There is a Chinese proverb: "Water is the mother of tea, and the vessel is the father of tea." Factors that affect tea brewing include water temperature, the ratio of tea to water, time, container, and water composition. The drinking value of tea is realized through the dissolution of water, and the quality of water directly affects the quality of tea soup.
What are the main attributes of water that impact taste?
In the practice of brewing tea for thousands of years, the ancients came up with five indicators for choosing tea water: "clear, light, sweet, cool, and lively"; in modern times, two factors that affect water quality have been found through scientific and technological methods: hardness and pH value
1. Water hardness
Water hardness mainly refers to the content of calcium ions, magnesium ions, etc. in water, including carbonate hardness and non-carbonate hardness.
Water is roughly classified by the hardness expressed by the concentration of calcium carbonate:
· 0~75mg/L extremely soft water
· 75~150mg/L soft water
· 150~300mg/L medium hard water
· 300~450mg/L hard water
· 450~700mg/L high hard water
· 700~1000mg/L super high hard water
· >1000mg/L extra hard water
When brewing tea, using extremely soft water, soft water and medium hard water with lower hardness are all good choices. Too hard water, that is, too high calcium and magnesium ion content in water, will affect the release of tea fragrance and also affect the flavor of tea. The dissolution of substances in water makes the tea soup bland or bitter. It is worth noting that many mountain spring waters and mineral waters are also very hard. They taste good water, and some are expensive, but they are not suitable for brewing tea.
How to know the hardness of water?
You can buy a hardness meter to test water. Generally speaking, water with a hardness meter value of less than 200mg can be safely used to make tea.
2. pH value of water
The pH value of water also affects the flavor of tea. Under thermodynamic standard conditions, an aqueous solution with pH=7 is neutral, pH<7 is acidic, and pH>7 is alkaline. Some ions in water make some water weakly acidic and some water weakly alkaline.
Ideally, the water for brewing tea should be neutral, with a pH value as close to 7 as possible.
Conclusion on the best water quality for brewing tea
Hardness: Within 200mg is the ideal value. Water with too hard hardness will make the taste bland.
PH value: neutral, pH close to 7
Chinese Chaozhou Kettle Shadiao is good for boiling water?
When you can't choose the water quality, you might as well try our Chaozhou kettle called "Sha Diao". Chaozhou kettle has many pores and rich ingredients. It can absorb compounds such as calcium and magnesium, purify the water quality, and create space for the volatilization of tea leaves, which means that the boiling water after Chaozhou clay carving will be softer and sweeter.
