Newbies questions regarding Pu-Erh and the brewing of finer teas in general.

[Stinkis]

Hey guys.
This forum is like a brewing gound for ADs. (pun not intended) After reading a bit about teas here I'm actually getting a bit curious about trying this out. But before taking the plunge I need to find answeres for a few things and maybe you guys can help out.
I havent been a tea drinker for long but I have started to drink 3-4 cups a day now when I am at work. I generally drink green tea or some flavored black one. I am thinking about trying some Pu-Erh, would it be a rough transition?

Regarding the brewing I understand that you would preferrably use a Yixing teapot and do many short steepings. As I drink tea at work I don't have a lot of time for multiple steepings, would it be a catastrophe if I just did one rinse and one steeping when I am at work?

About the yixing teapot. Should I go for the 100ml or the 200ml if I am the sole drinker?

I heard that Pu-Erh should be good for weight loss, anyone of you who has noticed these effects?

Hmm, I think that is all I can think of right now.

EDIT: Should I go for a black or green Pu-Erh when starting out?

 

[arghblech]

Hey guys.
This forum is like a brewing gound for ADs. (pun not intended) After reading a bit about teas here I'm actually getting a bit curious about trying this out. But before taking the plunge I need to find answeres for a few things and maybe you guys can help out.
I havent been a tea drinker for long but I have started to drink 3-4 cups a day now when I am at work. I generally drink green tea or some flavored black one. I am thinking about trying some Pu-Erh, would it be a rough transition?

Regarding the brewing I understand that you would preferrably use a Yixing teapot and do many short steepings. As I drink tea at work I don't have a lot of time for multiple steepings, would it be a catastrophe if I just did one rinse and one steeping when I am at work?

About the yixing teapot. Should I go for the 100ml or the 200ml if I am the sole drinker?

I heard that Pu-Erh should be good for weight loss, anyone of you who has noticed these effects?

Hmm, I think that is all I can think of right now.

EDIT: Should I go for a black or green Pu-Erh when starting out?

Try a gaiwan before you commit to a yixing.
Puerh generally requires many steeps to reveal it's character
If puerh has any weight loss properties I'd have blinked out of existance. As it stands now quite a bit more of me exists than I'd like. Don't believe the hype.

 

[P_K]

+1 on the gaiwan over yixing. For one person I would get a 125-150ml gaiwan. As far as teas go:

Look into a yunnan black gold
A Tieguanyin oolong
4-5 sheng puerh samples
2-3 shu puerh samples

I would get sample sized amts of the black and oolong as well. All of which you can get at netsurfr's store. He also has a Dayi 125ml gaiwan. One stop shop. That should get your feet wet.

And no on the weight loss.

 

[Stinkis]

+1 on the gaiwan over yixing. For one person I would get a 125-150ml gaiwan. As far as teas go:

Look into a yunnan black gold
A Tieguanyin oolong
4-5 sheng puerh samples
2-3 shu puerh samples

I would get sample sized amts of the black and oolong as well. All of which you can get at netsurfr's store. He also has a Dayi 125ml gaiwan. One stop shop. That should get your feet wet.

Thanks for the answers guys.

What is the reason I should go to with the gaiwan over the yixing? The reason I am asking is that I find the looks of the yixing more pleasing and think that I would be more satisfied using it.

I also live in Sweden and was thinking about going to a Swedish store to avoid sending porcelein across the globe, but maybe that could be okay. Does he send internationally?

The weight losing properties was just something that peeked my interest, not the reason I am interested in trying this. The reason is that I love refining everyday things to be more enjoyable, the same reason I started ith traditional wetshaving.

 

[arghblech]

Hey Ambrose! Where was the thread where we all discussed gaiwan vs yixing for starting out?

I know the main points were price, flexibility, and neutrality but I can't find the thread.

