We all periodically find ourselves in situations where something doesn’t go according to plan, something is missing at the right moment, or it doesn’t turn out to be what was expected.
And then you have to get out of it. The more experienced a tea lover, the more adventures he has had, and the more unexpected solutions were found or spied on.
For example, one day we had to watch how a guy, having only a cup and a saucer with a bunch of mismatched bowls, served tea to ten people.
How? Like a juggler or flamenco dancer, he brewed a few tea leaves three or four times in a cup, draining all the tea from one batch into one of the bowls. It was a long, wild and authentic ceremony that once again proved that all restrictions live in our heads and there is always an unexpected way to solve problems.
Do you want a few life hacks from experienced “tea experts”? Let’s share!
3 grams
This is a little trick from an experienced tea merchant. How much tea does it take to try it properly? It turns out that just 3 grams of tea is enough to get at least three full-fledged brews. You just need to take into account the difference in tea varieties – if they are extracted quickly, then they need to be drained quickly, and vice versa, you need to hold longer those that are extracted slowly.
Cold buffer
For brewing most green tea, it is better to use chilled water. It happens that you do not want or refuse to wait for it to cool down. There is one secret that can help you brew delicate tea quickly and deliciously – we call it “cold buffer”. It’s simple: pour the tea into a brewing vessel, fill it with cold water, let it brew a little and then dilute it with hot water.
If it is difficult to taste tea
It happens that it is difficult to feel the taste of tea. The reasons may be different:
- taste buds are “tired”,
- you ate something with an intense taste,
- the tea was too weak in taste
in all these cases, you can try to wake up the receptors. If you have eaten or drunk something, you should rinse your mouth with warm water. If you feel that your receptors are “clogged”, try drinking half a glass of warm water before tea and make it a habit to clean your tongue along with brushing your teeth. Taste is largely related to aroma, so pay more attention to the perception of aroma during tea drinking – inhale the aroma at different stages of opening the tea – dry, heated, wet, from the bottom of the cup – this will help enrich the taste sensations.
Whistling sips
Have you ever noticed people in tea clubs drinking tea with a loud sound? Know this – these people are just looking for more intense stimulation of the taste buds. We recommend this technique, especially when getting acquainted with a new tea. Such a sip from the inside looks something like this: you shrug your lips a little and slightly pull in your cheeks (without tension, easily), a gap remains between the teeth, the tip of the tongue slightly touches the teeth, and the back of the tongue is raised. Потім втягуєте чай із чашки зі свистячим звуком, робіть повільний і довгий ковток, потім варто побовтати настій у роті, так щоб він омив щоки та піднебіння. After such a sip, focus on the sensations that occur in the mouth – this gives a lot of information about the quality of the drink.
If you don’t have enough water
If you didn’t take enough water with you for a street tea party, you can reduce its consumption by combining warming up dishes with washing tea. Extreme lovers can do without washing tea, or use a minimum of water, filling the vessel with water by only a third.
If you are not in the forest, you can try to get water in a café or store and ask it to warm up. Usually, stores have kettles for employees. The main thing in this case is charm and the ability to communicate. In China, by the way, such requests are treated with understanding – boiling water is usually shared easily there.
If you want a delicious drink, don’t skimp
Remember the joke about an old Jew who made delicious tea? When he was dying, a relative came up to him and asked what his secret was. The answer was: don’t spare the brew. In general, anyone who suffers from insufficiently saturated, fast-drinking tea, try to change the approach to the amount of tea you take. But remember about another rule: “not too much, not too little”, which means that the measure and adequate proportion in the case of delicious tea is above all else.
Three glasses
There is also a three-glass method. It allows you to replace a regular tea set. The main thing is that two glasses should be the same (preferably faceted) or at least it is possible to insert one tightly into the other. The first glass serves as a vessel for brewing, brew tea in it for about a third.
Two cardboard cups
And what to do if you have tea with you, and from the tableware there are only cardboard cups? Take one, put some tea in it, and make a few small holes in the bottom according to the principle of a sieve. Insert a leaky cup-sieve with tea into the second and pour boiling water over the tea – this way you can slightly improve the drinking process, not spitting tea leaves at others, because they will remain in the top cup.
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