~Tea~

[TeaDidikai]

In other exciting news- I got to try the first ever White Darjeeling.  

[maenad nuri]

TeaDidikai

In other exciting news- I got to try the first ever White Darjeeling.

and?  

[TeaDidikai]

maenad nuri

TeaDidikai

In other exciting news- I got to try the first ever White Darjeeling.

and?

I can't. I want to, but there aren't words to do it justice.  

[patch99329]

Tea, I have a question!

Why do you brew tea the way you do? I mean, for such a short amount of time, and soaking the leaves first?

I tend to follow the basic packet advice for individual teas and then tailor it from there. For some teas I brew then for up to four minutes.
I've never tried brewing tea for a minute or less, I always assume I'd never be able to taste it!  

[TeaDidikai]

patch99329

Why do you brew tea the way you do? I mean, for such a short amount of time, and soaking the leaves first?

For the short amount of time, it's because tea infused too long becomes bitter. Tannic Acid and Caffeine exist naturally in Camellia Sinesis and Camellia Assamica. These two compounds are bitter in nature and the more the tea infuses, the more the subtle sweetness will be overwhelmed.

As for why I rinse the leaves, there are a couple of reasons.

1) It decafinates the tea. I'm mildly allergic to caffeine. My body reacts to it in ways that resemble life threatening illnesses when I take in too much. In order to be able to tell if I am actually sick or if it is something I ate, I have regular medical check ups and I avoid caffeine so that if symptoms do develop, I'm aware of them.

I still imbibe some now and then (I gave up my coke and three cappuccino a day habit, but I draw the line at chocolate and tea).

2) It has cultural significance in the schools of tea service I have been trained in. From there it became habit.

3) It has spiritual significance within my practice, well, in and of itself it doesn't, but there is a "right" way to wash away impurities and awaken the spirit of the leaves themselves. Otherwise, my offerings would be polluted.

There are some other reasons I do it, but those are the basic ones.

Quote:

I tend to follow the basic packet advice for individual teas and then tailor it from there. For some teas I brew then for up to four minutes.
I've never tried brewing tea for a minute or less, I always assume I'd never be able to taste it!

High quality tea can be very subtle, especially whites and some of the lighter greens.

The White Darjeeling was too subtle for my husband and yet I was enthralled.

Some of this relies on training your palette to detect subtle things. It's a honing of the senses.

In the same way that you can train yourself to hear very quiet things, or feel a human hair through a hundred pages of a Bible etc, you can learn to detect very subtle characteristics in flavor.

The thing about brewing tea though is that to intensify flavor, you don't steep it longer, you add more leaves.

Red (black) teas, because they are heat treated longer and oxidized more can take "more punishment". Hotter water, longer steeping times. They still produce subtle flavors, but the flavors overall are bolder- so they don't need the same protection that lighter leaves do.

Think of it like this-
White Teas are fine porcelain, greens are stone wear, blue greens are corning wear, reds are steel, black/tonic teas are freakin' cast iron. (I won't go into Puerh's here, it's too complicated based on the age of the fermentation, the region and the kind of tea used)

Adding heat and time to them is like dropping them. Heat is the surface it's dropped on, time is the height from which it is dropped.

Better drop that porcelain onto a pillow from a foot up. Dropping that steel pan onto concrete from ten feet isn't going to be good for it, but you're not going to destroy it either.  

[Taliah]

What about Tazo brand tea? I spied some when shopping at Wal-mart the other day. Maybe I'll try their Green Tea.  

[TeaDidikai]

patch99329

Taliah

What about Tazo brand tea? I spied some when shopping at Wal-mart the other day. Maybe I'll try their Green Tea.

Tazo makes the sexiest masala chai in the history of...well...all the ones I have tasted.
I actually don't mind paying the horrific starbucks prices to have a cup. ^_^

My personal take on Tazo is "Why pay for premium bagged tea, when it's the same quality as non-premium bagged tea".

Quote:

Thankyou! I am always careful with my temperatues, and I shall try brewing my teas for a shorter amount of time and see how I like it.

If it's too weak, add more tea.

Quote:

Another thing that affects how long I brew tea for is whether I have it with milk or not (well, I am english sweatdrop ).

Meh. The English have a long history of heresy. I won't hold it against you. wink

Naw, all joking aside, milk ruins the health benefits of tea. That said, it can still be tasty in the same way that somedays you want red meat, others you want a light salad.  

[whiporwill-o]

tea noob here, lol

ok, so i have read [almost] every post in here *is getting sleepy*. i have forgone the lipton, arizona, lousianne (sp?) tea long ago (when i discovered the wonderment of sushi, actually) and i gotta tell ya, living in alabama [for entire life] and giving up sweet tea (aka sugary tea-flavored syrup) is not an easy task!! (but now it gives me a tummy ache)

but anyway, 30 seconds, you say! o.o why do the boxes say 2-3 minutes for every tea i've ever tried? granted i have not branched out into looseleaf teas yet, but no fear, i'm on the hunt (well, not this second cuz its past bedtime).

so here comes my plethora of questions:

1 - is it 30 sec. steep time for all tea types or is it different depending (if so, what are the recommended times)

2 - what is the best way to store used, but not dead, tea and how many times can you use it, on average and in what timespan?

