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Yeah, I think it's fine. Some people will tell you that there's a taste difference between unboiled vs boiled vs boiled repeatedly but I've never noticed much of one, and I'm reasonably picky about brewing tea. I would try to be relatively precise about it, a +/- 10F difference isn't going to make or break the cup, but there can be pretty noticeable changes in flavor if you're talking about large variations in temp. I find the most important brewing parameters by far are the amount of leaf, length of brew, approximate temperature, the flavor of the water you use, and material of whatever you heated the water and brewed the tea in (I think plastic and porous clay are both awful, though plenty of people disagree with me on the latter). All the other stuff may be nice for presentation or may make some minor difference in taste, but those things are 95% of it. So basically do whatever you want as long as you get that set of stuff right to your satisfaction. breaks fucked around with this message at 22:27 on Apr 15, 2016 |
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Apr 15, 2016 22:16
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I use water just off the boil, around 200F. I also do a rinse (just immediately pour the water out) and then it let sit uncovered for a minute which helps address the weak first steep a bit. I really only drink TW oolongs these days so maybe there are some mainland ones that are different, but I find even the green ones stand up fine to the heat when brewing like this in a gaiwan. If I was using a preheated clay pot or something else that retains heat like a boss then I'd probably go a bit cooler for the more green/delicate teas.
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May 7, 2016 00:21
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I don't have that particular one, but I have a similar, glass one (which I don't really recommend for most workplaces because it really looks a lot like a bong which for some reason I, a person who has smoked many weeds, was totally blind to until an executive saw me with it in the break room and said it looked "fun" and thank goodness I worked a very casual game industry job at the time so nobody actually gave a poo poo). Since the leaves are stuck in a relatively small portion of the glass, I like to turn it over a couple times during brewing to help the water circulate. It does a solid job and is very convenient, so I'd say it's worth trying a less recreational looking one.
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Jun 5, 2016 07:28
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Since you mentioned liking the slightly fishy aspect of some puerh it's worth a mention that some senchas, especially the more heavily steamed ones, can have similar umami/protein/in some cases (and again generally regarded as lesser quality but whatever floats your boat) fishy. They are otherwise QUITE different from puerh though, in fact pretty much as far away as you can get. Just might be something to also look to sample at some point. For TW oolongs (which is almost all I drink anymore) I'd recommend Tea Masters, Stephane finally put up an actual web shop a while back so it's a little more accessible though still often pricey, as my absolute favorite store. Taiwan Sourcing/taiwanoolongs and the aforementioned Taiwan Tea Crafts also sell some pretty solid stuff, though neither is as reliably great (or at least matched to my taste) as Tea Masters in my experience. Especially the roasted ones were of IMO lesser quality, I really can't recommend Stephane's roasted teas enough, he does an amazing job of finding great roasts. And I think such teas might have a bit more appeal to a puerh lover, though you won't get any of the fish/protein stuff. (He is also pretty helpful if you write him and ask for recs, in my experience.)
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Dec 1, 2016 08:20
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I've heard of keeping sealed, nitrogen-flushed Japanese greens in the fridge, especially on the dealer side, but in that case it's generally recommended not to put it back in there after opening due to moisture issues. I'd be concerned about the same here.
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Apr 11, 2017 03:45
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Yes, five min tops, toss the bags after unless they are the whole(-ish) leaf kind. They aren't if you have to ask, though.
