Does teapot size/shape influence flavour?

[jhclare]

Hi all,

I recently wanted to get back into buying loose leaf tea. I bought a cheapo £5 teapot from Sainsburys.

I tried it a couple of times but it was a terrible pourer!

I bought a small one of these instead:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dexam-London-Pottery-Globe-Teapot/dp/B000LCMXX4/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&qid=1248442109&sr=8-24

It looks good, and pours great!

However.... I noticed that the tea did not taste as good.

I actually did a test (yes, too much time on my hands). The tea from my cheap teapot actually tastes better - less harsh, less bitter and I can taste the other flavours more (in Earl or Lady Grey, for example).

I should mention that the cheap one is much larger, almost double the size, and is a more contemporary shape.

Both are pottery, not glass or plastic.

Can anyone explain this phenomenon?

John

 

[Scotto]

Hi all,

I recently wanted to get back into buying loose leaf tea. I bought a cheapo £5 teapot from Sainsburys.

I tried it a couple of times but it was a terrible pourer!

I bought a small one of these instead:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dexam-London-Pottery-Globe-Teapot/dp/B000LCMXX4/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&qid=1248442109&sr=8-24

It looks good, and pours great!

However.... I noticed that the tea did not taste as good.

I actually did a test (yes, too much time on my hands). The tea from my cheap teapot actually tastes better - less harsh, less bitter and I can taste the other flavours more (in Earl or Lady Grey, for example).

I should mention that the cheap one is much larger, almost double the size, and is a more contemporary shape.

Both are pottery, not glass or plastic.

Can anyone explain this phenomenon?

John

Every teapot is different, not necessarily because of shape, though. There will be differences in airspace above the tea, the heat retention, the speed of the pour (impacts steeping time), the amount of deposits in it, and more. Give it some time and it may settle in for you, or it may be too big for you, causing heat loss and weak flavors.

 

[jhclare]

Thanks for that.

Just to clarify - the larger, more contemporary style pot from Sainsburys (I'll try and find a pic) brews better tasting tea that the red one linked to.

The red one is smaller (listed as 4-cup).

I'm thinking of buying the 6-cup version to see if this makes a difference. I like traditional teapots!

 

[Roman414]

Like Scotto said. I think the size of the pot should be proportional to the amount of tea you are brewing.

 

[TacoBell]

It does seem counter-intuitive that the larger pot would produce the better tea. Pehaps you need to build up a patina of tea in the pot with repeat brewings. I do not use detergent on my teaware. Once had a professor from Australia who was crazy about his teacup not to be washed. I would just give it time

 

[blade08]

The Japanese have a saying, 'the smaller the pot, the better the tea'. I believe that to be vey much true. I never use teapots that can hold more than 0,5L. I drink my tea from mugs that hold 0,3L.

As for harsh and bitter tea, decrease steeping times and that problem will be solved as well. Contrary to popular belief, black tea should be steeped for two minutes at most, not 3, 4 or even 5 minutes. By steeping longer the tea will become bitter because after two minutes or so, the tannins in the leaves are released into the water making the tea bitter. By then all flavours that make the tea taste good, are already released so there is no reason to steep any longer.

I steep almost all of my black teas for 1,5 minutes and they taste excellent without any bitterness at all. I obviously don't use milk or sugar in my tea. In Japan and China, green tea is also steeped for very short times and there is a reason for doing so. In my opinion, black tea should be prepared using the same short steeping times as in Chinese and Japanese traditions. Why? Because a black tea leaf is the same as a green tea leaf, they come from the same plant so in essence they are exactly the same apart from the fact that they are processed differently.

Using such short steeping times sounds ridiculous and I know that the 'tea community' will probably excommunicate me for saying this. I am not following the tea making textbook but from experience I can assure you that shorter steeping times will make you a far tastier cuppa. Try it.

Also, use good quality cold water and do not overboil it. Use bottled water if your tap water is dubious (like mine). Spa water is excellent for preparing tea.

