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I have some White Peony that says to be steep at 195 degrees...only problem is, how do I get close to that? I adagio's electric kettle, very nice, but it only has two settings, 180 and 212 (F). Any tips?

212 and let it cool down.

I personally like to brew WP at a lower temp than 195*.

Anyway, bring water to a full boil and pour into either a cooling vessel or your cups. The temp will drop pretty quickly, so if you want 195*, you will have to pour from the cooling vessel to the teapot pretty much right away.

Chip wrote:I personally like to brew WP at a lower temp than 195*.

+1 - I tend to do these at 145 or so for longer times.

So my recommend is to just brew at 180 since you have that already, try it that way, then let it cool from there and compare.

My question is slightly different; I boil water with a stainless stovetop kettle and so far have not been able to get water temp up to 190F, at least when measured after pouring into a glass measuring cup. I measure temp right away so not sure what's up? Los Angeles is above sea level but not that much.

tenuki wrote:

Chip wrote:I personally like to brew WP at a lower temp than 195*.

+1 - I tend to do these at 145 or so for longer times.

So my recommend is to just brew at 180 since you have that already, try it that way, then let it cool from there and compare.

I did try it at 180, but didn't like it, but I dont remember if I had the right amount of tea in there...the first few times I remember I didn't realize it said two teaspoons per cup instead of 1

I like to brew white peony with hottest water possible, and I put a lid on my cup or teapot to retain the heat.

But if your goal is 195F, considering the water temperature can get no more than 212F to begin with and water starts cooling once the kettle is off the stove (or charge), and cools down more once it hits any tea vessel of lower temperature, it's likely that the hottest water most people could get is little more than 200F (unless investing a lot of attention and energy into maintaining water hot and brewing tea fast, thus one get a couple of degrees hotter). So you are not far away from 195F to begin with and probably just need a water cooler and a few more seconds And if you would like the water to get even cooler, you just need a smaller water cooler and several more seconds

Besides, don't trust the temperature setting of any electric kettle. It takes lab equipment to maintain accurate water temperature to +/- 3 degrees accuracy, and that level of accuracy doesn't mean much to tea brewing anyway and would be easily shifted by hand shaking or eye blinking

Get a digital kitchen thermometer if you want accurate water temperatures. I'm surprised no one even thought of this for you!

They're not expensive, pick them up at most kitchen suppliers, or a supermarket, and you'll never go wrong. I use one all the time to measure the water temp when making sencha, or gyokuro.

Yes, you could get a digital kitchen thermometer and try different methods of cooling down boiling water (e.g., transferring it to another glass or ceramic vessel and allowing it to cool to the desired temperature).

I use a variable-temperature kettle and have been experimenting with different temperatures for Bai Mu Dan over the past few months. I either like it around 160°F for a longer steep or close to 180°F for a little shorter steep. I tend to pile the leaf in the gaiwan, too. Bai Mu Dan, in my opinion, is one of the more forgiving teas in regard to steep time and temperature.

I have found that Bai Mudan and Bai Hao Yinzhen are both very forgiving. I've poured boiling water on Bai Mudan in a gaiwan and left it there probably more than 5 minutes and had something still enjoyable. Very good tea for a casual approach.

M.

I have found that Bai Mudan and Bai Hao Yinzhen are both very forgiving. I've poured boiling water on Bai Mudan in a gaiwan and left it there probably more than 5 minutes and had something still enjoyable. Very good tea for a casual approach.

I agree. Bai Hao Yin Zhen might even be more forgiving than Bai Mu Dan. I'm a big fan of the latter because of its more robust flavor, so I tend to steep the Yin Zhen for a bit longer than most other teas I prepare in a gaiwan when I buy it at all.

It also lasts a long time in the pot, western style.

M.

victoria3 wrote:My question is slightly different; I boil water with a stainless stovetop kettle and so far have not been able to get water temp up to 190F, at least when measured after pouring into a glass measuring cup. I measure temp right away so not sure what's up? Los Angeles is above sea level but not that much.

Try preheating your measuring cup with the boiling water, put the kettle back on the boil and then pour it in.

No temperature setting on my kettles, so I go by the sound, and if boiling on the stove, by the sound and the way the water is bubbling.

jayinhk wrote: Try preheating your measuring cup with the boiling water, put the kettle back on the boil and then pour it in.

No temperature setting on my kettles, so I go by the sound, and if boiling on the stove, by the sound and the way the water is bubbling.

Yes thanks jayinhk, I realized after posting that I needed to preheat my pyrex measuring cup to reach temperatures above 190, and preheat twice for temps above 195. It's surprising how fast the temperature drops. I have a stainless kettle with a glass top so can see the slow roll turn into a boil nicely. Up until that post I hadn't really been drinking teas that required such hot water.