A tea enthusiast asked: “Isn't it said that for healthy tea drinking, there should be a separation of tea and water? But why do I see some people, when using a glass cup or a large pot to brew tea, leave one-third of the tea infusion in the cup when adding more water?”
Another tea enthusiast asked: “When I brew tea using a purple clay teapot, if I don't completely drain the water, is that called letting the tea sit in the cup? What's the difference between letting the tea sit in the cup and steeping it for too long?”
The questions above all relate to several concepts involved in tea brewing: “leaving the root,” “letting the tea sit in the cup,” and “steeping for too long.”
What do these terms mean, and what are their respective applications? Today, let's expand our knowledge together.
What Does “Leaving the Root” Mean?
Leaving the root refers to leaving a portion of the tea infusion (also called the base) in the brewing vessel each time you pour out the tea before adding more water for the next infusion. The purpose is to maintain the taste of the tea, ensuring that its flavor doesn't change significantly from one infusion to the next.
The “leaving the root” method is commonly used when brewing teas with a high rate of flavor release and limited brewing endurance. The amount left depends on the nature and quantity of the tea. For example, you might leave 40% of the infusion, or 30% if you pour out 70%. Here are some examples:
1. The most common use is when brewing green tea or new white tea in a glass cup.
For instance, when brewing green tea, Silver Needle white tea, or White Peony in a glass cup, we would leave part of the infusion to preserve the fresh, sweet, and mellow taste of the tea.
Leaving some of the infusion in the cup extends the tea's contact time with the water, resulting in a better tasting experience for the next infusion and maintaining a consistent concentration of the tea infusion. This avoids the situation where the first few cups are smooth and fragrant, while the subsequent infusions become almost like plain water. You may wonder, “Can the ‘leaving the root' method be used when brewing green tea in a lidded bowl?”
If you're using a white porcelain lidded bowl to brew tea, we don't recommend the “leaving the root” method. The last few drops of the tea are rich in essence, so if not fully poured out, the tea infusion won't be concentrated enough. If you use the “leaving the root” method, the tea leaves will continue to steep in the water, which could result in bitterness and astringency by the time you drink the next infusion.
2. In addition to glass cups, the “leaving the root” method is also used when brewing flower tea and black tea in large pots.
Imagine a large pot of tea where the leaves have been steeped for an extended period, with an estimated extraction rate of 80% or even higher. Without leaving some of the infusion as a base, the second pot of tea might not be enjoyable!
3. “Leaving the root” when cooking tea.
Cooking tea involves directly heating the tea and water together until it boils briefly, allowing the tea's components to dissolve into the infusion, creating a unique flavor profile. For example, when cooking aged white tea, don't completely drain the tea infusion; instead, leave some to prepare for the next round of cooking. This ensures that each pot of cooked aged white tea has a consistently sweet and mild taste without significant changes.
If you completely drain the tea infusion after each cooking, the concentration will quickly decrease. It's possible that the first pot of tea still has a strong jujube or medicinal aroma, but by the second pot, only a reed leaf aroma remains, and by the third pot, the taste will be very light and lack depth.
“Letting the Tea Sit in the Cup”
Literally, “letting the tea sit in the cup” means letting the tea leaves sit in the cup.
In practice, this means waiting for the tea's components to release and evenly diffuse, thus delaying the pouring out of the tea. Usually, we let the tea sit in the cup when the infusion becomes weak and lacks flavor, yet the tea leaves haven't fully unfurled and it would be a shame to discard them.
In such cases, we delay the pouring out of the tea. The length of time depends on the strength of the infusion. For example, when brewing rock tea, around the fourth infusion, we suggest delaying the pouring by about 10 seconds, allowing the tea leaves more contact with the water, releasing more flavor. By the eighth infusion, the sitting time can be longer, about one minute.
Letting the tea sit in the cup is different from steeping for too long.
“Steeping for Too Long”
Steeping for too long can be understood as “steeping + suffocating.”
Suffocating refers to sealing, making something airtight. To achieve suffocation, a sealed space is required.
Steeping means immersing the tea leaves in water.
When we talk about steeping for too long, we mean covering the tea with a lid and letting it steep for at least three minutes.
For example, using covered tea ware like a purple clay teapot or a lidded bowl can achieve this effect. Steeping for too long is a rather extreme approach that easily exposes the shortcomings of the tea. It's a common technique used in tea evaluation. Typically, for evaluating oolong tea, the steeping times are 2 minutes, then 3 minutes, and finally 5 minutes, while other types of tea are steeped for 5 minutes.
For example, experienced tea drinkers who want to identify the flaws in a tea will cover it and let it steep, then taste the tea once it has cooled down to find the defects in the tea. Sometimes, when brewing tea, a tea enthusiast may need to leave for a few minutes and forgets to pour out the tea, causing it to steep excessively in a purple clay teapot or a lidded bowl. This releases the deepest components of the tea, making the infusion bitter, intense, and overly stimulating, greatly affecting the enjoyment of the tea-drinking experience.