TeaChat

So, after learning about the differences between western and eastern style brewing (mainly for the TGY that I picked up last week), I decided to try steeping my Lapsang Souchong star (from DAVIDsTea) in this same fashion to see if it mellowed out the smokey taste a bit. Not that I did not enjoy the smokey taste as it was, but I wondered if maybe I was missing some subtle flavors behind all that smoke.

So, I boiled water, let it sit for thirty seconds to bring the temp. down a bit, then poured 250ml over 3tsp of leaves. steeped for one minute. Much lighter on the smoke taste, and brought out some flavors I can't quite name that balanced it quite a bit. I did not even need sweetener in it (which I usually use)

Am I imagining things on this, or has anyone else here brewed it this way. Any recommendations for alterations to the process I did?

I've never done a gongfu on lapsang souchong, but I have with other black teas.

My usual black tea guide to myself would be 1/3-1/2 filled gaiwan, flash rinsed with boiling water, brewed once for 30 seconds, then brewed for 15-20 seconds, then 30+ sec for subsequent infusions! Usually a 120/60mL gaiwan!

It sounds about right that the smoke would mellow, the short infusions might not give it time to exert it's dominance over the flavours from the tea! Which sounds more enjoyable to be honest!

If I was to suggest anything I'd say take the scale down to under 150mL of water if you can (Do you have a gaiwan?) and experiment with that without wasting too much tea You'll find it easiest to control at the 100mL level I think! Happy brewing!

What is Eastern style? Is that a gongfu tea ceremony?

Gongfu's an extreme form of "Eastern Style". "Eastern Style" is just "more" leaves to water ratio, beginning somewhere around 2g per 100ml and going up as far as you like.

M.

mcrdotcom wrote:I've never done a gongfu on lapsang souchong, but I have with other black teas.

My usual black tea guide to myself would be 1/3-1/2 filled gaiwan, flash rinsed with boiling water, brewed once for 30 seconds, then brewed for 15-20 seconds, then 30+ sec for subsequent infusions! Usually a 120/60mL gaiwan!

It sounds about right that the smoke would mellow, the short infusions might not give it time to exert it's dominance over the flavours from the tea! Which sounds more enjoyable to be honest!

If I was to suggest anything I'd say take the scale down to under 150mL of water if you can (Do you have a gaiwan?) and experiment with that without wasting too much tea You'll find it easiest to control at the 100mL level I think! Happy brewing!

Thanks. I do not have a gaiwan yet, but it is on my wishlist. I'm hoping to get one for christmas, or getting one for myself next month. All I have right now is a couple of small(500ml) teapots that I've been using for this. I'll definitely try your suggestion once I've acquired a gaiwan, and post the results here. (good news is that I found out Distinctly tea here in town carries gaiwans at a not too bad price - $20 - so it won't be a lot of waiting for shipping )

Around these parts, 500ml is absolutely not small :p

"Small" seems to kick in around 120ml.

M.

MEversbergII wrote:Around these parts, 500ml is absolutely not small :p

"Small" seems to kick in around 120ml.

M.

It's a relative description. Considering the the "usual" teapots that have been used in my house are 1.2L and 1.7L, 500mL is comparatively small.

But yeah, I want something smaller for brewing the the good stuff these days.

The first teapot I ever received holds 32oz. I still use it occasionally for making a big batch of black tea when I'm hosting people for a game or movie night.

Mine was 16oz. Been meaning to get myself a really big one, though, exactly for gatherings.

M.

thats basically what I used that big 1.7L pot for. that, and brewing up large amounts of bagged Chai tea for using in baking.

That reminds me, need to make some Chai Bannock to take to a potluck tonight lol.

Devoted135 wrote:The first teapot I ever received holds 32oz. I still use it occasionally for making a big batch of black tea when I'm hosting people for a game or movie night.

I now drink that much tea on a good tea day, 100mL at a time!

Tried this again tonight. 6g of tea to 150mL of water. steeped for 45sec after a flash rinse.

Very nice. Though it was hard to adjust to the strong flavor after having primarily oolongs for the past couple weeks.

Edit: Wow... with the smoke flavor so muted, I'm catching something almost like caramel....very nice!

added in 4g of sliced ginger to the pot this afternoon. now THAT is a very yummy cup of tea. maybe I should recommend this as a signature blend lol

Ursinos wrote:added in 4g of sliced ginger to the pot this afternoon. now THAT is a very yummy cup of tea. maybe I should recommend this as a signature blend lol

Seems very intriguing! I might give that a go myself!

mcrdotcom wrote:

Ursinos wrote:added in 4g of sliced ginger to the pot this afternoon. now THAT is a very yummy cup of tea. maybe I should recommend this as a signature blend lol

Seems very intriguing! I might give that a go myself!

The idea came to me because the label on the lapsang I got likened the flavor to scotch, and since I have enjoyed mixing scotch with ginger ale.... why not?

if you try it, let me know what you think