New to tea questions

[John Von Wuggz]

Hello Gents,

My wife recently got into tea and I wanted to set her up properly. After contacting Golden Moon Tea I settled on the gift/sampler bag and a cup that brews the tea right in it. So far she likes everything but a few questions have come up.

First, 1t per 6oz is the commonly accepted ratio for tea?

Second, should tea leaves be reused? She is steeping them at the correct temperature for the correct length of time.

Thanks for your input,

JVW

 

[sdekuyper]

It sounds like you are drinking loose leaf tea. If so, the amount you use will depend on the type of tea. Green teas often require a bit more than red (technically black) teas. You really just need to experiment to find the right amount.

I drink a lot of Chinese Pu Er tea (red tea) and I take a generous pinch and put it into a special tea cup (it is about the size of a Starbucks Grande). I pour some hot water in, swish it around and then empty the water out, just to clean the leaves. I will then fill it up with hot water, let it steep for a couple of minutes and then start drinking. I keep refilling it up all day long. Eventually, it will weaken to a point that it is not much more than hot water. That is when it is time to throw it out.

This is pretty much the way tea is drank in China (except for dinners when there may be a communal tea pot). They often refer to a serving of tea as enough for "1-day" meaning it can be refilled for a whole day. Once you have used it, even if for less than a day, I would throw it out. I wouldn't keep it over night.

 

[John Von Wuggz]

I like that idea. What cup do you suggest for that method?

 

[Doc4]

I like that idea. What cup do you suggest for that method?

You can use a traditional gaiwan for that. It's glazed, so your wife can use all different kinds of teas in it without fear of 'contamination'.

Once she finds a type of tea she likes, she can get a yixing pot and brew that kind of tea in it. Because the yixing pot is not glazed, the tea will "contaminate" the clay bit by bit ... but that's a good thing now, provided one only uses one type of tea in the pot ... forever. The tea seeps into the clay, and reverberates into future tea steepings, which also seep into the clay, &c. (They say that if a tea pot is old enough and has been used enough, you can make a cup of tea just by pouring hot water into it.)

You will notice that gaiwans and most yixing pots are quite small compared to North American standards ... it'd take forever to fill a coffee mug ... but since you will be getting several infusions out of the tea leaves, a large pot or gaiwan would leave you with gallons of tea to drink!!

 

[StillShaving]

Good tea leaves should definitely be reused. There are no hard and fast rules, it depends on the tea and the person drinking it. I sometimes use the same tea leaves across multiple days, by putting the whole teapot (without any water) into the fridge. This is not the ideal way to drink tea, but I can't bear to throw it out if I have only had a cup.

 

[John Von Wuggz]

Many thanks you guys. I spent hours researching this online and didn't receive half the benefit as I did from this short thread.

 

[jzuzphreek]

Here's a question regarding the size of gaiwan.

Let's say I use a large gaiwan, and want to make a "coffee cup" amount of tea. Will the additional water weaken the brew? Or do you compensate by using more tea or longer steep time? Or for the best experience should I just use a small gaiwan/small tea cup.

 

[arghblech]

Small gaiwan and small cup is best. That said, you would want to keep the quantity of tea high if you plan to do multiple infusions gongfu style. If you just want to brew it english/western style you'd just use more and more water with an extended steep time.

 

[jzuzphreek]

Small gaiwan and small cup is best. That said, you would want to keep the quantity of tea high if you plan to do multiple infusions gongfu style. If you just want to brew it english/western style you'd just use more and more water with an extended steep time.

Thanks. Just trying to decide which size gaiwan will be best for me. I'd like to keep it as gongfu as possible in my cube at work. I can really see myself steeping and drinking tea all day long.

 

[Doc4]

Here's a question regarding the size of gaiwan.

Let's say I use a large gaiwan, and want to make a "coffee cup" amount of tea. Will the additional water weaken the brew? Or do you compensate by using more tea or longer steep time? Or for the best experience should I just use a small gaiwan/small tea cup.

If you get the 150ml gaiwan I linked to above, three infusions will more-or-less come close to filling a coffee mug. Two infusions from the yixing pot I linked to will do the trick. Given that, from kettle pour to decant, an infusion will take less than a minute ... a lot less, often ... you can have a mug of tea in no time. (You lose the subtle differences between infusions, but at the office there's probably not time to enjoy those nuances anyhow.)

 

[jzuzphreek]

If you get the 150ml gaiwan I linked to above, three infusions will more-or-less come close to filling a coffee mug. Two infusions from the yixing pot I linked to will do the trick. Given that, from kettle pour to decant, an infusion will take less than a minute ... a lot less, often ... you can have a mug of tea in no time. (You lose the subtle differences between infusions, but at the office there's probably not time to enjoy those nuances anyhow.)

I'm actually leaning much more towards a small gaiwan. I like to take a few minutes here and there throughout the day to browse B&B clear my mind. Even if it's not a proper tea ceremony, I want to get as much out of a tea time as possible. I don't need a whole mug full of tea. I was just curious.

