Crockpot for tea roasting?
I found an entry on Imen's blog about roasting tea, and she states not to go over 110'c (230 'f) for roasting, after an initial 80'c (176'f) warm-up. I've been thinking, based on one of Intuit's posts, that I might be able to re-roast the high mountain oolong (thought I had ordered the Legend of Dongding... oops..) that smelled like grandpa's old sock. Has anyone tried to use a crockpot for this? She mentioned that some people use a rice cooker - I like that idea too, but the crockpot should be better for longer term heat (if I can get it low enough on low or keep warm).
請进,請坐,請喝茶!!!
OK - well, I did it on my 'grandpa sock' tea, and I actually think it worked!
Kinda crazy, but the crockpot, on 'low', reached about 195' inside, and then after about an hour or two, I set it to 'warm', and it probably stabilized around 185' until I left it and went to bed. I brewed the tea and it now tastes almost like the replacement bag of oriental beauty that teahome sent as a replacement. They had actually recommended that I try to roast the tea in the oven at 150' to see if I could save it, but sent me a replacement bag in the meantime. After reading Imen's blog regarding roasting in a rice cooker, I'm guessing the temperature settings might be in the neighborhood.
If you decide to try this - leave a gap in the lid for the humid air to escape. I just used a tea towel to keep the warmth up.
Kinda crazy, but the crockpot, on 'low', reached about 195' inside, and then after about an hour or two, I set it to 'warm', and it probably stabilized around 185' until I left it and went to bed. I brewed the tea and it now tastes almost like the replacement bag of oriental beauty that teahome sent as a replacement. They had actually recommended that I try to roast the tea in the oven at 150' to see if I could save it, but sent me a replacement bag in the meantime. After reading Imen's blog regarding roasting in a rice cooker, I'm guessing the temperature settings might be in the neighborhood.
If you decide to try this - leave a gap in the lid for the humid air to escape. I just used a tea towel to keep the warmth up.
請进,請坐,請喝茶!!!
Good to know.
I threw out some older stale dong ding last week
I wonder if could have been "rescued"
I threw out some older stale dong ding last week
I wonder if could have been "rescued"
“Take some more tea,” the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.
“I’ve had nothing yet,” Alice replied in an offended tone: “so I ca’n’t take more.”
“You mean you ca’n’t take less,” said the Hatter: “it’s very easy to take more than nothing.”
“I’ve had nothing yet,” Alice replied in an offended tone: “so I ca’n’t take more.”
“You mean you ca’n’t take less,” said the Hatter: “it’s very easy to take more than nothing.”
Yippee, glad you tried it.Bubba_tea wrote:OK - well, I did it on my 'grandpa sock' tea, and I actually think it worked!
The tea should also be stirred occasionally to change the tea that is in contact with pot, I do it based on smell and changes to it, as the smell is mostly coming from that layer. sometimes that means every few minutes, sometimes it means a half hour or so.
You may need to repeat the roasting in a week or two for it to 'stick', that has been my experience with really bad cases.
Tenuki - I used a spatula to stir it up and then shook the pot to get an even layer at the bottom. Because this is a rolled oolong, I figured it would take some time to evenly heat through the pellet to purge crud / kill bugs in the tea that was making it taste bad. I can still tell it's not *settled* if that makes any sense. Almost like the tea is jacked up on coke or something... 
I think it might need that rest period that they say is needed to calm the fire and we'll see if it's now stable enough to see if it needs that re-roasting. Any ideas how long you should wait before judging it as stable?
I think it might need that rest period that they say is needed to calm the fire and we'll see if it's now stable enough to see if it needs that re-roasting. Any ideas how long you should wait before judging it as stable?請进,請坐,請喝茶!!!
Just check it in a week or two. Past that I look at it more like 'roast as needed'. heh.Bubba_tea wrote: Any ideas how long you should wait before judging it as stable?
Do something different, something different will happen. ( Gong Fu Garden )