Water for brewing tea

"Water is the mother of tea." Good tea must go with good water. In the Tang Dynasty, Lu Yu set forth his view on water selection as "mountain water is the first choice, followed by river water and then well water." Zhang Dafu, a scholar in the Ming Dynasty, stated: "Flavor is brought out by water. If made with superior water, moderate tea tastes quite good. However, superior tea made with moderate water does not taste as good as it should be." On the basis of the ancients, modern people recommend "clear, light, sweet, fresh and icy" water.

Water evaluation standard

Tap water, mineral water, purified water, etc. are generally used for modern tea making.

Clear: The water should be colorless, transparent and free of sediment.

Light: There are hard water and soft water. Tea made with soft water is excellent in color, fragrance and taste

Sweet: Sweet water is preferred.

Fresh: "Active and flowing" water is good for tea making.

Icy: Cool and refreshing water, such as snow highly praised by Chinese ancients, is a good choice.

沏茶用水

“水为茶之母”，好茶须有好水配。唐代陆羽有 “山水上，江水中，井水下”的择水论断。明代张大复在《梅花草堂笔谈》 中说：“茶之性发于水，八分之茶，遇十分之水，茶亦十分矣；八分之水，试十分之茶，茶只八分耳。” 现代人在古人基础上总结出“清、轻、甘、活、河”的评水标准。

评水标准

现代泡茶用水，一般选用自來水、矿泉水、纯净水等。

清：要求水质无色透明，无沉淀物

轻：根据所含钙镁离子的高低， 水分硬水和软水。用软水沏茶，色香味俱佳。

甘：是指水味甘甜。

活：要求水“有源有流”不是静止水。

冽：是指水含口中有清凉感，因而古人十分推崇以雪水煮茶。