (“if it boils, we must wait a little for it to cool or add a little fresh water to lower the temperature”), taking into account that each variety of tea develops better in a certain temperature.
If it is an oolong, a black or a pu-erh, around 95ºC, and a green or white tea, less: from 60 to 85ºC because its leaves are usually more tender and contain more natural phenols (catechins.
We can infuse the tea in a teapot or in a cup, but in no case should they be made of materials that give off aroma or particles in the tea. Ambròs Genís, co-owner of Tetere and Jing Jing’s husband, prefers ceramics (specifically Yixing teapots) to porcelain or glass (“it’s nice that you can see the intensity of the color and the shape of the tea leaf”), and warns that there are clay cups or teapots that can leave a certain earthy taste. “Enamel teapots are practical because they are not porous and that allows them not to be impregnated with flavors. The unglazed ones are always better to use with teas with a similar aroma and flavor.”
Iron can be used but may not be the best ally, “because it does not maintain the temperature as well as ceramic.”
And also be careful with small ball-type infusers: “We are not in favor of them at all because they imprison the tea leaf and prevent it from opening fully. If you want to use them, it is better that they are large,” explain our tea experts.
Before infusing tea, we must prepare the cup where we are going to drink it or the teapot that will serve it. Although it may seem like a trivial thing to us, it is important to preheat it to prevent the temperature of the water that we have prepared and that we will add later to make the tea from dropping, and thus achieve a better flavor and aroma. To preheat, we simply heat water, add it, leave it until the container is warm, and then empty it.
Once we have the cup or teapot prepared, we add the tea leaves and pour the water that we have heated. Adapting it to our taste will be the key, as we get to know the character (how the infused tea behaves) of the tea. Because calculating the infusion time for each tea depends on the number of leaves (more leaves, less time), whether they are broken or whole (more broken, less time) and the temperature of the water (more temperature, less time).
Also about the variety of tea, the way it has been grown, collected and processed. In general, teas with a higher level of oxidation (oolong and black) require longer times than green teas.
Japanese green tea needs less temperature than Chinese. For two cups between 2 and 3 minutes. “In China, the harvesting procedure is still manual, the leaf is more complete and takes a little longer, therefore it would be about 3 minutes,” says Genís.
Oolong resembles black or green tea, depending on the percentage of enzymatic oxidation of the leaf at the time of processing. If the percentage is high, we will treat it more like black tea, 3 to 5 minutes, two cups.
The white tea leaf has a longer withering and drying time than green tea, therefore, the time can be like black tea, 3 to 5 minutes.
Pu-ehr can be found fermented or unfermented. The first allows a longer infusion time (4-6 minutes) while the second is similar to a green tea, 2-3 minutes.
For the infusion to be perfect we have to take into account the proportions of tea and water with which we work. You have to know the character (the temperature and infusion time it allows) of the tea to determine quantities and temperatures well. Jing Jing Yuan gives us an approximate formula valid for all types of tea: for two cups, heat 300 ml of water and add 4 or 5 grams of tea. The ideal is to ask our salesperson, “because in stores we can recommend not only how to do it, but also tell you many more things about the variety you choose.”
If we talk about methods, for example, we find that there are those who prepare tea using plunger coffee makers: “I am not a big fan of this type of accessory, but if you use it, it is better not to press the tea leaf so as not to increase excessively. the intensity of the infusion and causing a bitter taste,” says our tea lady.
It cannot be said that it is a mistake to prefer the convenience of buying tea in bags over buying it natural. But for our expert, “when we buy bags we cannot appreciate the color, aroma (it loses them over time) and the integrity of the leaf, characteristics that are very important to obtain a good tea.”
The tea bag was an American invention that at the beginning of the 20th century turned a tradition associated with a slow and excellently served ceremony into something quick and practical. For British tea guru William Gorman, this packaging saved the tea industry because it was able to adapt to our busy daily lives.
Jing Jing also highlights that tea is a culture. He does not like drinking a certain tea just because it is fashionable, as is the case with matcha tea: “It has become very popular for its beneficial health properties, but it is not taken into account that it belongs to a ritual culture developed in Japan , and which was already known and elaborated in the Song dynasty of China,” points out the expert, who knows well, from her own history, the value of ceremonies and tradition.
By the way, matcha tea must be prepared with 5 teaspoons of hot water at about 85ºC in a bowl and whisking with a bamboo brush (chasen) for 20 or 30 seconds to achieve a good texture and avoid lumps.
Decades ago it was suspected that tea could contribute to developing certain serious diseases, but today there is a variety of evidence and studies that indicate that tea has beneficial effects on health. It contains antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and vasodilator compounds that protect against heart disease. “It also helps digestion, improves concentration and is a diuretic,” says Jing Jing Yuan.
On the other hand, the caffeine in tea (a bitter alkaloid that the plant uses to defend itself) has effects on the human body because it stimulates the central nervous system, and this can alter us intensely up to several hours after consumption, being the reason why we avoid taking this infusion frequently.
It is a myth that green and white teas have less caffeine than black teas, “because it depends both on the variety and on other factors such as the time of collection, how it was planted, the wilting of the leaf…”, says Ambròs Genís. . Many black teas have more caffeine than green teas because they come from fast-growing, asamic varieties. Asamic camellia sinensis varieties have more caffeine than those made from camellia sinensis sinensis.
Jing Jing Yuan has verified in his professional practice that the effects of this tea-stimulating substance “affect each person differently,” and he assures that the way of drinking tea, sometimes linked to Zen or other Eastern philosophy, is in China and Japan a social act: “The mere fact of drinking this drink brings a great feeling of well-being.” In other words, if we drink tea in a relaxing tea shop in good company, we will become less nervous.
For Jing Jing, it is sacrilege to tarnish the flavor of a good tea by adding milk, sugar or lemon. “You have to enjoy all the nuances of tea, and sugar is an additive that masks them, and if the infusion is well made it will not be bitter,” says the expert.
A study published in the European Heart Journal determined in 2007 that the protective effect of black tea on the cardiovascular system is nullified if milk is added because lactic caseins reduce the concentration of catechins, the flavonoids in tea that protect against heart disease. Curiously, it was discovered when observing that this benefit of tea did not occur in the United Kingdom, where it is common to drink black tea with milk. “Milk cuts the tea and makes it difficult to digest,” says endocrine doctor Virginia Vicario from Clínicas Vicario.
If you still like it with milk, you should know that it is best to “add hot tea to warm milk, and not the other way around, so that the milk heats up little by little and does not curdle,” says Harold McGee.
If you are one of those who add lemon, you will add citrus notes to the flavor, and you will lighten its color, especially if it is black. You will also make it easier for the antioxidants in tea (especially green tea) to be absorbed more easily by the body.
It is ideal to drink the tea once prepared to enjoy all its properties immediately, but if you have leftovers, it is better not to boil the teapot again because you will turn it into a tasteless drink. Yuan Jing Jing warns of the importance of storing tea well, “in a place away from humidity, sun, heat and other foods that can contaminate its aroma and flavor.”
Over time, quality deteriorates in most teas. “In some types of tea, depending on their production process, aging is an art, which provides organoleptic complexity as time passes,” points out the expert. But if we intend to keep it as something valuable at home, we will have to be real experts to do it right.