Last but certainly not least, the mug or cup you drink from, also affects your experience in taste. For me, black tea tastes the best when drunk from a thin 'fine bone China' mug (but is does not have to be from Meissen ;-) To each his own but regular (thicker) porcelain, stoneware or glass doesn't do it for me.

Enjoy your cuppa sir!

 

[ambrose]

The Japanese have a saying, 'the smaller the pot, the better the tea'. I believe that to be vey much true. I never use teapots that can hold more than 0,5L. I drink my tea from mugs that hold 0,3L.

As for harsh and bitter tea, decrease steeping times and that problem will be solved as well. Contrary to popular belief, black tea should be steeped for two minutes at most, not 3, 4 or even 5 minutes. By steeping longer the tea will become bitter because after two minutes or so, the tannins in the leaves are released into the water making the tea bitter. By then all flavours that make the tea taste good, are already released so there is no reason to steep any longer.

I steep almost all of my black teas for 1,5 minutes and they taste excellent without any bitterness at all. I obviously don't use milk or sugar in my tea. In Japan and China, green tea is also steeped for very short times and there is a reason for doing so. In my opinion, black tea should be prepared using the same short steeping times as in Chinese and Japanese traditions. Why? Because a black tea leaf is the same as a green tea leaf, they come from the same plant so in essence they are exactly the same apart from the fact that they are processed differently.

Using such short steeping times sounds ridiculous and I know that the 'tea community' will probably excommunicate me for saying this. I am not following the tea making textbook but from experience I can assure you that shorter steeping times will make you a far tastier cuppa. Try it.

Nice insight I must try this

 

[Bertilak]

Using such short steeping times sounds ridiculous and I know that the 'tea community' will probably excommunicate me for saying this. I am not following the tea making textbook but from experience I can assure you that shorter steeping times will make you a far tastier cuppa. Try it.

I steep teas for about 30 seconds, but it varies.

I steep tea one cup at a time using one of those strainers that sets into the top of the cup. I pour boiled water through the tea and strainer into the cup. Almost immediately, l lift the strainer up and judge the tea by its color, dipping it back in a few times until it looks right. I then set the strainer aside for the next cup, when the process repeats. I generally get three pretty good cups and a drinkable fourth cup. I think the dipping action shortens the extraction since it tends to slosh the water about through the tea.

My preference is for a weaker tea as I think that is more flavorful and less bitter. I see people in restaurants put the bag in the little pot of hot water they sometimes use to serve teas and just leaving it there throughout the meal. Makes me cringe.

 

[blade08]

I steep teas for about 30 seconds, but it varies.

Is that black teas or other teas?

 

[Bertilak]

Is that black teas or other teas?

Generally black tea, but I did go through some Pu-erh teas in a sampler and after timing things based on some recommendations evolved to the same technique.

 

[arcman]

The Japanese have a saying, 'the smaller the pot, the better the tea'. I believe that to be vey much true. I never use teapots that can hold more than 0,5L. I drink my tea from mugs that hold 0,3L.

As for harsh and bitter tea, decrease steeping times and that problem will be solved as well. Contrary to popular belief, black tea should be steeped for two minutes at most, not 3, 4 or even 5 minutes. By steeping longer the tea will become bitter because after two minutes or so, the tannins in the leaves are released into the water making the tea bitter. By then all flavours that make the tea taste good, are already released so there is no reason to steep any longer.

I steep almost all of my black teas for 1,5 minutes and they taste excellent without any bitterness at all. I obviously don't use milk or sugar in my tea. In Japan and China, green tea is also steeped for very short times and there is a reason for doing so. In my opinion, black tea should be prepared using the same short steeping times as in Chinese and Japanese traditions. Why? Because a black tea leaf is the same as a green tea leaf, they come from the same plant so in essence they are exactly the same apart from the fact that they are processed differently.

This is only partly true. Even if a black tea and a green tea come from the same plant, the black tea has gone through a full fermentation process, while green tea is never fermented, making their qualities substantially different. Most, especially the English, will argue that black tea benefits from being infused directly with boiling water. Boiling water should not be used on good green tea, and never for white tea as it will cook the leaves.

