Do I need to wash tea leaves?

In China, many people like to drink tea very much. When guests come to our home, they brew a pot of good tea to show respect for the guests. Tea is divided into first-class good tea, second-class good tea and third-class tea. The better the tea, the better it tastes. Most people don't have the habit of washing tea leaves before drinking them, because they think that washing the tea leaves will cause the flavor of the tea to be lost. So do you need to wash the tea leaves before drinking them?

In fact, many people pour out the first cup of tea when making tea. This action is usually called "washing tea", also called "waking up tea" or "warm brewing". During the tea making process, tea will be more or less mixed with dust and small debris, which can be washed away by washing the tea. At the same time, during the making and storage process, the tea itself will produce some unpleasant odors and absorb a small amount of foreign smells. After washing the tea, these odors will also be carried away with the hot air. Therefore, Zhengshan Xiaozhong tea will become much purer after washing.

Secondly, tea contains pesticides during the planting process, which have long been absorbed and converted into internal substances by the tea leaves. Tea grows in the mountains and fields, and especially in today's relatively serious environmental pollution, a certain amount of dust, pesticides, heavy metals and other pollution is inevitable. So some people have developed the habit of washing tea.

Since the Northern Song Dynasty, the process of "washing tea" has been included in the tea-making process to wash away impurities on the surface of loose tea. "Washing tea" was once used in the tea picking process, and was later extended to the drinking process. People have long noticed that tea leaves contain impurities and are not suitable for direct drinking.

In my opinion, whether or not to wash tea, and which parts of the tea should be washed and which do not need to be washed, is a matter of personal brewing and drinking habits. It is not a black-and-white issue, and there are no absolute rules or laws. In the Japanese tea ceremony, whether it is sencha or matcha, there is no "washing tea" step. In British tea customs, black tea can be brewed directly by adding hot water. Originally, "washing tea" is a contradictory thing. What do you think about this?