Ye Yaming shook her head. “No, it’s because of the brewing method.”

Ye Chongming was taken aback. Recalling how Ye Yaming had poured back and forth between two pots, he thought for a moment and then said to Madam Yu, who stood behind the Old Madam Ye, “You brew it, using your usual method.”

When the Old Madam Ye had married Ye Chongming, she had specifically selected clever maids with sensitive taste buds to learn tea brewing, wanting her husband to enjoy satisfying tea in her quarters as well. Madam Yu was among the best of these.

Because of her tea-brewing skills, Madam Yu still served the Old Madam Ye and was typically kept by her side.

She had naturally observed and memorized Ye Yaming’s brewing technique, wondering why she brewed tea that way. However, she couldn’t figure out the reasoning.

Now that the Old Master wanted to compare the tea brewed using the two different methods, she immediately set aside what she had just seen and brewed according to her usual technique.

After she finished brewing, Ye Chongming took the teacup, first smelling the aroma, then tasting the tea. His brows furrowed.

The Old Madam Ye also remarked, “The fragrance is stronger than Yaming’s brew, but it has a stale quality, not as fresh. As for the taste, the bitterness is more pronounced, and the scorched yellowish taste is quite evident.”

Madam Yu had been brewing tea all her life. When guests visited, or when they went out and no younger family members wanted to showcase their tea-brewing skills, the Old Madam Ye would instruct her to brew tea. Her tea-brewing skills had been widely acknowledged.

Some things are better understood through comparison. Previously, neither Ye Chongming nor the Old Madam Ye had found any fault with Madam Yu’s tea brewing; in fact, they thought it was quite good. But now, compared to Ye Yaming’s, the difference was not just minor.

Madam Yu was very curious about the tea Ye Yaming had brewed and couldn’t help asking, “Third Young Miss, may this old servant taste the tea you brewed?”

“Of course,” Ye Yaming smiled and gestured to Bai Rui, who took the teapot and poured a cup for Madam Yu.

After one small sip, Madam Yu’s eyes widened. She looked at the Old Madam Ye.

The Old Madam Ye naturally understood her meaning and nodded. “Go ahead, compare them.”

Madam Yu poured a cup of her brew, drank it down, and immediately felt the difference.

She hesitated for a moment, opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately closed it without daring to ask Ye Yaming about her brewing technique.

This could potentially become a Ye family secret technique, not something a servant like her should know.

Ye Chongming’s thoughts went even further. At this moment, he deeply regretted having Ye Yaming publicly demonstrate her unique brewing method.

He waved his hand. “Everyone, please leave.”

The servants hurriedly withdrew.

When only the three of them remained in the room, he asked Ye Yaming, “Just now, when you poured the water and tea back and forth between the pots, what was the reasoning behind that?”

“One moment.” Ye Yaming walked out and brought in a kettle of boiling water from the corridor.

“I pour the water into the pot without covering it because the tea leaves are picked when they’re very tender. Water that’s too hot produces a scorched yellowish taste, so pouring the water into the pot allows it to cool a bit.”

She lifted the kettle to warm the pot and cups. “Warming the pot and cups maintains their temperature and prevents the porcelain pot from cracking due to sudden heat…”

“Pouring the brewed tea back into this pot ensures the tea is poured out when its flavor is at its best, preventing it from over-steeping. It also balances the tea’s strength, so it’s not too weak at the top and too strong at the bottom.”

In this era, the gaiwan had not yet appeared. The utensils for brewing loose tea were white porcelain, and people liked to cover the pot after pouring in water, not promptly pouring out the tea. When steeped too long, the tea became bitter and had a scorched yellowish taste.

There was also no fairness cup at this time; tea was poured directly from the teapot. The first poured tea was mild, and the later poured tea was strong. Without using the “Guan Gong patrolling the city” technique to serve tea, each cup tasted different. With such inconsistent strength, how could the tea taste good?

For a good pot of tea, the water temperature, amount of tea, tea utensils, and timing of pouring all had to be precisely controlled—none could be neglected!

In this alternate dynasty, there was no Lu Yu, and no one had written “The Classic of Tea.” Although some had researched tea and written articles, they were all scholars and literati who advocated for compressed tea cakes. No one had researched methods for brewing loose tea.

Ye Chongming and the Old Madam Ye listened with wide eyes and open mouths.

The Old Madam Ye thought, “It’s just brewing tea, does it need to be so complicated?” But as soon as this thought arose, she dismissed it.

To enjoy good tea, one shouldn’t fear the trouble. Look at how much effort goes into making compressed tea cakes. Now, to enjoy a good pot of loose tea, what’s wrong with being meticulous during brewing?

Good taste was paramount!

Ye Chongming, meanwhile, showed an excited expression.

It was well known that compressed tea cakes didn’t taste particularly good, so why were they so popular? Simply because their brewing was elaborate, each step pursued exquisite precision, and patterns could even be created on the tea froth at the end.

Wealthy families used it to demonstrate their refined lifestyle and elegant taste, showcasing a leisurely interest in stark contrast to ordinary people who struggled for their three meals, thus highlighting their nobility.

Loose tea, on the other hand, was simply placed in a pot with boiling water poured over it, resulting in a bitter taste. Therefore, loose tea had always been a beverage for the poor to quench their thirst, and no one had researched how to brew it to bring out a good flavor.

Now that Ye Yaming had discovered such a brewing method, making it sophisticated as well. Would this mean that loose tea could also gain the favor of scholars and wealthy leisured people?

Recalling the flavor of the osmanthus tea, Ye Chongming felt a wave of excitement spread through his heart.

With this osmanthus tea and this tea-brewing technique, the Ye family would surely achieve a prosperity that their ancestors could not.

“This brewing method, besides you, who else knows it?” he asked.

Ye Yaming shook her head, revealing a slightly embarrassed expression. “I just figured it out myself. I usually brew it alone when I’m experimenting. I haven’t taught anyone.”

“Good, good, good!” Ye Chongming repeated “good” three times, his face showing an excited flush.

After the excitement, the sense of crisis that had always existed in his heart grew stronger.

This sense of crisis had lingered in his mind since Ye Jiaxing’s birth.

People often say wealth doesn’t last beyond three generations. From his great-grandfather’s initial success to Ye Jiaxing’s generation, it was already the sixth generation, and they had lived in comfort for far too long. Not to mention Ye Jiaxing—even he, having benefited from ancestral shade and always adhering to ancestral teachings, acting benevolently and winning people’s hearts, hadn’t experienced too intense competition over the years. Everything seemed so natural, as if flowing water reached its destination.

Now, just the position of a tea guild leader had brought disaster that threatened to exterminate the family. With the addition of osmanthus tea and this brewing technique, could he protect it all?