The word "washing tea" is not unfamiliar, the ancient literati loved to play with many flowers in the tea, and the culture of washing tea already existed at that time, as for why the tea was washed, how to wash, the meaning and necessity of tea washing, etc., there was no very detailed explanation.
It was not until the last decade that the tea washing culture gained attention, and various tea washing methods also appeared on the market.
Under normal circumstances, dried tea leaves will go through the step of rinsing before brewing to remove foreign substances such as dust and pesticide residues on the surface to achieve the purpose of improving the brewing experience.
But there are also strange teas that don't need to be rinsed, and even some that need to be washed twice.
Wash the tea dry.
Why wash tea?
In fact, most people's reasons are wrong, and many popular Internet bloggers and merchants have repeatedly emphasized the necessity of tea washing, one of which is to remove pesticide residues and impurities.
In fact, anyone who has made tea should know that some people even use a small pot to boil water to brew steaming water for washing tea, and the water is already tumbling before it reaches 100°C.
But at this temperature, the white foam can still float on the surface of the water, and the more you wash, the more you wash.
Isn't that proof to us?
Why is so much foam still used to wash tea and not fragrant?
Why can't you just soak it in hot water?
Because this is one of the manifestations of people's misconceptions today.
It is believed that it is better to remove the impurities represented by the foam in boiling water and then brew it with boiling water than to use boiling water directly.
Of course, there is some truth in this view, but to sum up, it is clear that impurities and pesticide residues in tea cannot be removed by reducing the water temperature.
In the production process of tea made by traditional technology, the insect pests found will be cleaned up, and if insects appear again, that is when pesticide residues are most obvious;
Moreover, many teas made by new processes are actually disposed of after the insects grow and nourish, so blindly washing tea cannot achieve the purpose of removing pesticide residues.
Similarly, boiling dead bugs in boiling water does not mean that there will be bugs, and there is no evidence that pesticide residues will be removed.
In fact, tea washing is just a process of awakening the nature of tea, just like what we look like when we fall asleep and what it looks like when we wake up, this process is a process of gradual change and becoming excited.
Those who have made tea should know that the fragrance of dried tea leaves is relatively light, but after a cup of boiling water, they will begin to show themselves around like a person waking up, exuding a strong aroma.
This is the function of tea washing, which is to wake up the sleeping tea leaves, and at the same time let the tea drinker get a sense of experience.
So after asking so much, one of the things that people are most concerned about is what tea needs to be washed, what tea should not be washed, and whether all tea needs to be washed.
Let's take a look at Pu'er old tea, which has been popular in recent years, is mostly picked from waste and wild environments, and has little pesticide residue, so this kind of old tea does not need to be rinsed many times.
Black tea and white tea.
Whether black tea needs to be cleaned before brewing has always been a mystery, because black tea has a very strong and rich aroma, and everything that happens during the cleaning process will dilute this strong aroma.
Therefore, many people don't like the taste of brewing for the first time, and directly brewing it for the second time is another mood.
But for those famous Dashan black tea, it is necessary to clean, because Dashan good black tea often has a relatively mixed and strong aroma, and if it is not cleaned, the aroma will gradually strengthen like a transition.
If you take a sip before brewing for the second time, you will find that the aroma is unusually strong, and in some of the flowers and fruits, even professionals would think that the quality is quite high, which is a pity.
Because these black teas in the mountains need to be picked extensively, the cleanliness is often very difficult to maintain, and people who don't like the aroma transition can avoid this kind of problem by choosing to brew black tea with good cleanliness.
When drinking red wine, the wine will be sobered up first, and similarly, when drinking black tea, we also call this operation "waking up tea", in fact, whether it is decanting wine or waking tea, in fact, it is just to increase one of the private rituals.
Some people like it, some people don't, but no matter what you do, believe that what works best for you is the best.
But as far as white tea is concerned, in general, it does not need to be cleaned, because most of the white teas such as Baihao Silver Needle, White Peony, and Shou Mei are made by screening the raw materials and then carrying out the post-hypdiment treatment.
As a result, they are relatively resistant to contamination and impurities, and because of this raw material process, not only do they not matter how clean they are, but they can also affect how well they are suitable for nourishing flavors in their dry state.
If the mature white silver needle and white peony are awakened many times, then its own dry state and nourishment degree is not easy to achieve the desired effect, and the factor that affects its survival is very large, once they are in a mixed state for too long, the landing time becomes too long, so the probability of encountering insect infestation will increase a lot, but if it has not experienced marketing treatment, then the chance of encountering insects is very small, so this kind of cleaning has become a major loss behavior.
However, there are some people who like to choose to clean themselves in order to obtain a specific taste, for example, fresh white peonies for sale will be cleaned twice before brewing, because such white peonies are still in a baked state, their cleaning has less bad effects, and they also shape the desired taste and flavor, so it is a good way to choose to handle them yourself.
Black tea and green tea.
Black tea has always been a very special product, which also contains some special cultural background, in black tea, ripe Pu'er and raw Pu'er is the most common relationship between the two, because there are more processing techniques, different processes produce different characteristics, so it is loved and popular, generally speaking, raw Pu'er does not need to be cleaned twice, but it is best to do this, because ripe Pu'er is generally made by the stuffy method, which contains many easy adsorption of foreign substances, so through the cleaning effect, It's more conducive to the taste and flavor, but if you don't want to take one more step because you are afraid of trouble, it doesn't matter, and the final effect will not change much.
When it comes to ripe pu'er, it is not necessary to brew twice, so all black tea is not a necessity, because black ripe pu'er is generally more completely encapsulated, and the internal environment has a more unique stuffy effect, plus more black substances after the adsorption process, so many people like to drink the unique flavor of it, so it is more unique and unique to sober up first.
As for green tea, there are some varieties and special places that are called one of the most delicious drinks in the world because of their faint fragrance, but because they are generally in a poor environment, there may be things, so they will go through double sobering.
To sum up, from the perspective of different first-level categories and regions, there is not necessarily a unified standard for whether it is necessary to be sober before brewing, and it cannot be completely denied, but it is worth noting that it is best to follow the endorsement of experts or authorities to choose the better drink!