TeaChat

I have always gone by the 1tsp to 8oz of water (except for white tea) rule of thumb. One vendor I order from recommends 1tbsp per 8oz of water, but uses the same steep times that I use for my 1tsp rule. This seems like overkill to me, so I stick with 1tsp instead. I know there is no wrong or right here, and the correct answer is "however you prefer your tea." I am just curious as to what others do in instances like this.

Unless the quantity I have is very limited, when working with a new tea, I play it by ear, and use infusion leaf-to-water ratios, temperatures, and times consistent with what I use for other teas in that category. Except when I am unhappy with the results, or hesitant about an entire category of teas, I rarely follow precise brewing instructions. I tend to brew more dilute and cooler than most recommendations anyway.

Most of my vendors use grams of tea in suggesting proportions, BTW, which is more accurate for most of us, and takes into account the widely varying densities of various teas:


each of these is 1 gram of the indicated tea, easier to see in the original larger version here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/debuni2479/sizes/o/

I've always done 1tsp/6oz in the past, mainly because I don't have a good scale. I might pick up a digital spoon scale soon, though, and that would make it much easier to measure.

Symmetry wrote:I might pick up a digital spoon scale soon.

I have no idea how much I'm using. At 6am I only have one eye open
anyway. probably couldn't read a digital spoon scale that early.
My rule of thumb is the stronger the better.

Could there be a rule? Yes, it all depends on the tea and your liking.
My present puerh 1 tsp about 1 g for 250 ml and 2 infusions. My meal puerh a 5 g mini-brick for 1 l of water. Brig to boil and simmer for 5 min.
For those rolled anxi oolongs and their likes one level tbs (5 g) for 550 ml of water brewed in a 120 ml teapot giving usually 6 infusions.
All other loose teas, wuyi oolongs, dan congs, greens, the cup formed by my hand is my meassure. I guess it varies between 4 to 6 g for 550 ml of water and is then a matter of experience. 4 to 6 or more infusions. A Tie Luo Han may be only 3 g.
Loose black teas like keemun I use 2 tsp for 750 ml of water, one infusion for about 6 to 8 min.