“If you want to compare the West Lake to the West, you will always be like a beautiful woman.” The tea couplet seems to let people see a tea fairy, gently pushing away the mist and walking gracefully. And green tea is the leader in this “beautiful woman.” Its leaves are green, green, and pure; its soup is green; green is transparent; its fragrance is light and elegant, and its teeth and cheeks are fragrant. Impressive at first sight.

What cup is suitable for brewing green tea at home?
For brewing green tea at home, it is advisable to use a colorless, straight-shaped, thick-bottomed, high-temperature-resistant glass or covered bowl.
The advantage of brewing green tea in a glass is that you can clearly see the shape and color of the tea leaves and enjoy the visual impact of the tea leaves rolling up and down in the water. Due to the stable material of the glass, brewing with boiling water will not release harmful substances and will not affect the taste of the tea leaves.
When brewing high-grade green tea such as West Lake Longjing in a gaiwan, the cup’s lid cannot be placed flat and sealed immediately after rinsing. It should be placed diagonally with the exposed edge to avoid suffocating the yellow tea leaves.

What is the best water temperature for brewing green tea?
High-grade green tea, especially famous tea with delicate buds and leaves, cannot be brewed with boiling water. Generally, the temperature should be around 80°C and should not be higher than 85°C.
Medium and low-grade green tea should be brewed with boiling water at 100°C. If the water temperature is low, the active ingredients in the tea leaves will be less leached, and the tea soup will taste weak.
The more tender and green the tea leaves are, the lower the suitable brewing water temperature is; the tea soup brewed in this way is green and bright, the taste is fresh, the aroma is pure, and the bottom of the leaves is bright.

How often can green tea be brewed?
Usually, green tea should be brewed 2 to 3 times, conducive to the full release of its nutrients, such as tea polyphenols, caffeine, amino acids, and vitamins. Generally speaking, in the first brew, about 80% of the total nutrients in the tea are leached; in the second brew, 95% of the total amount is leached; in the third time, the leached nutrients are very high. Not enough. In addition, as the number of brewing times increases, the aroma and taste of the tea soup become weaker and lighter, so generally, green tea is brewed three times before drinking it.

Why is ordinary green tea more suitable for brewing in a small pot?
Because the tea leaves of ordinary green tea are moderately old and tender, resistant to brewing, and inferior to high-end green tea in terms of appearance, color, aroma, and taste. It is more suitable for brewing in small pots.
When using a small pot to make tea, pay attention to the volume ratio of the pot to the cup. If you only brew two cups, choose a small pot for brewing; add a fair cup of tea soup if there are more than two cups.

What are the representative varieties of green tea?
The representative varieties of green tea in my country are West Lake Longjing, Biluochun, Huangshan Maofeng, Mengding Ganlu, Taiping Houkui, Lu’an Guapian, Lushan Yunwu, Xinyang Maojian, Wuyuan Mingmei, Anji White Tea, etc.

Where does good green tea come from?
Green tea in my country is mainly produced in the Jiangnan tea area, Jiangbei tea area, and southwest tea area. Among them, the quality of green tea made in Zhejiang, Anhui, and Jiangsu provinces is the best, such as West Lake Longjing, Huangshan Maofeng, Biluochun, etc.

When will green tea be available?
Different varieties of green tea have extra time to market. Generally speaking, spring tea is listed in March, summer tea is listed in mid-May, and autumn tea is listed in late August (some autumn tea is listed after the National Day).

Why should you look for the place of origin when buying brand-name green tea?
Some brand-name green teas currently on the market are OEM products of unknown green teas; that is, tea merchants buy fresh leaves at lower prices in non-origin areas, process them locally, and then ship them to various places OEM packaging and sales.
The delicious taste of famous tea is closely related to the climatic conditions such as the soil, air humidity, and light intensity of the origin, so many favorite teas have applied geographical protection indications. Only the famous tea from the corresponding origin can drink the authentic taste of renowned tea. If it is not the tea of ​​the origin, even if the varieties and processing techniques of the tea are the same, the taste of the tea produced will be very different. When buying brand-name green tea, look for its origin to avoid purchasing counterfeit teas.

How is green tea made?
The primary processing process of green tea is divided into three steps: fixing, rolling, and drying.
Fixing is a crucial process in making green tea. The primary purpose of greening is to maintain the green color of tea leaves, emit grassy gas, promote the formation of tea aroma, and at the same time remove part of the moisture in fresh leaves, make leaves soft, increase toughness, and facilitate rolling and shaping.
The purpose of rolling is to break the leaf cells of the fresh leaves, improve the taste concentration of the finished tea, and at the same time, make the initial shape.
Drying is to further remove the moisture in the tea leaves, fix the shape of the tea leaves, and volatilize the grass gas and further from the aroma.

Can you buy green tea?
According to the different methods of fixing and drying, green tea can be divided into fried green tea, roasted green tea, steamed green tea, and sun-dried green tea.
Sun-green green tea refers to green tea that is dried by sunlight. “Dianqing” (sun green tea from Yunnan) is a high-quality raw material for making Pu’er tea, so it can be seen that dried green tea can be purchased. However, because the raw materials for making sun-dried green tea are generally rough and old tea leaves and the processing technology is relatively rough, the quality is often inferior to that of fried green tea and roasted green tea.

What does “fried green to see the seedlings” and “baked green to see the hair” mean?
“Fried green tea to see the seedlings” means that you should check whether there are front seedlings when buying fried green tea. The tea with front seedlings has high tenderness, and the tea without front seedlings is thick old tea.
“Baking green tea to see the centimeters” means that when buying baked green tea, check whether there is fluff or not. Those with fluff have high tenderness, and those without fluff are thick old tea.