Six Essential Factors for Brewing Good Tea 5

One Tea One World, One Pot One Universe;
In One’s Palm move the Heaven and Earth,
With the delicate fragrance heart is contented.

Choice of Tea Ware

The material or texture of teapot plays a big role towards how well the tea will be brewed. There are different kinds of tea ware such as teapot, Gaiwan, and cups. Materials can be ceramic, porcelain and glass.

1) Ceramic tea ware

The most famous being the “Zhi Sha”, or purple clay teapot, this type of ceramic is fired between the temperatures of 1000 to 1200 degrees Celsius. With the texture being delicate, fine and dense, the teapot can absorb tea, store and maintain the flavor with pores not detectable by the eye. Heat transfer is very slow and does not hurt the hand. Even if hot and cold temperatures change abruptly, it will not break easily. Using the Zhi Sha teapot to brew tea, the pot can keep the warmth of tea, maintain the fragrant, mellow taste, and sustain the essence of the tea leaves. It is also artistic and popular among collectors and the public. Generally, using the teapot for Oolong and Tikuanyin tea from Taiwan is considered ideal to bring out the best characteristics of those teas.

2) Porcelain tea ware

The most valuable ones being the white ones, porcelain is not water absorbent, and it is fired at about 1300 degrees Celsius. The sound that it makes is pure, clear, long and harmonious. It can reflect the color of the tea, transmit heat and maintain the temperature well. It does not create any chemical reaction, does not absorb strange aroma, and produces better color, fragrance, and taste with high density and no pores. The shape is artistic, delicate and exquisite, and is suitable for light fermented tea with rich aroma such as Wenshan Paochong tea.

3). Glass tea ware

The texture of glass is transparent, nonporous, and it transmits heat quickly. Brewing tea with glass, the way that the tea leaves dance and unfold along with the color of the tea can be thoroughly seen through glass. The weakness of glass though is that it breaks easily, and sometimes becomes too hot for the hand to handle, but it is rather inexpensive. Using this tea ware to brew Longjing, Piluochun, and other green tea, you will be delighted to see how the leaves dance up and down, elegantly and gracefully.

泡好茶的六大要素﹝五﹞

一茶一世界，一壺一天地；掌中動乾坤，清香心自得。

泡茶用具的選擇

泡茶用具以茶壺的質地對泡茶效果有很大的關係，壺具的種類有茶壺、蓋碗、蓋杯、評鑑組。材質可分陶器、瓷器與玻璃杯。以下簡單介紹幾種常用來泡茶的器具。

1. 陶土茶具

最負盛名的紫砂壺是陶器的一種，成陶火溫度在1000 ~ 1200°C，質地緻密，有肉眼看不見的毛細孔，能吸附茶汁，蘊蓄茶味，且傳熱慢不燙手，即使冷熱驟變，也不會破裂；用紫砂壺泡茶，香味醇和、保溫性好、無熟湯味，能保有茶葉真髓，又兼具藝術收藏性，一般認為用來泡台灣的烏龍茶，鐵觀音等半發酵茶最能展現茶味特色。

2. 瓷器茶具

無吸水性，音清而韻長，瓷器以白為貴，約1300度C左右燒成，能反映出茶湯色澤，傳熱、保溫性適中，對茶不會發生化學反應，泡茶能獲得較好的色香味，密度高、沒有毛細孔，不會吸雜味。造型美觀精巧，適合用來沖泡輕發酵、重香氣，如文山包種茶。

3. 玻璃茶具

質地透明、不透氣、傳熱快，以玻璃杯泡茶，茶葉在整個沖泡過程中的上下舞動、葉片舒展的情形以及茶湯顏色，均可一覽無遺。玻璃茶具的缺點是易碎、燙手，但價廉物美。用玻璃茶具來沖泡龍井、碧螺春等綠茶，杯中輕霧飄渺，茶芽朵朵、亭亭玉立，或旗槍交錯、上下浮沈，賞心悅目，別有風趣。