Green Tea - Why is the tea soup of some green tea turbid?

Spring is the season for drinking green tea. When brewing green tea, tea lovers find that some tea soups are very turbid. What are the reasons for this phenomenon? Can turbid tea soup still be drunk?

● Substances precipitated from the tea leaves themselves

Tea hairs "cause trouble" ‌

Tea hairs refer to the silvery-white hairs that grow naturally on the back of tea buds and leaves. They are rich in nutrients such as theanine and tea polyphenols, and are one of the sources of the fresh taste of tea.

Many green teas, such as Biluochun and Maofeng, have very rich tea hairs. When brewing, especially when using higher water temperatures or more intense brewing methods, a large amount of tea hairs will fall off and suspend in the tea soup, causing the tea soup to look turbid.

For example, Dongting Biluochun is famous for its hairs. When it is just brewed, you can often see many tiny hairs floating in the tea soup, making the tea soup less clear.

However, this turbidity is actually a symbol of quality. Don't worry about it affecting the taste. Instead, it will bring a more mellow and refreshing taste.

● Other factors

1. Pollution during picking and processing

During the picking and processing of tea leaves, it is easy to be polluted by dust, miscellaneous stems, soil, metal and other debris; in addition, there is pollution from packaging materials. During the picking and frying process, workers can easily bring pollutants into the tea leaves, causing the tea soup to become turbid.

2. Lack of technology

• After the fresh leaves are picked, they are piled for too long or too much time, which directly leads to the loss of freshness of the green tea leaves;
• In the process of withering, insufficient stir-frying, low withering temperature, and incomplete withering can easily lead to excessive water content and cause turbidity in the tea soup;
• In the rolling process, if the technique is too heavy, the tea cell breakage rate is too high, and some water-insoluble fine substances will also cause the tea soup to be turbid.

3. Water quality reasons

There are hundreds of chemical substances in tea leaves. Some substances will combine with metal ions such as iron, calcium, magnesium, and copper to form insoluble salts, causing turbidity in the tea soup. If you use mineral water or tap water with high mineral content to brew tea, the tea soup is likely to be turbid.

4. Storage problems

If the green tea is damp during storage, the tea leaves absorb too much water and the internal structure changes, which will easily cause turbidity in the tea soup when brewing. In addition, long-term exposure to high temperature, strong light or odorous environment will accelerate the oxidation and deterioration of tea leaves, and the brewed tea soup will lose its original clarity and brightness and become turbid.

Therefore, there are many reasons for the turbidity of tea soup, which needs to be analyzed according to the situation. Which reasons for turbidity do not affect drinking, and which reasons for turbidity are not drinkable, I believe that tea lovers have already understood.