Water and tea leaves are the two most important components of tea. They cannot be described and enjoyed without each other, as they both significantly depend on each other. To put it simply, we can’t have great tea with not so great water and we can’t have great tea without not so great tea leaves. The type of water matters. The source, age, and amount of water matters. It all matters!
There are so many approaches to these concepts that we can take. We could approach this from the farmer’s perspective, the brewer’s perspective, and the everyday drinker’s perspective. We can talk about which source is the most recommended and what temperature water can be used to brew each style of tea. We can discuss the water management within a humid storage environment. I can touch on water management form a brewer’s perspective and when use more water or when the water you have is enough. Water is everywhere! This list can go on and on. I want to make this list as detailed as possible and provide you with my sources of this information, so you can come to your own conclusions. So I have decided to make water its own category and series on this page and within my notes to share with you.
If you have a certain aspect of water you would like me to discuss, leave a comment on this post!
Below I will share some pictures I have of water and how it has been used in my experiences.
Mountain Sourcing
This is a great image of how water can be withdrawn from a mountain and pushed through a system for people to use.
This image was taken while I was in Taiwan. We decided to stop and gather water before our tea ceremony in the mountains.
This is also a great example of using similar water that the actual tea leaf is grown with. Not many ways this could get better.
Traditional Tea House
This picture was taken at a traditional tea house in Taipei, Taiwan. It shows how water can be used within a setting to enhance the experience of a visitor. Not pictured is a waterfall, located on the same property. The sound of the waterfall was a peaceful enhancer of my experience there.
Local Sourcing
This image brings us back to Pennsylvania. Pictured is a common way for the Penn State Tea Institute to gather water. We are on the side of Tussey Mountain, in Central Pennsylvania, collecting water for the next few weeks.
The water comes out of a pipe that seems to be stuck into the side of the mountain….
Home
This is an example of how water is used within my home. I grab some spring water from the local store and I boil it in my kettle. This shows how simple it can be and gives you a look at my daily life.
Stay tuned! Soon I will be doing an experiment with a friend involving different kinds of water; tap water, spring water, smart water, rain, and other waters from different sources. We will be doing a detailed out line of each source and how it affects the taste of tea. I will post the results here and on another blog!
Like I said above, I have decided to start category or series on water. If you would like me to go further into a certain topic or any of these experiences above first, leave a comment on this post!
***I will use this for Photo 101 Day 3 – Water and Blogging 101 Day 4 – Dream Reader****
MurphCha 