TeaChat

I just got a nice little yixing pot and have been doing multiple infusions over the course of a day. Is it okay to just keep the leaves in the pot all day and come back to it from time to time?

Is there some risk of bacteria growing in between, or the leaves going bad? For gongfu steeping I get the impression that people usually sit down and do the infusions during one session, so that's why I ask.

If a tea is good enough I have had week long sessions. The breathability of a yixing also helps with this. I don't think you have anything to worry about. But I will also drink tea that's been sitting around for fifty years (when I can get my hands on it)

Especially for a hot-brewed tea, where the water is near or at brewing, I really wouldn't worry about it--unless you've got some reason to think your immune system is exceptionally delicate...

No problem. Your ambient temperature and humidity may make a difference. The kind of tea will definitely make a difference. Some shu's sure get suspect quickly. And some nicely aged sheng will last for weeks!

The one tea I have found that bounces back to most is Phoenix DC.

This topic has been covered a number of times.

Leaving green oolong (Taiwan, Anxi) in a porous Yixing in warm weather will definitely leave a sour smell stuck in your pot. Don't leave the pot without water on the leaves. If this happens to you, soak the pot for a day in water and as much baking soda as you can dissolve.

It's no good. Once the leaves are touched by water, its microbes are slowly increasing. You could let it during a day, but not too long.

I think it was a online tea news, that the Chinese like to bring plastic container with teabag or leaves in it whenever they go, but this way can cause a carcinogen to be active if steeped too long.


But *Yixing* retains tea leaves fresher than in a Gaiwan at least a day longer (taken from Han Qi Lou book)...I'm no salesman from Yixing Ltd.

I think safety-wise, you're probably Ok. I have definitely even left certain teas overnight (without brewing in-between) and brewed them the next day. But you're definitely leaving tea in the "danger zone", so it depends on how safety-conscious you are. Depending on your environment, if you leave it long enough without brewing, you will definitely eventually get mold growth.

What I've been told is that certain teas can handle this and others can't (no one has ever told me any rule of thumb, though). But taste-wise, at least, I think greener, fresher teas don't usually react quite as well to this treatment. I tend to save this treatment for old / rare teas.

wyardley wrote:I tend to save this treatment for old / rare teas.

Yes. It's not worth it for inexpensive teas, whites, greens, green oolongs. I've come back to the office after a long meeting hoping to get another few infusions out of one of those, and it's rarely worth it. The dark roast oolongs and puerhs are quite different that way.

In my experience it takes two to three days for the tea to start developing a smell that yells "dump me".

Is okay, but good is make one washing infusion when you go back (which not drink). And also I saw somewhere people put small piece of bamboo to the spout of zisha pot, air not go inside and tea not change too quickly. If is zisha material good , can keep to next day sure. Just wash the leaves before start drink again~~

If the tea starts to mold or goes funky in a 12 hrs standing period. I will have second the quality of that tea.

Some teas are best on their second day in the first brew. In my previous post, I mentioned my experience with Phoenix DC and it's propensity to "reenergize" day to day.

Another tea that has yielded it's best is YS,LLC's "Silver Needles" white tea. I have regularly drunk this tea over four days. No mold has ever formed. The brews become quite nice and caramelly on day two and three. Given the weak initial brews, I would have never expected this robust flavor.

http://www.yunnansourcing.com/store/pro ... oduct=2068

The mold factor probably has much to do with heat, humidity, tea variety and brewing vessel. I feel fortunate to live in a cool, relatively dry environment that makes for nice day after drinking.

Most important is your own personal experience from trial and error. Isn't that a great thing about making tea?!

wyardley wrote:I think safety-wise, you're probably Ok. I have definitely even left certain teas overnight (without brewing in-between) and brewed them the next day. But you're definitely leaving tea in the "danger zone", so it depends on how safety-conscious you are. Depending on your environment, if you leave it long enough without brewing, you will definitely eventually get mold growth.

What I've been told is that certain teas can handle this and others can't (no one has ever told me any rule of thumb, though). But taste-wise, at least, I think greener, fresher teas don't usually react quite as well to this treatment. I tend to save this treatment for old / rare teas.

You are cracking me up with that avatar!

chrl42 wrote:It's no good. Once the leaves are touched by water, its microbes are slowly increasing. You could let it during a day, but not too long.

I think it was a online tea news, that the Chinese like to bring plastic container with teabag or leaves in it whenever they go, but this way can cause a carcinogen to be active if steeped too long.

chrl42
i always appreciate your intelligent, informative posts. i would like to ask if you mean the danger is due to the tea steeping too long, or is it the plastic container reacting to the tea?

TIM wrote:

wyardley wrote:I think safety-wise, you're probably Ok. I have definitely even left certain teas overnight (without brewing in-between) and brewed them the next day. But you're definitely leaving tea in the "danger zone", so it depends on how safety-conscious you are. Depending on your environment, if you leave it long enough without brewing, you will definitely eventually get mold growth.

What I've been told is that certain teas can handle this and others can't (no one has ever told me any rule of thumb, though). But taste-wise, at least, I think greener, fresher teas don't usually react quite as well to this treatment. I tend to save this treatment for old / rare teas.

You are cracking me up with that avatar!

+1

rdl wrote:

chrl42 wrote:It's no good. Once the leaves are touched by water, its microbes are slowly increasing. You could let it during a day, but not too long.

I think it was a online tea news, that the Chinese like to bring plastic container with teabag or leaves in it whenever they go, but this way can cause a carcinogen to be active if steeped too long.

chrl42
i always appreciate your intelligent, informative posts. i would like to ask if you mean the danger is due to the tea steeping too long, or is it the plastic container reacting to the tea?

The article was about a danger of steeping too long, in West people are used to teabags while in China they are to loose leaf in this case.