Brewing Parameters for Puerh

[joyfulwoogie]

I have been having hard time getting consistent brews from shengs I drink.

I used to use different water boiling kettles(tetsubin, glass, clay, electric), different brewing vessels(gaiwan, yixing, glass, clay mug, porcelain pots) to play around with their effects. Then I really got lost. The differences are all over the place and I totally forgot how to brew sheng. I got badly confused. So much work is required to keep everything noted and I didn't have the discipline to do so. I am paying for it now. I lost my mojo with the tea. Nowadays, 80% of my sheng brews come out off. It is either too bitter, too muted, too thin, too rough... I need to start over again.

By the way, yixing pots rarely give better brew than gaiwan when it comes to young sheng in my experience. Yixing always give more roasted beany heavier tea. It kind of kills the higher notes, floral taste. Huigan tends to be stronger with gaiwan.

I am coming to conclude that yixing is not a preferred brewing vessel for sheng but what are your findings?

Sorry, I went off track. What I meant to ask is about the confusion I am having with the brewing parameters.

With young sheng, I tend to brew with 80C(175F) with longer steeping time. Then I up the temperature as infusions go on. I used to get pretty good results. Lots of complexity come out without that unbearable bitterness. Then I started playing around with temperature. I start off with near boiling water. I realized that the huigan kicks in immediately and floral and higher notes blossom. But then at times, the leaves just get cooked! It tastes like weird cooked vege or mushroom. I can't find the balance.

What are your parameter for sheng brewing?

Do you all start with near boiling water? Or do you have different brewing parameters for different shengs? I use a bit hotter water for more aged ones from 2000-2004.

What are your findings with different brewing parameters?

 

[ouch]

175 degrees? I'm considering digging a well deep enough to allow a boiling point of 220.

Pu'er likes hot water.

 

[joyfulwoogie]

175 degrees? I'm considering digging a well deep enough to allow a boiling point of 220.

Pu'er likes hot water.

Even young shengs? What's your parameter? You must be a real tough guy with an iron stomach! I wonder if I am putting too much leaves then...

I usually put 6-7 in 125ml vessel. Near boiling temp gives quite a bitter brew. The only exception would be shengs made of big leaves like Mengyang Yiwu stuff.

 

[tieguanyin]

Hey Woogie,

Glad to see you posting again ! Aside from experimenting with different vessels and temperatures, have you been using the same water?

From my own habits with sheng puerh, I usually bring the water close to boiling in my clay kettle and then start working from there. When the water gets a little too cold, I will turn the kettle back on.

I see what you mean about finding consistency in brewing and being able to replicate a tasty experience. I am still struggling with that myself. I use a small gaiwan (with small Bodum kettle) at work and tend to brew without paying much attention to what I am doing. Every once in a while, I will get a great cup of sheng pu but tend to forget the steps I took to reach it. It happened just the other week. Got a great cup going only to be dragged into a meeting right at that moment . Got some fabulous floral notes from that cup. Really felt like saying to my colleagues: "Sorry, I am having a hard time paying attention, still enjoying these fabulous puerh flavors I just got out of my cup " (professional considerations restrained me from stating this to the gathered assembly).

It sounds like your pallet might prefer gaiwan brews as opposed to teapot ones.

 

[arghblech]

I use water as close to boiling as I can get it. I do this for every infusion though for the very fast early infusions I don't reheat.

 

[Maitre_Tea]

I like to brew around 7 grams for a 120 ml vessel. I use boiling water, "cooled" for a few breaths. I think it helps when pouring to not directly have the water hit the leaves, and hit the water on the side of a gaiwan or on the edge of the opening of the pot. My brewing philosophy with most teas is lots of leaf and short infusion times.

In terms of the merits of yixing, I really like using my Chao Zhou pot for young sheng. It rounds out a little of the bitterness making young sheng easier to take, but the higher notes are still preserved. But I can see why someone might prefer to use a gaiwan instead.

 

[netsurfr]

I always use mineral water that is just off of the boil (about 3 sec) for my pu-erh. For my young sheng, I usually use a Yixing. For older sheng where I am really trying to get the individual flavor profile, I will use a gaiwan. As far as tea amounts, I use 5 grams per 100 ml of water and adjust the infusion times based on what I taste from the infusion. If too astringent or bitter, I shorten the time. If too thin, I lengthen the infusion time.

 

[joyfulwoogie]

Hey Woogie,

Glad to see you posting again ! Aside from experimenting with different vessels and temperatures, have you been using the same water?

It sounds like your pallet might prefer gaiwan brews as opposed to teapot ones.

Thanks for noticing! I had to take some break from tea posting. Wasn't in the right mind to be drinking tea. Tough times but things are coming around. Glad to be back.

It's pretty interesting to note that sheng puerh can taste so different by brewing vessels, type of water, and slight temp change.

