Tea Series: Part Two
Brewing.
That moment of truth. The act that separates the men from the boys, the
wheat from the chaff, the champs from the chumps...and a whole bunch of
other clichés as well! It ain't magic, but it does take some
attention, especially until you do it enough that it becomes automatic.
The underlying assumption is that we are doing this "English" style, and
not with the Gaiwan, or Gung-Fu method (down the road).
Would you choose the same marinade and preparation for beef and
shrimp? Of course not, so why would you try to do a one-size-fits-all
brewing method for your tea? The three primary categories of tea, Black
(Red), Oolong, and Green differ slightly in their brewing sciences, but
there is one common, underlying consideration; the size of the leaf. As a
rule of thumb, the larger the leaf (once unfurled), the longer the
brewing time. Why? A large leaf has less surface area directly exposed
to the hot water than a broken leaf. Thus a gigantic Yunnan leaf will
take longer to relinquish its goodness than a smaller Broken Orange
Pekoe (which is a size, not a type), and a tea bag, which is usually
just fannings and dust will infuse damned near immediately.
Infusion method. The simplest method is to just throw the leaf into the pot (after you pre-warm the pot with hot water, and the dump the same). This works great, if you will pour the entire contents out into cups the first go around. If you don't empty in one go, then that second cup just had the whole concept of brewing time thrown right out the window, don't ya think? For second (3rd, 4th) refills, it's important to get that leaf out, once you have reached your desired point of infusion.
There are three methods that I prefer: Wire mesh balls (not those horrid little acorns), throw away bags, and pots with built in infusers. If you choose the first, buy balls as large as the opening in the pot will allow, or use multiple balls. Only fill the device half full, to allow for expansion of the leaf. Throw away bags are my current favorite. They are available in bleach and chemical free form from a variety of sources. Just fill, drop in and pull out. As far as tea pots with built in infusers, Chatsford makes an 'ok' one, and Boodum offers a huge range of infuser pots that range from great to "Hot Damn!" I don't recommend using a Mr. Coffee filter and coffee pot. That method provides too little contact time with the water, and throws both time and temp to the wind.
Quick aside on amounts. "One heaping teaspoon per cup, and one for the pot.." is only written in the fevered imaginations of tea vendors. Thus, following their formula, if I am making a 48 oz pot, based on a 4oz per cup, I need to use 13 heaping teaspoons??!! "Piffle!", and for emphasis, I'll add "Twaddle!". For that pot, I would probably use 7 rounded teaspoons, and be considering heating extra water in case it was too strong. It will take some experimentation on your part top find your "zone" on a given tea, but my amounts should get you close.)
Black Tea: Universally brewed with water fresh off a rolling boil, all 212 f., Baby! Time: (allowing for differences in leaf size) 5-6 minutes for big leaf Chinas, Ceylons and Assams. 3-4 Minutes for most Darjeelings, unless you love astringency. Smaller leaf teas, like BOP Ceylon, BOP Assam 2-4 minutes. CTC Teas (hack, spit) 1-2 minutes. "Normal" Tea bags, 30 sec-1 minute. Lapsang: 212 f. 6 minutes. Pu-Erh: 212 f. 6 minutes. Oolongs: 190 f. Just before a full boil, 5-6 minutes. Greens: 140f-180 f. depending on how delicate—the more delicate, the less the temp. Brew for 2-3 minutes to avoid an overly vegetal flavor. Jasmines: kind of half and half. Water temp like an Oolong, time like a Green.
Yours in "Tea Life, Tea Mind",
Bear,
International Tea Masters
Would you choose the same marinade and preparation for beef and
shrimp? Of course not, so why would you try to do a one-size-fits-all
brewing method for your tea? The three primary categories of tea, Black
(Red), Oolong, and Green differ slightly in their brewing sciences, but
there is one common, underlying consideration; the size of the leaf. As a
rule of thumb, the larger the leaf (once unfurled), the longer the
brewing time. Why? A large leaf has less surface area directly exposed
to the hot water than a broken leaf. Thus a gigantic Yunnan leaf will
take longer to relinquish its goodness than a smaller Broken Orange
Pekoe (which is a size, not a type), and a tea bag, which is usually
just fannings and dust will infuse damned near immediately.Infusion method. The simplest method is to just throw the leaf into the pot (after you pre-warm the pot with hot water, and the dump the same). This works great, if you will pour the entire contents out into cups the first go around. If you don't empty in one go, then that second cup just had the whole concept of brewing time thrown right out the window, don't ya think? For second (3rd, 4th) refills, it's important to get that leaf out, once you have reached your desired point of infusion.
There are three methods that I prefer: Wire mesh balls (not those horrid little acorns), throw away bags, and pots with built in infusers. If you choose the first, buy balls as large as the opening in the pot will allow, or use multiple balls. Only fill the device half full, to allow for expansion of the leaf. Throw away bags are my current favorite. They are available in bleach and chemical free form from a variety of sources. Just fill, drop in and pull out. As far as tea pots with built in infusers, Chatsford makes an 'ok' one, and Boodum offers a huge range of infuser pots that range from great to "Hot Damn!" I don't recommend using a Mr. Coffee filter and coffee pot. That method provides too little contact time with the water, and throws both time and temp to the wind.
Quick aside on amounts. "One heaping teaspoon per cup, and one for the pot.." is only written in the fevered imaginations of tea vendors. Thus, following their formula, if I am making a 48 oz pot, based on a 4oz per cup, I need to use 13 heaping teaspoons??!! "Piffle!", and for emphasis, I'll add "Twaddle!". For that pot, I would probably use 7 rounded teaspoons, and be considering heating extra water in case it was too strong. It will take some experimentation on your part top find your "zone" on a given tea, but my amounts should get you close.)
Black Tea: Universally brewed with water fresh off a rolling boil, all 212 f., Baby! Time: (allowing for differences in leaf size) 5-6 minutes for big leaf Chinas, Ceylons and Assams. 3-4 Minutes for most Darjeelings, unless you love astringency. Smaller leaf teas, like BOP Ceylon, BOP Assam 2-4 minutes. CTC Teas (hack, spit) 1-2 minutes. "Normal" Tea bags, 30 sec-1 minute. Lapsang: 212 f. 6 minutes. Pu-Erh: 212 f. 6 minutes. Oolongs: 190 f. Just before a full boil, 5-6 minutes. Greens: 140f-180 f. depending on how delicate—the more delicate, the less the temp. Brew for 2-3 minutes to avoid an overly vegetal flavor. Jasmines: kind of half and half. Water temp like an Oolong, time like a Green.
Yours in "Tea Life, Tea Mind",
Bear,
International Tea Masters
The Dreaded Acorn
Don't even think of using one of these
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