Fishing for opinions on DTH's Dan Congs

[Poohblah]

brew up to 30 plus steepings.

I kind of hate these self-appointed experts .

Wait, what? I don't think you have much leverage to make this sort of claim, nor do I think you show much tact or politeness here.

If you're going to continue to make these kinds of statements, wh&yel-apprentice, then please don't post again in my thread. This is a thread about tea, not personal vendettas.

Thanks to those who have posted constructive, appropriate replies...

[wyardley]

brew up to 30 plus steepings.

I kind of hate these self-appointed experts . With Imen brewing, at her old store, the 1978 DC that is pretty darned expensive, starts to lose something past 12 steeps, gets a little thinner/watery at ~12-15steeps.

Just for what it's worth, Imen will be the first to tell you that she prefers a lighter taste; she does not tend to brew with a really heavy hand. If a few grams of tea can last 12-15 infusions, imagine what 3-4x the amount of tea would yield. She gets a lot of taste and fragrance out of that tea, but I would not use this as an example to say that it's impossible to brew 30 rounds of a tea (and an old tea that may not have been carefully stored for its entire lifetime may not be the best example of a tea that will last many infusions).

I do also think that people sometimes exaggerate the number of brews a tea can produce, but everyone does have a different idea of when to give up.

Even though brewing it for as many rounds as possible is one way to really get the most mileage out of a rare or expensive tea, I do think there's something to be said for giving up while a tea is still at its peak -- leaving you wanting more, rather than leaving you with the memory of a tea on its way out. Personally, I enjoy a good tea whether or not it yields 30 infusions, though durability / longevity is definitely one sign of a good tea.

There are some tricks to stretching a tea out longer... flipping the leaves over, doing very long, overnight brews, using hot water outside the pot to hold in heat a bit longer.

[teaisme]

it's funny how people don't believe until they experience

ahhh well

[Tead Off]

brew up to 30 plus steepings.

I kind of hate these self-appointed experts . With Imen brewing, at her old store, the 1978 DC that is pretty darned expensive, starts to lose something past 12 steeps, gets a little thinner/watery at ~12-15steeps.

Just for what it's worth, Imen will be the first to tell you that she prefers a lighter taste; she does not tend to brew with a really heavy hand. If a few grams of tea can last 12-15 infusions, imagine what 3-4x the amount of tea would yield. She gets a lot of taste and fragrance out of that tea, but I would not use this as an example to say that it's impossible to brew 30 rounds of a tea (and an old tea that may not have been carefully stored for its entire lifetime may not be the best example of a tea that will last many infusions).

I do also think that people sometimes exaggerate the number of brews a tea can produce, but everyone does have a different idea of when to give up.

Even though brewing it for as many rounds as possible is one way to really get the most mileage out of a rare or expensive tea, I do think there's something to be said for giving up while a tea is still at its peak -- leaving you wanting more, rather than leaving you with the memory of a tea on its way out. Personally, I enjoy a good tea whether or not it yields 30 infusions, though durability / longevity is definitely one sign of a good tea.

There are some tricks to stretching a tea out longer... flipping the leaves over, doing very long, overnight brews, using hot water outside the pot to hold in heat a bit longer.

+1! Well said, Will.