Using such short steeping times sounds ridiculous and I know that the 'tea community' will probably excommunicate me for saying this. I am not following the tea making textbook but from experience I can assure you that shorter steeping times will make you a far tastier cuppa. Try it.

Also, use good quality cold water and do not overboil it. Use bottled water if your tap water is dubious (like mine). Spa water is excellent for preparing tea.

Last but certainly not least, the mug or cup you drink from, also affects your experience in taste. For me, black tea tastes the best when drunk from a thin 'fine bone China' mug (but is does not have to be from Meissen ;-) To each his own but regular (thicker) porcelain, stoneware or glass doesn't do it for me.

Enjoy your cuppa sir!

As far as over steeping, in my experience green tea should never go beyond 4-5 minutes, at which point the tea will become awfully bitter. Black teas are more forgiving, and I would say the amount of steeping time for a black tea really depends on the taste preference of the drinker. If someone prefers a strong black tea with a 6 minute steep time, I say that's up to them.

Red teas and white teas buck the trend entirely, however. After a 3 minute steep, many white teas will taste like little more than hot water. Silver needle tea is notorious for this, preparing it as you would for green and black teas will leave you with almost no flavor whatsoever. I've steeped white tea from anywhere from 6 to 14 minutes, and most of the time I cannot detect any flavor from the steeping tea until at least the 10 minute mark.

Rooibos (red) tea can practically be steeped indefinitely without ever getting a trace of bitterness. Some people will steep rooibos for days at a time.

 

[blade08]

Most, especially the English, will argue that black tea benefits from being infused directly with boiling water.

I agree, water that has come just off the boil makes a much tastier cup of black tea.

If someone prefers a strong black tea with a 6 minute steep time, I say that's up to them.

Stronger tea is not achieved by steeping it longer. Steeping it longer only makes it bitter. If you want a stronger tea, use more leaves, but don't increase the steeping time.

 

[arcman]

Stronger tea is not achieved by steeping it longer. Steeping it longer only makes it bitter. If you want a stronger tea, use more leaves, but don't increase the steeping time.

Yeah, that's what I do when pouring it over ice for cold tea. Most of my non-green teas get steeped for about five minutes or so, but to each their own.

 

[aodenkou]

Oh what a subject this is!

This is my first time to post on tea - but getting the best tasting tea I think has several major components.
1) quality of tea
2) quality of water
3) quality of tea pot
4) quality of tea cup
5) temperature of water

A couple of quick thoughts on some of these.

If you use a poor quality of tea - it will be hard to get a quality cup of tea. Yes I do have some tea that is straight out of the local supermarket but then I do have some various grades of better teas that I have held back and use with discretion. If I need a cup in the morning I'll use a supermarket grade. Then there are times I will want a better tea and go to the good stuff.

The water we have here is OK but most of the time I will run my water through a Britta water filter.

I love to use the small Chinese Yishing teapots but don't all the time, and there are some tricks to using them. 1st and foremost in my mind is to use only one type of tea in any one pot. Never use soap to clean the pot, the pot is not glazed so it can absorb soap and leave a bad taste.

BUT - for me THE MOST IMPORTANT PART of getting a good cup of tea (no matter the quality of the tea) is to 1st pour your hot water over the tea and let it bloom. If it's loose tea or a ball tea I want it to open. I then pour off the water. Then I will pour more hot water on the tea and brew the tea. This does several things:
1) it will get the small bits of dust, dirt, and "gunk' out of my tea.
2) I believe this get's rid of the tannin which gives you a bitter taste.

If you don't "wash" your tea before you brew it give it a try - I think you will find even a tea bag from the supermarket will be 100% better by getting it to bloom and getting rid of the gunk before it hits your cup.

Cups and pots for me need to be visually and tactically interesting for getting the maximum pleasure from a cup of tea. Otherwise, just chuck a tea bag in a plain old white mug and toss in some sugar and milk and choke it back.

 

[blade08]

BUT - for me THE MOST IMPORTANT PART of getting a good cup of tea (no matter the quality of the tea) is to 1st pour your hot water over the tea and let it bloom. If it's loose tea or a ball tea I want it to open. I then pour off the water. Then I will pour more hot water on the tea and brew the tea. This does several things:
1) it will get the small bits of dust, dirt, and "gunk' out of my tea.
2) I believe this get's rid of the tannin which gives you a bitter taste.

