Basic concept
Each tea has its own material property. To bring out its best in water, each may require a slightly different way of steeping. In this site, we normally refer to this process of tea preparation as infusion. This is a great word to use because it accurately describes the action of transferring the contents in the tealeaves into water to make the liquor that we enjoy as tea.
For enthusiasts and people of the trade, tea infusion for tasting purpose should begin with the British standard and in the detail steps as described in the Tea Guardian: Tea tasting step by step
Gongfu style
Many of our oolongs and pu’ers can be enjoyed in the gongfu infusion style. Actually many prefer to do that. Such wonderful teas demand extra attention to present their unique finesse. You will find even certain black teas can be a lot more stunning when prepared optimally in the more leaf, shorter time method.
A little suggestion
For general purpose daily use of tea, please use a proportion of 1 gram of tealeaves to each 100 ml of water and adjust according to your taste preference.
In the description of each tea, we have included a little infusion suggestion for you, hoping that you will get the best of it and appreciate the taste description that we have provided.
Please note that each tea may require different water temperature for its best taste.
What tastes good to me may be poison to you
Taste is a very personal matter. How a tea is infused greatly affected the taste of the cup.
Or as the saying goes — one man’s meat is another man’s poison.
Take the tropical fruit durian for example. Many drool over some of the most demanded varieties and are willing to pay a fortune for them, while others think it smells like rotting corpses and the texture grotesque. I think a good one is creamy, succulent and good enough for a state dinner. Some teas, even very expensive ones, can have distinctive aromas or taste characteristics that may not appeal to everyone.
How you finally decide how to make your own cup is therefore your personal decision — you render the taste that suits your preference the best.
Taste preference also changes in time
One also graduates from one stage of taste preference to another. Let’s look at a couple of analogies here.
Most children may prefer milk chocolate over semi-sweet dark chocolate. Real connoisseurs would stick with 75% or above. Some do not even want any sugar in it.
Bitter gourd, one of the many regulars in the green grocer’s shelf in Hong Kong, is hardly enjoyed by younger people. The sweetness after the intense bitterness in the vegetable is appreciated only by people who have had some experience in life. That is according to my father. My wife has taken on the taste only recently. Some people never like it.
So much for chocolate, tropical fruit and Cantonese cuisine.
My point is, there are some similarities in tea. What tastes too strong now maybe just right when you are more seasoned. A tea with a highly individualistic taste profile may appeal to you only after you have grown into it.
What applies to infusion style also applies to tea selection
We comprise our collection according to our professional judgement, and present individually the optimal way to bring out the best of each selection.
Furthermore, while certain varieties are fragrant and sweet and appreciated by most, others can be overwhelming, too strong or too complex for some. Just like a champaign can be easily popular but a fine single malt has a much smaller audience, a premium oolong or pu’er can be as demanding to the appreciation ability of the drinker. The infusion tips can only provide help to maximise enjoyment according to the tea’s own unique character.
For a general guideline for infusion, please refer to:
Tea Guardian: Infusion: Basic Technique
Tea Guardian: On Measurements