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Jul 4, 2017 02:18
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Basically any decaffeination process takes quite a bit of flavor along with it. Additionally, for tea that hasn't been decaffeinated, most of the same factors that lead to higher quality tea lead to higher caffeine levels and vice versa. After all these years, this article is still the best summary I know: http://chadao.blogspot.com/2008/02/caffeine-and-tea-myth-and-reality.html If you are really that concerned about the caffeine the answer is what you've already been given: drink something that doesn't have caffeine in the first place. You'll get a tastier drink that reliably doesn't have any caffeine in it, as opposed to tea where the caffeine content of whatever specific leaves you're buying isn't measured in the first place, so it's either decaf which hopefully has very little, or some mystery amount. For me personally the answer is just don't worry about the caffeine and drink the good tea, but you know you and all that. I'll add that I'm not trying to be discouraging, and as briefly noted in the midst of the long article I linked, you might try looking for CO2 decaffeinated teas which is supposed to have the least impact on the flavor of the tea. While not addressed in the article it's my understanding that heavily roasted teas also have less caffeine, so that might be another option, though heavy roasting imparts some pretty significant flavor changes of its own. I can recommend this particular roasted tea though I can't give you any definitive statement on the amount of caffeine in it, and you may be in for some sticker shock if you're used to the pricing of Twinings: http://www.tea-masters.com/en/hung-shui/433-2013-spring-tie-guan-yin-high-roast-from-anxi-china.html breaks fucked around with this message at 06:13 on Jul 26, 2017 |
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Jul 26, 2017 05:48
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Try Floating Leaves or Teamasters. I think the current Teamasters one is a roasted, more traditional version though. I have not tried either current version but have been happy with previous ones from both. I also highly rate Teamasters in general for quality but maybe not price performance.
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Jan 25, 2018 22:02
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Depends on the oolong, TW high mountain oolongs are pretty delicate, ones with a heavy roast on them aren't really. The short answer is just use more leaves, I guess, I don't know how much you're already using. If after you're done brewing the gaiwan is half full or less of the rehydrated, unfurled leaves, I'd say that's too little for most teas brewed this way. I usually shoot for more or less full but not packed in too much. Also it's normal for the first steep, or two or three if you're brewing quickly, to be pretty light. If you don't like that you can brew the first one longer or do a rinse, wait a minute, then do your real first steep. breaks fucked around with this message at 18:04 on Jul 29, 2018 |
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Jul 29, 2018 17:51
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Rinsing then immediately steeping is the way it's generally done, but if you want a stronger first steep and want to avoid a long first steep, I find letting the leaves sit for short time after a rinse helps them release their flavor more quickly. I'd argue that lighter first steeps are more the appetizer for the main course than a problem to avoid, but if you don't prefer that then by all means adjust it, it's your tea. Anyway just experiment with times and amount of leaf and you'll get it figured out. IMO as a rule of thumb for most oolongs, you get about 5 minutes of quality steeping time, and you can break that up however you want. The shorter the times you use, the more leaf you need to prevent it from being too watered down and vice versa with longer times you want less leaf so that it's not overly strong and bringing out off flavors.
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Jul 30, 2018 00:16
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Agrinja posted:Out of curiosity, what's the going opinion on TeaVivre's oolongs? I'm gradually working through them, liking them, but not sure what I'm getting in the grand scheme of things. So far I've mostly seem people rave over their dragonwell. Did pick up some of the charcoal baked Ti Kuan Yin that's on 40%, I've got good hopes for it. I don't have any experience with TeaVivre so I can't comment on that, but FWIW the best (Taiwanese) oolong shop I know is tea-masters.com. I've had great teas from other shops but I've found him to be by far the most reliable in terms of quality. So, his stuff is kind of my reference point for what good TW oolongs should taste like at whatever given price point. For mid to heavy roasted teas in particular I think he's a real cut above the other western facing vendors.
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Aug 5, 2018 04:21
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Rather than subscription services I’d recommend ordering samplers from reputable online tea shops. My preferred shop is Tea Masters, he sells mainly Taiwanese teas and stocks quality stuff at every price point he offers, but is on the pricey side overall. There are many other good options for both specialists like the one I mentioned and more generalist vendors. As far as brewing at work, I find the mesh baskets like the Finum ones to be the best option myself. A gaiwan is easier to clean but more brewing effort than I want to put in at work.
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Aug 27, 2019 01:50
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Reiterpallasch posted:Is your electric kettle temperature-controlled, or does it only go to boiling? If the latter, that either somewhat limits the types of teas you can make WRT water temperature, I really think you don’t need to be too precise with most teas. As long as the leaves are solidly intact you don’t need to worry too much, if you need a lower temp just let the water cool down for a minute or two or whatever unless you’re really trying to hyperoptimize. I say most and solidly intact because it does make a real difference with sencha style teas, especially the heavily steamed ones, but regardless of steaming level I’d always recommend some reliable temp control for those. Also as someone who always warns about pricing with Teamasters, I also want to mention that nowadays he does actually stock a decent selection of quite reasonably priced teas, which are as usual quite good. The admitted catch is factoring in shipping from Taiwan for orders under $100 which does bump it up a fair bit.
