Introduction: "Different lands nurture different people," said Zhao Feihong, a water health expert. According to her experiments over the past few years, different teas require different water for brewing.
Green tea should be brewed with soft water.
For example, Longjing tea, produced in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, is best brewed with the local water, which is very soft with a TDS of only around 50. If you use Beijing's water to brew Longjing, it would be a waste; the tea's fragrance disappears, and the color becomes unappealing.
Black tea should be brewed with hard water.
Black tea is a fermented tea. To achieve a bright red color, it needs to be brewed with water that has a high TDS value.
Oolong tea is best brewed with moderately hard water.
Oolong is a semi-fermented tea, falling between green and black tea. Therefore, its mineral content can be slightly higher than that of green tea, with a TDS of around 200 being generally suitable.
Beijing's tap water is suitable for scented teas.
Beijing's tap water is ideal for brewing scented teas like jasmine, where the floral fragrance can mask the water's own less pleasant taste.