Water Temperature
泡茶水温
Tea BrewingDefinition
The heat of the water used to brew, which sets how quickly compounds leave the leaf. Delicate green and silver-needle white teas extract best around 70–85 °C, where amino acids and aromatics come out ahead of bitter polyphenols. Oolong, pu'er and black teas have thicker leaves and denser cell walls, so they need water at or near a full boil to open up at all; pouring 80 °C water on them yields a flat, thin cup.
Etymology
Chinese tea texts judged heat by bubble size long before thermometers existed, calling out shrimp eyes, crab eyes and fish eyes as the water climbed toward a boil.
In use
Any brewing instruction that names a temperature range is protecting delicate leaves from scorching and bitterness.