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Sep 5, 2019 22:30
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Been a while since I drank much sencha but o-cha and hibikian were my preferred vendors a few years back when I was going through a lot of it. Also go for the lighter steamed / asamushi stuff if you don’t like the proteiny/fishy side of things.
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Oct 19, 2019 01:26
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I was always a fan of o-cha.com but it’s been a while. They stock a range of price points but you have to pay shipping from Japan also.
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Nov 30, 2019 21:23
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There’s plenty of room to experiment with temps and different individual teas may do better a bit higher or lower than normal for their type. There’s also some variability with prewarming or not, heat retention of whatever you’re brewing in, and so on. The general rule is that you brew less processed tea at lower temps in the 160-180 (Freedom units) range, though I’ve seen as low as 120 recommended for high end hand processed gyokuro, and more heavily processed tea more towards boiling. As long as you remember that you won’t go far wrong. Basically don’t worry about it too much and just try stuff and see what you like. breaks fucked around with this message at 00:30 on Dec 13, 2019 |
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Dec 13, 2019 00:28
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Trabant posted:I find the water temperature to be hugely important. There are a bunch of guides out there to match your tea of choice with the right temperature range, and an electric kettle with adjustable heat control will let you do that. Aside from this I’d say just getting used to tweaking the time/temp/water:leaf/brewing vessel variables to get the most out of whatever particular tea you’re brewing. Also just experimenting with different brewing styles or intentionally doing the “wrong” thing to see what effect it has or maybe having an unexpected success.
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Mar 13, 2020 00:31
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Drinking the heritage roast oolong from Taiwan Tea Crafts today. I remember thinking it was pretty gnarly and way too freshly roasted when I first got it. Popped it in a jar and promptly forgot about it until some apocalypse inspired clearing out of the back of the pantry. Five years later it’s pretty good actually! 
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Mar 25, 2020 19:08
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Anonymous Robot posted:Dumb question, but humor me. When preparing tea gong fu style, the leaves are steeped for let’s say fifteen seconds, then cups are poured. Now, we next want to sample the tea at thirty seconds. We would add more hot water to the gaiwan and wait an additional fifteen seconds, yes? Not thirty. I'm not sure what you mean by sample the tea at thirty seconds. One 30 second steep and two 15 second steeps will be three different cups of tea. In general with gong fu style brewing you start with either a rinse or a longish steep of maybe 45-60 seconds, then a very short steep of something like 10 seconds, then lengthen the time with each further steeping of the leaves. You tend to increase the increase of time between steeps with each additional one. Maybe something like 10, 12, 15, 20, 30, 45, 60, 120, ... or whatever exactly. There's no subtracting of times involved, you just lengthen the time for each steep, with the possible exception of the first one depending on how you prefer to go about the task of initially hydrating the leaves.
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Apr 28, 2020 03:32
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The Postman posted:I think I'll piece together an inexpensive Gongfu setup with some of your recommendations and then pick out a white/black/green/oolong and get started! I did a quick search of Pu'er tea and it seems interesting. Should I hold off on that until I'm a little more familiar with the basics? There are some great puerhs out there and also a whole lot of crap and also a whole lot of outright scams especially when it comes to aged ones. I recommend trying a bunch of places and finding a vendor you trust to make quality selections regardless of what kind of tea you're drinking but it's even more important for puerh. I don't drink too much puerh but for my taste, I continue to recommend Stephane at Teamasters as just such a reliable vendor. He's actually branched out into regularly stocking puerh the past few years, usually a combo of very reasonably priced young cakes and outrageously expensive aged stuff. The best puerh I've ever had was a sample from him actually, but must've been close to 10 years ago now and it's long gone from his shop. I picked up one of the young cakes he was stocking last year but haven't broken into it yet. Maybe I'll do that in the next couple days and report back whether it was a good buy or not. For the teas I usually drink (oolongs) I've always found his selections to be top notch for the price point, regardless of whether it was the cheap stuff or the top shelf. I haven't placed an order since the rona hit though, and he's located in Taiwan, so not sure if there's any shipping issues etc.
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Aug 25, 2020 03:53
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