3 - what exactly do you do to awaken the flavor of the tea? i feel like i'm missing out.

4 - back on the subject of bagged tea, is tazo and celestial seasonings still 'floor sweepings'?

5 - are blooming teas multi-use as well?

6 - since i dont really plan on learning how to read tea leaves, is it so bad that i'd want to use a tea ball? the idea of swallowing loose tea makes me want to gag.

7 - what is the proper amount of water to use in making good tea?

i had alot more, but typing has become difficult (wow, i actually had to think of how to spell difficult sweatdrop ) and i dont remember all the questions i had...

if it isnt too terribly much trouble i'd like the answers pm'd that way i won't forget that i had questions and that they were answered, but if it's too much, just say "thats a pain in the a**, read it here like everyone else... dammit"

ok, now it's bed time, night all.  

[Calixti]

Tea'll probably have more in-depth answers, but I can give my take on a few questions.

whiporwill-o

tea noob here, lol

ok, so i have read [almost] every post in here *is getting sleepy*. i have forgone the lipton, arizona, lousianne (sp?) tea long ago (when i discovered the wonderment of sushi, actually) and i gotta tell ya, living in alabama [for entire life] and giving up sweet tea (aka sugary tea-flavored syrup) is not an easy task!! (but now it gives me a tummy ache)

Gah. I never liked that stuff, but my dad's from NC so we always had it around growing up. He doesn't add as much sugar now because he's diabetic, which almost makes it worse because you can taste the tea. gonk

Quote:

1 - is it 30 sec. steep time for all tea types or is it different depending (if so, what are the recommended times)

I generally steep herbal and fruit tisaines longest, blacks a bit longer, and greens and whites for a very short period of time. And I don't really time it so much as I just watch it and wait until most of the leaves have unfurled. Generally, that's between thirtyish seconds and two or three minutes.

Quote:

4 - back on the subject of bagged tea, is tazo and celestial seasonings still 'floor sweepings'?

Yes. Though I'll drink them if I have access to nothing else.

Quote:

6 - since i dont really plan on learning how to read tea leaves, is it so bad that i'd want to use a tea ball? the idea of swallowing loose tea makes me want to gag.

Yes, tea balls are still bad. They don't give the leaves enough room to expand and unfurl. Your best bet is probably getting an infuser or strainer that sits inside your cup. Teavana's got a few, and most tea stores will have them.

Quote:

7 - what is the proper amount of water to use in making good tea?

Depends on your taste and how strong you like your tea. Most teas, I use about a teaspoon per eight ounces. Mint tisaines, which I like very strong, I'll use one and a half or two teaspoons per eight ounces. When I make tea for my dad, I'll use about one and a half teaspoons per eight ounces.

On another note, I've read bits in here about cooking with tea. I'm a bit curious, but the idea seems, well, odd. I thought I'd try a vegetarian version of this green tea furikake and see how it works out to sort of ease into it. Opinions?  

[maenad nuri]

I still use a tea ball (as a ball or in spoon form). It's not the best, but it works enough for me. Beggers can't be choosers.

Also, it's cool enough this morning that I'm breaking out the tea. YUM. Snow Geisha from Teavana to be exact.  

[whiporwill-o]

Calixti

I generally steep herbal and fruit tisaines longest, blacks a bit longer, and greens and whites for a very short period of time. And I don't really time it so much as I just watch it and wait until most of the leaves have unfurled. Generally, that's between thirtyish seconds and two or three minutes.

oh, ok, i suppose it would make a difference as to what tea you were brewing 3nodding

Quote:

Yes. Though I'll drink them if I have access to nothing else.

hm, how dissappointing.

Quote:

Yes, tea balls are still bad. They don't give the leaves enough room to expand and unfurl. Your best bet is probably getting an infuser or strainer that sits inside your cup.

ok, i've seen infusers before, i just didnt really get the purpose of them (told you i'm a noob sweatdrop ) but that makes a whole lotta sense.

Quote:

Depends on your taste and how strong you like your tea. Most teas, I use about a teaspoon per eight ounces. Mint tisaines, which I like very strong, I'll use one and a half or two teaspoons per eight ounces. When I make tea for my dad, I'll use about one and a half teaspoons per eight ounces.

thanks, that helps alot. they should teach you this stuff as a child, like they do laundry.  

[Calixti]

maenad nuri

I still use a tea ball (as a ball or in spoon form). It's not the best, but it works enough for me. Beggers can't be choosers.

Also, it's cool enough this morning that I'm breaking out the tea. YUM. Snow Geisha from Teavana to be exact.

It has to be cool for you to drink tea?

