When we drink cooked tea, we sometimes drink a little "sour", do you know how it is produced? Does this sour taste have anything to do with the quality of tea leaves?
When we drink cooked tea, we sometimes drink a little "sour", do you know how it is produced? Does this sour taste have anything to do with the quality of tea leaves?
1. What is the acid in Pu Erh Tea? how does it work
The substances in Pu Erh Tea that cause the sour taste are organic acids. The most abundant part is gallic acid, which is derived from the breakdown of glycosides.
"Acid" can stimulate the convergence of the lining of the mouth, thereby producing fluid. Moderate acidity can make the tea taste fuller and more balanced, making the tea style richer and more complete.
Normal Pu Erh Tea must be sour, just because the content of tea leaves is very rich, and there are very few "sour" components in tea leaves, so it is difficult for us to detect, but in fact, it is real.
2. 3 factors that lead to sour tea
The concentration of "acid" in tea is related to factors such as tea species, production technology, storage, and so on.
The variety determines the innate substance content of the tea, and also determines the acidity of the tea to a certain extent;
Warehousing can be regarded as a long-term fermentation process. During the warehousing process, the slow post-fermentation process will also lead to the production of organic acids;
During the processing and production of cooked tea, especially the fermentation process, a large number of organic acids will inevitably be produced. However, most organic acids are not stable enough. Through the "ditching" in the later stage of fermentation, not only can the tea be fully dissipated and ventilated, but also most of the organic acids in the tea can be oxidized and decomposed.
3. How does the acid in tea affect the quality?
A moderate amount of acid can make the tea soup fuller, more balanced, and produce body fluids... On the contrary, excessive acidity is not a characteristic of Pu Erh Tea, it will reduce the pleasure of drinking tea and affect our perception of the tea in the tea. The perception of sweetness, sweetness, etc.
4. How to resolve the sour taste in tea?
Some cooked teas that have just come out of the heap retain a more sour taste, but they will return to normal after a month or two of normal storage.
In some years, the cooked tea may suddenly have a sour taste due to sudden changes in the small environment, a sudden drop in moisture content, and accumulation of gallic acid. If the sour taste is relatively mild, you can wake up the tea by prying it open, and the sourness can be relieved in one to two days.
To sum up, the sour taste of cooked tea does not mean that it is a manifestation of poor quality. Tea lovers should look at it dialectically when they drink or encounter some tea with a sour taste.
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