DNC said

Steeping Process

Hi friends, This week I was talking with a local lady who is from China. She told me she throws away the first infusion or steeping of tea she prepares from new tea. Being new to tea I have never heard of this. Do any of you do this?
Being new to tea I hope I have worded this question correctly. Please let me know if the question is incorrectly worded or not understandable. Thank you.

4 Replies
Brian said

greens and whites i dont rinse.

oolongs i will rinse once.

young raw puerh i will rinse once.

ripe puerh and aged raw puerh i rinse twice and then let sit for a few before i start brewing.

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cookies said

Anything rolled or compressed I rinse once. Ripe puerh may get rinsed multiple times depending on its fermentation strength.

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I rinse on oolongs, blacks and pu’er. Usually 2 to 3 times on shou/ripe puer.

There’s some that say you do it to remove impurities, but really it’s just to heat the leaves and get the flavor started faster. You can certainly drink it if you like.

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AllanK said

Yes in gongfu tea with puer or oolong it is traditional to throw out the first infusion, they call it the rinse. I think it was originally to remove any dust etc, from the tea. Today the storage is better and there is generally no dust on the tea. There are probably alternate explanations for the reason for rinsing the tea too such as the first steep often will not ‘open up’ as much.

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