What is the best water for making tea?
The ancients knew the importance of water when making tea, so they attached great importance to the quality of water. If the water quality is poor, it will change the color, fragrance or submergence of tea, and if it is very suitable, it will optimize the quality of tea soup. The ancients evaluated water mainly from two aspects: water quality and water taste. Good water quality must be clear, lively and light, and the taste of water must be sweet and sour.
The standard of tea-making water is judged from five aspects: water quality: clear, lively and light, and water taste: sweet and bitter. According to modern scientific analysis, ionized calcium containing more than 8 mg of magnesium per liter of water is called hard water, and vice versa. Soft water makes tea color, aroma and taste good, while hard water makes tea easy to change color, which will greatly affect color, aroma and taste. The weight of water also includes the number of mineral components contained in water, as well as acidity and alkalinity. When you make tea with water containing more iron and alkaline substances, the tea soup will float with a layer of "rust oil" and be turbid and precipitated. When the acidity of water is high, the tea color will become dark or even black. Therefore, it is suggested to make tea with soft water (such as natural glacier spring water in Tibet, natural mineral water in Kunlun Mountain in Qinghai, natural mineral water in Bali, Taihang Mountain in Henan, and natural mineral water in Laoshan Mountain in Qingdao).
Six kinds of water commonly used for making tea:
1, mountain spring water
Most mountain springs come from mountains with overlapping rocks. The mountain is lush with vegetation, and the mountain spring gathered from the trickle of rock faults is rich in carbon dioxide and various trace elements beneficial to human body; The spring water filtered by sand and gravel is clean and clear, and contains almost no chlorine, iron and other compounds. Using this spring water to make tea can keep the color, fragrance and shape of tea to the maximum extent.
But not all mountain springs can be used to make tea, such as sulfur mineral water. On the other hand, mountain spring water is not available everywhere, so for most tea drinkers, they can only choose suitable tea products according to conditions and possibilities.
2. Rivers, rivers and lakes
It belongs to surface water, with many impurities and high turbidity. Generally speaking, it is difficult to achieve good results in making tea. But it is far away from human beings, with lush vegetation and less pollutants. Such rivers and lakes are still good water for making tea. For example, Fuchun River in Tonglu, Zhejiang, Qiandao Lake in Chun 'an and Jianhu Lake in Shaoxing are all examples. In the Tang Dynasty, Lu Yu said in the Book of Tea: "Its rivers take away those who are far away." That's what I'm saying. Bai Juyi in the Tang Dynasty said in his poem: "The water in Shu was surprised when it arrived, and the water in Wei was precious when it was first fried." He thinks Wei Shui fried tea is very good. In the Tang Dynasty, Li Qunyu said, "Wu Ou is fragrant with water and green flowers", and it is not bad to make tea with water. Xu Cishu in the Ming Dynasty further said in Tea Sparse: "The water of the Yellow River falls from the sky. Turbid soil, clear and clean, fragrant and spontaneous. " It is said that even the turbid Yellow River water can make tea soup mellow as long as it is clarified. This situation is the same in ancient times and modern times.
3. Snow water and falling into the water
The ancients called it "Tian Quan", especially the snow water, which was highly praised by the ancients. Bai Juyi's Sweeping Snow and Cooking Sweet Tea in Tang Dynasty, Xin Qiji's Writing Tea Classics and Cooking Tea Snow in Song Dynasty, Xie Zongke's Sweeping Cold Night and Cooking Green Dust in Yuan Dynasty, and Cao Xueqin's Sweeping Snow and Cooking Fresh Snow and Timely Tea in Qing Dynasty all praised making tea with snow water.
As for rain, generally speaking, it varies from time to time: autumn rain, the sky is crisp, there is almost no dust in the air, and the water is "cool", which is the top grade of rain; Meiyu, the weather is dull and rainy, and the water tastes "sweet and slippery" and inferior; In summer, it rains, thunderstorms, flying sand and stones, the taste of water is "out of shape" and the water quality is not clean. But whether it is snow water or rain water, as long as the air is not polluted, it is always cleaner than rivers, lakes and seas, and it is a good water for making tea. Unfortunately, in modern times, many areas, especially industrial areas, were polluted by industrial smoke and odor, which made snow water and falling water worse and deformed.
4. Well water
It belongs to groundwater, with low suspended matter content and high transparency. However, most of them are shallow groundwater, especially urban well water, which is easily polluted by the surrounding environment and is harmful to the taste of tea. So, if you can draw water from the well of life to make tea, you can also make a good cup of tea. That's what Lu Yu said in the Tea Classic in the Tang Dynasty, and Lu Shusheng said in the Seven Kinds of Fried Tea in the Ming Dynasty, "There are many people who take wells and many people who draw water." Jiao Hong's Yutang Yu Cong in the Ming Dynasty, and Dou Guangnai and Zhu Jun's Wen Kao in the Qing Dynasty all mentioned Dongdong Well in Jinghua Temple, which was once the drinking water source of the imperial palaces in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Guanyin well in Nan 'an, Fujian, used to be the water of tea fighting in Song Dynasty, and it still exists today.
5. Tap water
It contains chlorine gas used for disinfection, etc. Stay in the water pipe for a long time and contain more iron. When the content of iron ion in water exceeds five ten thousandths, the tea soup will be brown, and chloride will react with polyphenols in tea, forming a layer of "rust oil" on the surface of tea soup, which tastes bitter. Therefore, it is best to use tap water to make tea in a pollution-free container, store it for one day first, then boil it after releasing chlorine gas, or purify the water with a water purifier, so as to become a better water for making tea.
Step 6 clean water
With the progress of modern science, ordinary drinking water can be turned into pure water without any impurities by using multi-layer filtration, ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis technology, and the pH value of water can be neutral. Making tea with this kind of water is not only because of its good clarity and high transparency, but also because of its pure aroma and taste, fresh and refreshing. There are many brands of pure water on the market, most of which are suitable for making tea. Besides pure water, mineral water with good quality is also good water for making tea.
We must pay attention to the use of water when making tea, but with the rapid development of modern society, our water source is increasingly destroyed, and the so-called "living water" is also polluted and deteriorated. Scientists believe that it is best to use "soft water" to make tea, that is, water containing appropriate minerals and trace elements, rather than water containing too much calcium and magnesium.