You're weird. razz

Quote:

thanks, that helps alot. they should teach you this stuff as a child, like they do laundry.

Would be nice, wouldn't it?  

[TeaDidikai]

whiporwill-o

i gotta tell ya, living in alabama [for entire life] and giving up sweet tea (aka sugary tea-flavored syrup) is not an easy task!! (but now it gives me a tummy ache)

~shudders~ Those poor leaves. I tried sweet tea once. I couldn't take more than a single sip.

Quote:

but anyway, 30 seconds, you say! o.o why do the boxes say 2-3 minutes for every tea i've ever tried?

Because they don't know what the hell they are doing. Basically it's tradition. When tea first was imported into Europe, they didn't know how to make it. There is actually a letter spoken off in Liquid Jade: The Story of Tea from East to West, that goes into the details of a sailor who gave some tea to his mother and she didn't know what to do with it.

They ended up brewing it too long, too strong and adding things like sugar and cream. This became the European way to serve tea.

Quote:

1 - is it 30 sec. steep time for all tea types or is it different depending (if so, what are the recommended times)

Thirty seconds for most teas. Whites, Greens and Oolongs should steep about this long if not shorter.

Blacks, because they have been processed with more heat, steep longer.

Quote:

2 - what is the best way to store used, but not dead, tea and how many times can you use it, on average and in what timespan?

A serving of tea should be used at one sitting if you are planning to drink it.

Sometimes, damp but not submerged teas have provided run of the mill flavor the next morning. (Quick pick me up at SummerStar... not having to heat water and all)

Quote:

3 - what exactly do you do to awaken the flavor of the tea? i feel like i'm missing out.

Use good quality water.
Don't over steep.
Use fresh tea- the leaves should be pliable, but crisp. Too much moisture and it will bend but not break, too dry and it will crumble too much.
Use the proper temp of water for the infusion.
Pour a little bit of the brewing water over the leaves, rinse and pour away, then infuse.

Quote:

5 - are blooming teas multi-use as well?

Yep, but you have to drink them quickly or decant them. If you don't, they'll bitter.

Quote:

6 - since i dont really plan on learning how to read tea leaves, is it so bad that i'd want to use a tea ball? the idea of swallowing loose tea makes me want to gag.

Tea balls suck because they don't allow the leaves to dance in the water... basically, water needs to be able to move all around the leaves.

Buy a decanter instead of a tea ball, or a cup strainer.

Quote:

7 - what is the proper amount of water to use in making good tea?

Not enough information.

How strong do you like your tea?
What kind do you like?
How many people are you making tea for?

It's less about a quantity of water and more about a ratio.

Quote:

if it isnt too terribly much trouble i'd like the answers pm'd that way i won't forget that i had questions and that they were answered, but if it's too much, just say "thats a pain in the a**, read it here like everyone else... dammit"

I'd just rather people learn from your questions too.

Calixti

Tea'll probably have more in-depth answers, but I can give my take on a few questions.

It would stand to reason.

Quote:

I generally steep herbal and fruit tisaines longest, blacks a bit longer, and greens and whites for a very short period of time. And I don't really time it so much as I just watch it and wait until most of the leaves have unfurled. Generally, that's between thirtyish seconds and two or three minutes.

Oolongs also steep as long as Greens and Whites.

It also depends on the quality of tea. Thirty seconds for an average tea is pretty normal.

Higher quality teas will loose some of the subtle characteristics after about ten seconds per infusion, so it also depends on what you are drinking.

Since I am betting that I am one of the few people on this forum willing to drop a month's rent on a pound of tea, I'll say thirty seconds is likely what folks are looking at.

Quote:

I thought I'd try a vegetarian version of this green tea furikake and see how it works out to sort of ease into it. Opinions?

It recommends a fine tea, but instead I would likely use a mild middle of the road jasmine green- still fragrant, but without the cost or the punishment to the fine leaves.


Nuri>> Sweets... I swear, once I get a bit of coin together, I'm buying you something better.  

[Calixti]

TeaDidikai

Oolongs also steep as long as Greens and Whites.

Good to know if I ever decide to give oolong another try. I'm not a huge fan of the ones I have tried, and tend to prefer blacks, mild greens, and rooibos over oolong and white tea.

Quote:

It also depends on the quality of tea. Thirty seconds for an average tea is pretty normal.

Higher quality teas will loose some of the subtle characteristics after about ten seconds per infusion, so it also depends on what you are drinking.

Yeah, that makes sense, though I've noticed that my older teas tend to take longer, while my very fresh ones take very little time.

Quote:

Quote:

I thought I'd try a vegetarian version of this green tea furikake and see how it works out to sort of ease into it. Opinions?

It recommends a fine tea, but instead I would likely use a mild middle of the road jasmine green- still fragrant, but without the cost or the punishment to the fine leaves.

That's what I was planning on, since I don't have any fine tea. sweatdrop I think they Ceylon green tea I picked up last week might work too, but suspect I'll try it with jasmine first.