Page 1 of 2

How many grams

Posted: Jul 18th, '12, 21:57
by Charlotte_J
How many grams of pu er do you usually use for one session? Let us say 100-120ml gaiwan, and you want to have one of those really long sessions (at least 10 steeps). If you prefer short sessions, list your grams too, I am curious :mrgreen:

Re: How many grams

Posted: Jul 19th, '12, 03:30
by needaTEAcher
If I remember correctly, my teachers shoot for 1 gram per 20 cc, so a 120cc pot would use 6 grams. That said, every tea is different, and every pot/gaiwan brews differently, depending on the material, how well it retains heat, and the shape. Listen to the tea. Start with the above ratio and then tweak it based on the tea you are using and your preferences. I prefer stronger tea, so I might use 8 or 10 grams in a 120 cc pot, but then steep upwards of 20 times (until it is just water with a hint of tea and a hint of clay! :lol: )

Happy sipping!

Re: How many grams

Posted: Jul 19th, '12, 06:55
by Drax
My method sounds similar. For example, I've been drinking a *lot* of samples lately.... when I drink samples, I usually use a 120 mL gaiwan with about 6-7 grams in it, and I stop around the 10th steep, even though I could usually take the tea another 2 solid cups, and another 4 or 5 total.

I might have to vary the amount depending on the strength of the tea. For example, some Bulangs I might dial back a little... but then again, sometimes I damn those torpedoes and go full speed ahead...! :lol:

Re: How many grams

Posted: Jul 19th, '12, 22:25
by Charlotte_J
Drax wrote: For example, some Bulangs I might dial back a little... but then again, sometimes I damn those torpedoes and go full speed ahead...! :lol:

I have been doing a bit more lately too, like 8-10 gs for a 120ml, because I want to be on a lonnnnng session, instead of just 7-8 steeps!

Re: How many grams

Posted: Jul 20th, '12, 05:42
by yanom
I've found I'm happiest with around 5g in my 110ml yixing. This is for sheng pu'er that's 15 years old or more. I can easily get 10+ steeps like this, and that's even if I do a long first-steep which I throw away.
For younger sheng -- well, I don't really enjoy drinking that stuff so I can't comment.
For shu I use about 5g or 6g into a 150ml yixing and steep for longer than I would do for sheng.

Aged sheng is my favourite tea and the 110ml yixing is working really well for me at the moment. But I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't get a larger one (150ml?) too.
When I'm drinking stuff I want to pay a bit of attention to, the 110ml size is perfect. But if I'm drinking something which is nice but not super special, and am concentrating on doing something else, it's a bit of a pain to keep re-steeping all the time. At the moment I brew up in the 110ml teapot, pour into a faircup, brew again straight away, put that into the faircup, and I've got 200ml of tea to drink before I have to boil the kettle once again. But maybe it'd be easier to have a larger yixing instead!

Re: How many grams

Posted: Jul 22nd, '12, 22:14
by Charlotte_J
yanom wrote:I've found I'm happiest with around 5g in my 110ml yixing. This is for sheng pu'er that's 15 years old or more. I can easily get 10+ steeps like this, and that's even if I do a long first-steep which I throw away.
Interesting - what are some 15ish year old shengs that you particularly enjoy?

Re: How many grams

Posted: Jul 23rd, '12, 03:53
by needaTEAcher
Charlotte_J wrote:Interesting - what are some 15ish year old shengs that you particularly enjoy?
Pretty much all of them!!!! :lol:

Re: How many grams

Posted: Jul 23rd, '12, 06:24
by TomVerlain
It depends too on how dense or loose the tea is, and also how fast the vessel pours. A Gaiwan pours quickly and I use more tea, as the steeps can be very short. A pot with a slow pour brews longer (as it pours) so I use less. I only use a scale rarely, usually to see if a tea is denser or lighter than I think. At least for me....

Re: How many grams

Posted: Jul 23rd, '12, 07:55
by iovetea
it depends on your personal taste mostly, other people can't tell you what you like....

Re: How many grams

Posted: Jul 24th, '12, 22:43
by Charlotte_J
TomVerlain wrote:It depends too on how dense or loose the tea is, and also how fast the vessel pours. A Gaiwan pours quickly and I use more tea, as the steeps can be very short. A pot with a slow pour brews longer (as it pours) so I use less. I only use a scale rarely, usually to see if a tea is denser or lighter than I think. At least for me....
Nice idea - I had never considered the slowness of the pour!! :D
iovetea wrote:it depends on your personal taste mostly, other people can't tell you what you like....
Def! I was just curious about other people's habits. I know what I like, but I still learned a lot from the methods like the one above

Re: How many grams

Posted: Jul 24th, '12, 23:30
by needaTEAcher
Charlotte_J wrote:I was just curious about other people's habits. I know what I like, but I still learned a lot from the methods like the one above
I think this is one of the best ways to learn!

Re: How many grams

Posted: Jul 25th, '12, 16:34
by bryan_drinks_tea
yanom wrote:I've found I'm happiest with around 5g in my 110ml yixing. This is for sheng pu'er that's 15 years old or more. I can easily get 10+ steeps like this, and that's even if I do a long first-steep which I throw away.
For younger sheng -- well, I don't really enjoy drinking that stuff so I can't comment.
For shu I use about 5g or 6g into a 150ml yixing and steep for longer than I would do for sheng.

Aged sheng is my favourite tea and the 110ml yixing is working really well for me at the moment. But I'm starting to wonder if I shouldn't get a larger one (150ml?) too.
When I'm drinking stuff I want to pay a bit of attention to, the 110ml size is perfect. ]But if I'm drinking something which is nice but not super special, and am concentrating on doing something else, it's a bit of a pain to keep re-steeping all the time. At the moment I brew up in the 110ml teapot, pour into a faircup, brew again straight away, put that into the faircup, and I've got 200ml of tea to drink before I have to boil the kettle once again. But maybe it'd be easier to have a larger yixing instead!
Just a question, are when you brew it that way, are you concerned about the individual flavours coming from each infusion?

I typically brew per the 1 gram per 20ml- but it depends on the tea. I try all kinds of tea amounts before finding a 'balance' for the tea. weak, sorry pu-erh is the exception - I usually just fill the gaiwan to the brim and brew for a couple of infusions - and yes, I do drink all of my teas, even my sorry ones, minus the pool water tasting ones. What good would it do to give it to someone and make them suffer too? :roll:

Re: How many grams

Posted: Jul 25th, '12, 19:13
by needaTEAcher
I have actually met quite a few people who do this same double brew. I do it at work when I pour into my mug. You lose the individual flavors from steeps of course, but it is interesting, and you do get to learn the tea in a new way. And it is nice to have that bigger cup.

Re: How many grams

Posted: Jul 25th, '12, 21:25
by beecrofter
4 grams until I got a feel for the particular tea ( gives you a little longer steep and room for error)
and then maybe 6 grams or so.
Understand that I might also use a glass gaiwan or even a jar so I can SEE what the tea is doing as part of the learning.

Re: How many grams

Posted: Jul 25th, '12, 21:57
by BioHorn
This summer I had an interesting experience with brewing TeaMasters 2009 Spring Hung Shui. I have been drinking this tea in a 110 ml gaiwan. This tea has an beatiful toasty, creamy chestnut aroma. Over the past two years I never could get that same profile expressed in the tea. While in Mexico City, on a whim instead of 5.5 grams, I filled the gaiwan with 4 grams. It really brought out the complexity and depth of flavor. Funny thing, more was less! :idea:


Brewing sheng pu I tend to use 8.5 grams in a 110 ml porcelain gaiwan.