 

[P_K]

I doubt you will find a good resource in Sweden for fresh tea especially puerh, but you never know. I don't know if netsurfr ships overseas send him a pm on that. Yixing pots can change the flavor and mouthfeel of teas. Also it is best to have a yixing for each tea type to get the benefits of the pot. A gaiwan, because it is porcelain, will allow you to brew any kind of tea. Finally, you need to work on your brewing skills, which will take some time and a gaiwan will give you purer results. Yixings are seductive to be certain, but you will not get the best result until you have some proficiency in brewing.

 

[Stinkis]

I doubt you will find a good resource in Sweden for fresh tea especially puerh, but you never know. I don't know if netsurfr ships overseas send him a pm on that. Yixing pots can change the flavor and mouthfeel of teas. Also it is best to have a yixing for each tea type to get the benefits of the pot. A gaiwan, because it is porcelain, will allow you to brew any kind of tea. Finally, you need to work on your brewing skills, which will take some time and a gaiwan will give you purer results. Yixings are seductive to be certain, but you will not get the best result until you have some proficiency in brewing.

Okey I guess you are right on the gaiwan vs yixing. I would atleast get money for tea samplers. Actually there are a few online stores here in Sweden, but they are all really expensive so I will send a PM to netsurfr and ask him about overseas shipping.

So, I am thinking about getting a good starter set for 100-125$, just to get the taste of a few things and see what I like, is this possible or should I wait for the next salary? If I would want to offer someone tea, do I need a bigger gaiwan or is there a way to brew another cup with the one gaiwan?

Thanks for the answeres so far.

 

[P_K]

$100-125 should get you plenty of tea to start with. If you want to brew tea for more than one person a larger gaiwan is useful or a smaller porcelain tea pot. You want a brewing vessel that fits the situation if possible. So if in general you are going to drink it alone I would stick with the smaller gaiwan...or get both. Or you can simply rebrew the leaves and mix the two brews in a larger cup and then pour into two or more cups. Make sure you heat anything between the gaiwan and your cup or you will loose too much heat in the tea. You might be able to pick up a gaiwan or teapot at your local asian market. The beauty is that there is a never ending amount of tea paraphernalia to buy!

 

[Stinkis]

$100-125 should get you plenty of tea to start with. If you want to brew tea for more than one person a larger gaiwan is useful or a smaller porcelain tea pot. You want a brewing vessel that fits the situation if possible. So if in general you are going to drink it alone I would stick with the smaller gaiwan...or get both. Or you can simply rebrew the leaves and mix the two brews in a larger cup and then pour into two or more cups. Make sure you heat anything between the gaiwan and your cup or you will loose too much heat in the tea. You might be able to pick up a gaiwan or teapot at your local asian market. The beauty is that there is a never ending amount of tea paraphernalia to buy!

I have been in contact with netsrfr and he set up a starter kit for me and it looks great.

I realized that I misunderstood the way you brew the tea. I understood it as being multiple steepings on the same water which would be a lot more work.

I got the 120ml gaiwan with four 40ml cups for when I am at home or have company, and the ~120ml rust gradient cup for when I am at work.

I realized that with steeping times being rather short I can serve me and one guest in one of the smaller cups and then do another steeping and it will be ready for the next serving.

I generally won't need bigger servings, not yet atleast, since I'm just 22 and none of my friends are interested in teas (so far ) but it would still be fun to be able to let them have a taste if they are interested. On the rare occation that I would have to serve tea to more than two persons I guess I will get a new batch of leaves so that the steeping time will be short and the first batch won't have time to cool too much in the serving pitcher.

If I noitice that I will end up with more tea guests more regularly I will get a bigger gaiwan, but by that time I guess it will be time to get some yixing teapots anyway.

Thanks guys for answering even though my questions didn't make much sense.

 

[P_K]

You are in good hands then. You can get yixing pots later. Just one more thing to look forward to. Have fun!

 

[Stinkis]

You are in good hands then. You can get yixing pots later. Just one more thing to look forward to. Have fun!

Thanks, I can't wait to try this out! Will get back with my initial results later.

Regards