The Secret to Great Tea: Why Water Matters More Than You Think 🍵
Did you know that the secret to a perfect cup of tea lies in the water you use?
In Japanese tea competitions, it’s common practice to brew tea using water from the exact same region where the tea leaves were grown. However, there’s an interesting twist to this rule: while using regional water works best for Matcha, it isn’t necessarily the ideal choice for Sencha or Gyokuro.
Here is why:
Matcha is made by grinding whole tea leaves into a fine powder and whisking it with hot water. Using water from the same land helps restore the tea leaves to their original, natural state.
Sencha and Gyokuro, on the other hand, undergo a bit more processing. When brewing Sencha or Gyokuro, water with a high iron content should be avoided, as iron makes the tea taste overly bitter and astringent.
Surprisingly, tap water often yields a more delicious cup of Sencha or Gyokuro than water from the tea’s region of origin! However, tap water does have a distinct smell. To fix this, I recommend boiling tap water for about 3 minutes before brewing. Alternatively, you can let the tap water sit overnight.
My personal favorite method is putting charcoal into the water. Charcoal not only softens the water and rounds out its harshness, but it also eliminates any unwanted odors.
On a side note, in Japan, charcoal is commonly used as a natural deodorizer. Since I live in Japan, using charcoal to eliminate smells has always been second nature to me, so learning about its benefits for tea water made perfect sense!
Did you know that the secret to a perfect cup of tea lies in the water you use?
In Japanese tea competitions, it’s common practice to brew tea using water from the exact same region where the tea leaves were grown. However, there’s an interesting twist to this rule: while using regional water works best for Matcha, it isn’t necessarily the ideal choice for Sencha or Gyokuro.
Here is why:
Matcha is made by grinding whole tea leaves into a fine powder and whisking it with hot water. Using water from the same land helps restore the tea leaves to their original, natural state.
Sencha and Gyokuro, on the other hand, undergo a bit more processing. When brewing Sencha or Gyokuro, water with a high iron content should be avoided, as iron makes the tea taste overly bitter and astringent.
Surprisingly, tap water often yields a more delicious cup of Sencha or Gyokuro than water from the tea’s region of origin! However, tap water does have a distinct smell. To fix this, I recommend boiling tap water for about 3 minutes before brewing. Alternatively, you can let the tap water sit overnight.
My personal favorite method is putting charcoal into the water. Charcoal not only softens the water and rounds out its harshness, but it also eliminates any unwanted odors.
On a side note, in Japan, charcoal is commonly used as a natural deodorizer. Since I live in Japan, using charcoal to eliminate smells has always been second nature to me, so learning about its benefits for tea water made perfect sense!