 

[Kazeryu]

Here's a question regarding the size of gaiwan.

Let's say I use a large gaiwan, and want to make a "coffee cup" amount of tea. Will the additional water weaken the brew? Or do you compensate by using more tea or longer steep time? Or for the best experience should I just use a small gaiwan/small tea cup.

Perhaps I'm a heretic, but I just use something like this and add a few extra leaves when I want to make a full cup or two at once. I still use short steeps (10-30s).

 

[StillShaving]

Given a choice of only one Gawain for work, I would also pick the smaller one. Can do multiple short infusions or a slightly longer one to get a stronger tea brew (i.e. more like a concentrate) and then water it down once its in your big mug to get the right strength. I say this because I expect over steeping will happen by accident with some regularity, whether you are too busy "working" or talking with a co-worker, causing the tea to sit for too long and when it does you have less to deal with.

 

[jzuzphreek]

Given a choice of only one Gawain for work, I would also pick the smaller one. Can do multiple short infusions or a slightly longer one to get a stronger tea brew (i.e. more like a concentrate) and then water it down once its in your big mug to get the right strength. I say this because I expect over steeping will happen by accident with some regularity, whether you are too busy "working" or talking with a co-worker, causing the tea to sit for too long and when it does you have less to deal with.

Surfing B&B, browsing WCS, IB, Tea/Coffee sites, Goulet, playing Parallel Kingdom... Uh yeah.... "working."

 

[TinyTim]

Tea has been around for thousands of years and the ways of brewing and drinking it are infinite, with few hard and fast rules.

How much tea per cup is dependent on the tea. If the leaves are large, one teaspoon may not be enough; if the tea leaves are smaller, that's about right. You can buy a small metric weighing device that is about the size of a pack of cards for under $10 on Amazon. That way, you can weigh the tea and get a more accurate measure. In general, about 2 grams per cup works well.

The leaves that can be infused again and again are mostly pu'erh and oolong teas. The higher the tea quality, the more infusions. This is enjoyable to do when you have leisure time, using a small brewing cup like a gaiwan, because each infusion has a different taste.

I enjoy tea more than coffee because it gives a lift rather than a jolt, and the flavors are so different in ways that coffee can't compare. May I suggest a book that is useful to explore the world of teas: The Tea Enthusiast's Handbook by Mary Lou and Robert Heiss.

High quality tea is much less expensive than high quality coffee. I have a brick of aged pu'erh tea (2008) that cost $16 and will yield 200 cups (not including reinfusions). If my math is correct, that's 8 cents a cup. That's as good a bargain for a frugal guy like me as DE razor blades.

 

[jzuzphreek]

High quality tea is much less expensive than high quality coffee. I have a brick of aged pu'erh tea (2008) that cost $16 and will yield 200 cups (not including reinfusions). If my math is correct, that's 8 cents a cup. That's as good a bargain for a frugal guy like me as DE razor blades.

So how many OTHER bricks do you have that you were just curious about testing?

 

[TinyTim]

So how many OTHER bricks do you have that you were just curious about testing?

Yes, about those OTHER bricks. We need to have a brick mason redo some 50-year-old deteriorating brickwork in front of our house. The first bricks laid in were first class and we want to put in the same this time. As you may know here are some of the characteristics of first-class brick when tested:


Specification of First Class Bricks

• Made of good earth which is free from saline deposits and are sand molded.
• Burnt thoroughly without being vitrified and have deep red, cherry and copper color.
• Regular and uniform in shape and size with sharp and square edges and parallel faces.
• Must be homogeneous in texture and emit a clear ringing sound on being struck together.
• Free from flaws, cracks, chops, stones and lime.
• Should not absorb water more than 20% of its own dry weight after 24 hours, immersion in cold water.
• Have a minimum crushing strength of 105 kg per sq. cm when tested according to the test.
• Should not show appreciable sign of efflorescence either in dry state or subsequent to soaking in water.

Good bricks, like good razors and brushes, stand the test of time.

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[jzuzphreek]

Yes, about those OTHER bricks. We need to have a brick mason redo some 50-year-old deteriorating brickwork in front of our house. The first bricks laid in were first class and we want to put in the same this time. As you may know here are some of the characteristics of first-class brick when tested:


Specification of First Class Bricks

• Made of good earth which is free from saline deposits and are sand molded.
• Burnt thoroughly without being vitrified and have deep red, cherry and copper color.
• Regular and uniform in shape and size with sharp and square edges and parallel faces.
• Must be homogeneous in texture and emit a clear ringing sound on being struck together.
• Free from flaws, cracks, chops, stones and lime.
• Should not absorb water more than 20% of its own dry weight after 24 hours, immersion in cold water.
• Have a minimum crushing strength of 105 kg per sq. cm when tested according to the test.
• Should not show appreciable sign of efflorescence either in dry state or subsequent to soaking in water.

Good bricks, like good razors and brushes, stand the test of time.

That, sir, was a GREAT response!