 

[tieguanyin]

For older sheng where I am really trying to get the individual flavor profile, I will use a gaiwan.

Cool! I have some leftover leaf from my X-Mas session with the 2001 Feng Qing "Bamboo Aroma" cake. Will have to try this out !

Thanks for noticing! I had to take some break from tea posting. Wasn't in the right mind to be drinking tea. Tough times but things are coming around. Glad to be back.

It's pretty interesting to note that sheng puerh can taste so different by brewing vessels, type of water, and slight temp change.

Glad to have you back too!

Vessel + Water + Temperature = the parameters that require much experimentation with to reach one's desired puerh experience. I am still looking for my ideal ones. Until then, it is a free-for-all !!!

 

[tea goober]

Boiling water is a must with puerh. Leaf qty. and infusion times are the playground. 175 degree water? Your never going to get consistent, controllable results with those tactics. But whatever, to each his own.

 

[TacoBell]

Am I a heathen or what but I go with 6gms for 100cc's of water and I use 208 degrees. Considering water is supposed to boil at 202 here in Denver, I question the calibration of my Panasonic water heater, but certainly a lot hotter than the 175 degree bathwater you guys are using. It's just off boil I think.

 

[ambrose]

Im still new at tea but im a crazy newbie, with lots of experimenting and research under my belt.

I am finding that my yixing gives me more mellow, rounded, & bolder tea. While my gaiwan is giving me a full flavor profile crisp and sharp but not as bold.

I am having a great preference to the gaiwan at the moment for all teas. To me it has much more positives than negatives. A whole different story on that.

I use 1 gram for every 20ml capacity, so my gaiwan is 125 ml to the lip so I find that 6 to 6.5 is the sweet spot. Too much leaf and the leaves dont open up enough and the water ratio is less so the tea might come out stronger but duller than usual.

I use the hottest water possible just a few seconds off a rolling boil, for a new serving of tea. I do two super quick flash rinses. As fast as I can pour and empty the water. For the second flash rinse I leave a small amount of water in the gaiwan or pot, about 1 tablespoon worth. Then I am ready to brew and drink. I pour the water in and wait about 20 seconds then pour, which should take about 5 secs. Remember to always leave a small amout of water in the gaiwan or pot, I like about a tablespoons worth. Ive been doing this for a while and I just found out its called "the root". I think its a green tea method but seems to work wonders on puerh. It helps increase your infusion strength per brew. I find that when I do this most to all infusions are at 25-30 seconds then pour. I get the most consistancy in my brew every single time with every tea. Once it starts to fade in flavor and color I do a "kill pot". Which I use the hottest water again but let it sit for 2-5 min and extract every thing out of the tea. The tea will be very colored but very mellow in flavor. Now your done time to prepare for the next batch of leaves I usually get about 10 -12 solid infusions before I decide to kill the pot.

Hope this helps for you and anyone really, your new sick tea crazed friend ambrose

 

[arghblech]

Im still new at tea but im a crazy newbie, with lots of experimenting and research under my belt.

I am finding that my yixing gives me more mellow, rounded, & bolder tea. While my gaiwan is giving me a full flavor profile crisp and sharp but not as bold.

I am having a great preference to the gaiwan at the moment for all teas. To me it has much more positives than negatives. A whole different story on that.

I use 1 gram for every 20ml capacity, so my gaiwan is 125 ml to the lip so I find that 6 to 6.5 is the sweet spot. Too much leaf and the leaves dont open up enough and the water ratio is less so the tea might come out stronger but duller than usual.

I use the hottest water possible just a few seconds off a rolling boil, for a new serving of tea. I do two super quick flash rinses. As fast as I can pour and empty the water. For the second flash rinse I leave a small amount of water in the gaiwan or pot, about 1 tablespoon worth. Then I am ready to brew and drink. I pour the water in and wait about 20 seconds then pour, which should take about 5 secs. Remember to always leave a small amout of water in the gaiwan or pot, I like about a tablespoons worth. Ive been doing this for a while and I just found out its called "the root". I think its a green tea method but seems to work wonders on puerh. It helps increase your infusion strength per brew. I find that when I do this most to all infusions are at 25-30 seconds then pour. I get the most consistancy in my brew every single time with every tea. Once it starts to fade in flavor and color I do a "kill pot". Which I use the hottest water again but let it sit for 2-5 min and extract every thing out of the tea. The tea will be very colored but very mellow in flavor. Now your done time to prepare for the next batch of leaves I usually get about 10 -12 solid infusions before I decide to kill the pot.

Hope this helps for you and anyone really, your new sick tea crazed friend ambrose

I intentionally avoid leaving a "root" with puerh. I find that forces me to rush somewhat and if I don't rush my sessions finish with fewer infusions.