Chapter 25: Tea Brewing Techniques

Ye Yaming shook her head. “No, it’s because of the tea brewing technique.”

Ye Chongming was stunned, recalling how Ye Yaming had poured the tea back and forth between two teapots. He thought for a moment and then said to Nanny Yu, who was standing behind the old madam, “You brew it, using your usual method.”

When Old Madam Ye married Ye Chongming, she wanted her husband to enjoy his tea at her place, so she specifically chose smart and sensitive maids to learn tea brewing. Nanny Yu was one of the best.

Because of her tea brewing skills, Nanny Yu still served the old madam and was often by her side. She had naturally observed and remembered Ye Yaming’s tea brewing method earlier, pondering why she did it that way. However, she hadn’t figured it out.

Now, the old master clearly wanted to compare the tea brewed using different methods, so she immediately dismissed what she had seen earlier and brewed the tea using her usual method.

After she finished brewing, Ye Chongming took the teacup, smelling the fragrance first before tasting the tea, his brows furrowing.

The old madam also said, “This fragrance is stronger than what Ming’er brewed, but it has a noticeable stuffiness, not as refreshing as Ming’er’s. The taste is also more bitter and has a pronounced stuffy yellow flavor.”

Nanny Yu had been brewing tea all her life. Whenever guests came or when they visited others, if no younger family members wanted to showcase their tea-brewing skills, the old madam would have Nanny Yu brew the tea. Her tea-brewing skills were well-recognized by everyone.

Some things are just afraid of comparison. Previously, Ye Chongming and the old madam didn’t feel anything wrong with her tea brewing; they even thought it was quite good. But now, compared to Ye Yaming’s tea, the difference was stark.

Nanny Yu was very curious about the tea brewed by Ye Yaming and couldn’t help but ask, “Third Miss, may this old servant taste your tea?”

“Of course.” Ye Yaming smiled and signaled to Bai Xin, who then poured a cup of tea and handed it to Nanny Yu.

After a light sip, Nanny Yu’s eyes widened. She looked at the old madam.

The old madam naturally understood her meaning and nodded, “Go ahead, compare.”

Nanny Yu poured a cup of her own brewed tea and drank it in one gulp, immediately feeling the difference. She hesitated for a moment, wanting to say something, but in the end, she closed her mouth, not daring to ask about Ye Yaming’s tea-brewing technique. This might become a family secret, and how could a servant know it?

Ye Chongming had even more thoughts. At this moment, he deeply regretted having Ye Yaming brew tea with her unique method in front of everyone. He waved his hand, “Everyone, leave.”

The servants quickly retreated.

Once only the three of them were left in the room, he asked Ye Yaming, “What was the reason for pouring the water and tea back and forth between the teapots?”

“Wait a moment.” Ye Yaming went out and brought in a kettle of boiling water from the corridor.

“I pour the water into the teapot without covering it because the tea leaves are very tender when picked. If the water is too hot, it will produce a stuffy yellow flavor, so pouring the water into the teapot cools it down a bit.”

She lifted the teapot to warm the teapot and cups, “Warming the teapot and cups maintains their temperature and prevents the porcelain teapot from cracking due to sudden heat…”

“Pouring the brewed tea back into this teapot allows the tea to be poured out at its best flavor, preventing it from over-brewing and also adjusting the tea’s strength, so it’s not too weak at the top and too strong at the bottom.”

At this time, gaiwan (lidded bowls) hadn’t appeared yet, and the utensils for brewing loose tea were white porcelain. People liked to cover the teapot after pouring in the water and didn’t pour out the tea in time. Brewing for too long made the tea bitter and stuffy.

There were no fairness cups either, so tea was poured directly from the teapot. The first poured tea was weak, and the last poured tea was strong. Without using the “Guan Gong patrolling the city” method to pour tea, each cup’s taste would be different. Uneven strength made the tea taste bad.

To make a good cup of tea, water temperature, tea amount, utensils, and brewing time must all be controlled!

In this fictional dynasty, there was no Lu Yu, and no one wrote the “Classic of Tea.” Although some people studied tea and wrote articles, they were all scholars who advocated for compressed tea. No one studied how to brew loose tea.

Ye Chongming and the old madam were both stunned.

The old madam thought, brewing tea is just brewing tea; does it need to be so complicated? But she quickly dismissed this thought.

To drink good tea, one must not fear trouble. Making tea cakes requires a lot of effort. Now, to drink good loose tea, why not pay attention to the brewing process?

Good taste is the key!

Ye Chongming, on the other hand, showed an excited expression.

Tea cakes didn’t taste very good, so why was it so popular? Because its brewing process was meticulous, with each step being extremely precise, and the tea foam could even display patterns. Wealthy families used it to show their refined lifestyle and elegant taste, contrasting with the busy lives of ordinary people, thus highlighting their nobility.

On the other hand, loose tea was just put into a teapot with boiling water, resulting in a bitter taste. Hence, loose tea was always a drink for the poor to quench their thirst, and no one studied how to brew it well.

Now, Ye Yaming had discovered a brewing method that made it refined. Could loose tea also become popular among scholars and the wealthy?

Recalling the taste of osmanthus tea, Ye Chongming felt a surge of excitement. With this osmanthus tea and brewing technique, the Ye family could achieve prosperity that their ancestors couldn’t.

“Besides you, who else knows this brewing method?” he asked.

Ye Yaming shook her head, showing a bit of embarrassment, “I figured it out myself, and I usually brew it alone, never taught anyone.”

“Good, good, good!” Ye Chongming said three “good” words in a row, his face flushed with excitement.

After the excitement, the sense of crisis that had always existed in his heart grew stronger.

This sense of crisis had been with him since Ye Jiaxing was born.

People say wealth doesn’t last beyond three generations. From his great-grandfather’s rise to Ye Jiaxing’s generation, it was already the sixth generation. The comfortable life had lasted too long. Not just Ye Jiaxing, even he, benefiting from ancestral blessings and adhering to ancestral teachings, had always acted kindly and won people’s hearts. Over the years, he hadn’t experienced fierce competition, and everything seemed to go smoothly.

Now, just a position as the head of a tea shop brought disaster. With osmanthus tea and brewing techniques, could he protect it?