Brewing tea according to Lu Yu's method

Lu Yu is a man who dedicated his life to the study of tea and wrote the world's first treatise on tea, the "Tea Canon." His method of brewing tea was used as early as the 8th century to maintain health and longevity. Today, Lu Yu has been elevated to the status of a tea god. He is depicted in numerous variations in tea toys.

To brew puer according to Lu Yu, you need to use a heat-resistant glass container, such as a teapot, and the softest water possible. Puer is washed with cold water three times! The first time - to wash off dust from the tea, and the second and third times - to saturate the tea leaf with moisture.

We put a glass teapot with soft water on the fire and carefully watch the process of heating the water. When the water begins to make a slight noise, small bubbles appear at the bottom of the vessel, which Lu Yu called "crab eyes", and we hear a small click, this means that it is time to take 1-2 mugs of "young boiling water" from the teapot. After this, medium-sized bubbles appear at the bottom and on the walls of the vessel - "crab eyes", followed by larger bubbles - "fish eyes". Then small bubbles begin to rise in the water in a single thread, Lu Yu calls them "pearl threads" and the first small waves appear on the surface of the water - now the water comes to the state of "the noise of the wind in the pines". At this very moment, it is necessary to return the water previously scooped out of the teapot, thus "rejuvenating the water" occurs.

The second time, the "noise of the wind in the pines" comes much faster and, anticipating this moment, you need to start stirring the water with a wooden tea tool, for example, tongs. Spinning, the water creates a funnel, and we throw tea into it and wait for the third time for the "noise of the wind in the pines", after which we turn off the fire. When the tea calms down, that is, stops floating in the teapot and sinks to the bottom of the vessel, you can drink it.

Menshikov-Salyuk Dmitry Alexandrovich