Beginner questions
Posted: Sep 4th, '11, 22:42
Hi, I'm not sure if this is in the right place, but here goes. I've been studying Japanese tea ceremony for about 8 years, but really have nearly no tea experience outside that world. Because I spend a lot of time with Japanese people I often drink Japanese green teas and enjoy them, but don't know what most of them are except for genmaicha, which is one of my favourites.
I've recently decided to learn more about non-matcha teas, and after a lot of reading (much of it here) I picked up a gaiwan from a local Chinese tea shop, plus samples of a Longjing and a Taiwan Dong Ding. I also have one of those sets with a small clay teapot, matching cups and saucers, and a matching bowl with a lid with holes in it (the name of which I don't know--I'll call it a tray) which I got super cheap in Japan, plus a lidless bowl with a spout that is the only remaining part of a tea set I got in Korea and which I assume is a fairness cup.
So the last couple of days I've been experimenting with my two teas. The tea shop gave me a brochure which recommends 75-80C/1-1.5Tbsp for the Longjing and ~95C/.5-1Tbsp for the Dong Ding. I've been boiling the water in an electric kettle and pouring it into a glass measuring cup, then warming the gaiwan and teacup, placing the leaves in the gaiwan, adding water and immediately discarding it, and then brewing the first pour. The brochure recommends about 6 seconds. Since I'm drinking by myself, I've been pouring the tea from the gaiwan into the fairness cup, filling a small cup to drink from, and discarding whatever's left in the fairness cup so I can taste several pours without drinking way too much tea.
I've realized, however, that the water that comes out of my kettle when it boils doesn't seem to be 100 degrees C. Even just-boiled and measured as I'm filling the glass measuring cup, it only registers about 85, and I checked it on two different thermometers. Is it possible that 100 degree water is cooling by that much that rapidly just from being poured from the kettle into a jug? And given that it's then sitting on the table while I'm warming the gaiwan, is it cooling even further before I even make the tea? Presumably that wouldn't be a big problem with the Longjing, but the Oolong should be made with water that's considerably hotter, right?
I'm wondering partly because, even though both are probably fairly mild teas to begin with, they both struck me as quite remarkably mild. Also, the brewing times seem quite short. With the Dong Ding I brewed for up to 17 seconds at the longest, while with the Longjing the maximum was about 12. Does anyone have suggestions for improving what I'm doing? I also think I'd like to try something with a bit of a stronger taste; any suggestions for a beginner?
I'm kind of confused about brewing methods generally. I've read a lot about gongfu cha and I'm wondering whether the way I've been brewing has anything to do with that. I've also read a lot about "grandpa style," and when I go to Chinese restaurants it's sort of a similar thing, only with a large pot--in either case the leaves are steeping for significantly longer than the few seconds my tea shop is recommending. I've got more questions but perhaps I'd better stop here...
I've recently decided to learn more about non-matcha teas, and after a lot of reading (much of it here) I picked up a gaiwan from a local Chinese tea shop, plus samples of a Longjing and a Taiwan Dong Ding. I also have one of those sets with a small clay teapot, matching cups and saucers, and a matching bowl with a lid with holes in it (the name of which I don't know--I'll call it a tray) which I got super cheap in Japan, plus a lidless bowl with a spout that is the only remaining part of a tea set I got in Korea and which I assume is a fairness cup.
So the last couple of days I've been experimenting with my two teas. The tea shop gave me a brochure which recommends 75-80C/1-1.5Tbsp for the Longjing and ~95C/.5-1Tbsp for the Dong Ding. I've been boiling the water in an electric kettle and pouring it into a glass measuring cup, then warming the gaiwan and teacup, placing the leaves in the gaiwan, adding water and immediately discarding it, and then brewing the first pour. The brochure recommends about 6 seconds. Since I'm drinking by myself, I've been pouring the tea from the gaiwan into the fairness cup, filling a small cup to drink from, and discarding whatever's left in the fairness cup so I can taste several pours without drinking way too much tea.
I've realized, however, that the water that comes out of my kettle when it boils doesn't seem to be 100 degrees C. Even just-boiled and measured as I'm filling the glass measuring cup, it only registers about 85, and I checked it on two different thermometers. Is it possible that 100 degree water is cooling by that much that rapidly just from being poured from the kettle into a jug? And given that it's then sitting on the table while I'm warming the gaiwan, is it cooling even further before I even make the tea? Presumably that wouldn't be a big problem with the Longjing, but the Oolong should be made with water that's considerably hotter, right?
I'm wondering partly because, even though both are probably fairly mild teas to begin with, they both struck me as quite remarkably mild. Also, the brewing times seem quite short. With the Dong Ding I brewed for up to 17 seconds at the longest, while with the Longjing the maximum was about 12. Does anyone have suggestions for improving what I'm doing? I also think I'd like to try something with a bit of a stronger taste; any suggestions for a beginner?
I'm kind of confused about brewing methods generally. I've read a lot about gongfu cha and I'm wondering whether the way I've been brewing has anything to do with that. I've also read a lot about "grandpa style," and when I go to Chinese restaurants it's sort of a similar thing, only with a large pot--in either case the leaves are steeping for significantly longer than the few seconds my tea shop is recommending. I've got more questions but perhaps I'd better stop here...