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The power of water in tea

Those who follow me regularly know, that I am a big advocate of high quality water in tea. 95 percent of tea is water and it is the most overlooked component when making tea.

We humans consists 60 percent of water, it is the largest part of our body. Since I am now a health nut, I pay close attention to my hydration and drink water all day long. I am still amazed to see many of my colleagues during meetings and workshops simply ignoring their water intake or start taking water during breaks or when they get thirsty.

Most people do not know, that by simply drinking water regularly and about 80 oz (2.2 liters) per day we will help our body to digest the food and to better support our metabolism. You can loose weight by simply drinking enough water.

The water in tea will count towards this daily goal. The quality of water can have an impact on your taste experience. Good tea water should have a ph level of slightly above 7 and a low TDS, ideally below 30. You will find this information on the label of the water bottle. 

I often image the power of adding water quality as a new way of enhancing your tea drinking experience. Just imagine to read this on a tea menu in a restaurant: “Organic Darjeeling tea brewed with fresh spring water”. Doesn’t this sound amazing?

For me the ideal water is when it is close were the tea has been processed. I read that you can get Long jing green tea in Westlake, China brewed with the water from the tea source. It we think about it deeper, it makes sense. When the tea plant is growing it is taking in the water through the soil. Once tea is being processed, water level in the tea is reduced and comes back into the picture once we add water when brewing tea.

I pay close attention how I use the water during the brewing process. Never reuse or reheat water from a previous brew, as during the

heating oxygen will leave the water and the tea might taste flat when using the water. Most times it will be sufficient to use filtered or good quality tab water for the day to day use.

I truly enjoy the role of water in the traditional tea ceremony. Ms. Tea and myself sometimes enjoy a quiet evening, brewing high quality tea using the Yixing tea pot and the bamboo tray. Water is not only used for cleansing during the ceremony but also acts as a purifier and healer when pouring it over the tea cups and the tea pets. See my previous post on my take on the traditional Chinese tea ceremony (https://manwithamug.com/?s=tea+ceremony ). Quite relaxing!

In the future I intend to learn much more about water as I think it will enhance my understanding as a tea sommerlier and my ability to brew better tea.

Watch this space!