There's been a lot of discussion in this group regarding which water temperature to use for which tea. However, I haven't been able to find any posts regarding boiling water and then letting it cool to the desired temperature versus heating it up just to that temperature. It's "common knowledge" that the water should be boiled and then allowed to cool, but I haven't been able to find a good reason to do this. I"m wondering whether this is a holdover from the days of unsanitary water supplies. Given the recent discussion regarding how microwaving water drives out too much oxygen, one would think that NOT boiling the water if at all possible would retain more oxygen than bringing the water to a boil.
According to chinese practice, water is always heated to just boiling ("fish eyes" water) and then cooled down. A water temperature suited for green tea and most oolongs would be classified as "crab eyes" water and this stage of heating is regarded as unhealthy. Therefore, all water is heated to just boiling and then cooled down to the suitable temperature. I noticed though, that certain teas that require a brewing temperature around 80-85 degrees C actually taste much better, if the heating is stopped at the desired temperature rather than letting the water cool down. I attributed that to the higher oxygen content of the water but that's just a guess. Other teas seem to be not at all influenced by the method of getting the right temperature. BTW, another way to re-oxygenate your water after bringing it to a boil is pouring it back and forth between two pots or jugs while cooling. This not only cools the water faster than just letting it sit in a kettle but also allows it to re-absorb some of the boiled-out oxygen.
I think you're probably right with your guess that the practice of boiling first and cooling down stems from the days of dubious water quality as a security measure, but I don't have any accurate info on that.
I tend to boil water, then add room temperature water from the sink and dilute it. If you do this, and your room temperature water is pretty consistent in temperature, you have only to measure volumes and not temperature. This is very fast and convenient.
I don't know. Be interesting to try it both ways and see if you can taste any difference.
I find it easier to wait for a cool down than a warm up. I like boiling water and glass pots. Okay my water boils at 200F. I go to sealevel every once in awhile. That boiling water is damn holly. The pots radiate heat enough to keep from scorching greens and oolongs. Most of my blacks these days are CTC and BOP so infusion is more based on size than heat. I think my shu puer could use a little more heat. I wouldn't trade the view for any other optimum. For the microwave I always used a clay pot with a bamboo handle. I'd fill up about 3/4 including the infuser and add tea back at the desk and swish a little. You learn the power settings and timer.
I've read this too, that "crab-eye" water is unhealthy. To quote Lam Kam Chuen in his book "The Way of Tea" pg. 78, "...is called medium- done, yin-yang, or baby water. Such water is never used for making tea and in fact is never used for anything in cooking, as yin-yang water is said to be unhealthy." Baby water is also referred to as "crab eye" water.
Now, how much of this information is backed up by reliable reasonings (and by that I don't mean western sciences per se)? His wording seems a little vague and suggests that he is merely passing down the wisdom of old by saying "...as yin-yang water IS SAID to be unhealthy." Lam Kam Chuen is a certified master practitioner of Chinese healing arts, including chi-qong.
My personal impression of the Chinese healing wisdom is that much of it is inherited from generations past...sort of an accumulated knowledge, and little gets amended. So this left me wondering if "crab-eye" water is/was regarded as unhealthy because it never reached boiling point to properly sanitize it. Since there was no microscope back then, the universal yin-yang concept is applied instead. And the wisdom stays on to this day.
I know there is at least one regular poster here who is a student of the Chinese healing sciences. Perhaps there is an active practitioner or two, too? Please correct me if I'm wrong and shed some light if you could. Thanks...
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