If you don't "wash" your tea before you brew it give it a try - I think you will find even a tea bag from the supermarket will be 100% better by getting it to bloom and getting rid of the gunk before it hits your cup.

Interesting, I have to try this. This is what they do in China but I don't think it is a common practice in western black tea brewing tradition.

 

[Hobbesoxon]

1) it will get the small bits of dust, dirt, and "gunk' out of my tea.
2) I believe this get's rid of the tannin which gives you a bitter taste.

I wholeheartedly agree with (1), but would be skeptical about (2)!

If you don't "wash" your tea before you brew it give it a try - I think you will find even a tea bag from the supermarket will be 100% better by getting it to bloom and getting rid of the gunk before it hits your cup.

While I'm absolutely with you for loose-leaf tea, remember that standard teabags are filled with CTC (crush-tear-curl) fragments. The reason that you can get a strong cup of tea brewed amazingly quickly is because much of the interesting flavour compounds have been released from the broken leaves and have dried on their outside surfaces. Adding water dissolves those compounds quickly, in contrast to the slower infusions required to extract the same from the bodies of whole leaves.

So, if you rinse your nasty supermarket teabags, you'll just be washing away all of those compounds dried on the exterior, and missing out on a large proportion of what (if any) was "the good stuff" in the tea.

I'd definitely rinse all loose-leaf tea, though, for the reasons that you mention


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

 

[aodenkou]

I wholeheartedly agree with (1), but would be skeptical about (2)!




While I'm absolutely with you for loose-leaf tea, remember that standard teabags are filled with CTC (crush-tear-curl) fragments. The reason that you can get a strong cup of tea brewed amazingly quickly is because much of the interesting flavour compounds have been released from the broken leaves and have dried on their outside surfaces. Adding water dissolves those compounds quickly, in contrast to the slower infusions required to extract the same from the bodies of whole leaves.

So, if you rinse your nasty supermarket teabags, you'll just be washing away all of those compounds dried on the exterior, and missing out on a large proportion of what (if any) was "the good stuff" in the tea.

I'd definitely rinse all loose-leaf tea, though, for the reasons that you mention


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

You may be right about washing away the "compounds" but I always "wash" my tea - even the teabag stuff. I have not found that I miss anything except a nasty after taste. When I do this I don't use sugar or milk. If I am in the UK or Ireland and a friend brews me a cup, I have to load in the sugar and milk. I prefer the taste of a nice cup of tea to a nice cup of brown water with sugar and milk......... I have even gone so far as to say to my closer friends across the pond - here let me do that, and don't tell them why

 

[aodenkou]

Interesting, I have to try this. This is what they do in China but I don't think it is a common practice in western black tea brewing tradition.

I started doing this when some of my Chinese friends told me about it, and I then gave it a try. I thought (pardon the stereotype) but the Chinese might know something about tea that I don't.

 

[ouch]

Contrary to popular belief, black tea should be steeped for two minutes at most, not 3, 4 or even 5 minutes........
Using such short steeping times sounds ridiculous and I know that the 'tea community' will probably excommunicate me for saying this.

Steeping for 2, 3, 4, or 5 minutes? I have teas that need to be steeped for no longer than 5 seconds for the initial infusions.

My personal heresy (one that I'll confess, at least) is my preference for gigantic yixing pots. I know the accepted standard is 100-150ml, but I enjoy using pots as large as 220-250ml.

 

[Bertilak]

Steeping for 2, 3, 4, or 5 minutes? I have teas that need to be steeped for no longer than 5 seconds for the initial infusions.

Now I feel better!

I have a tea that says on the tin "Steep for a FULL 5 minutes" (their emphasis) but I give it less than 30 seconds. Even that may be overdoing it, being influenced by their DEMAND that it brew for such a long time. Most "supermarket" teas (even the fancy ones) say 2-4, or 3-5 minutes.

All that seems to destroy the tea for my taste.