How many steepings?

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Mar 30th, '10, 11:08
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How many steepings?

by Crafty_Mom » Mar 30th, '10, 11:08

How many steepings of a quality tea would you be able to do before the tea loses its flavor? I know this would probably vary on the type of tea used, but just a ballpark.

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Mar 30th, '10, 11:31
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Re: How many steepings?

by debunix » Mar 30th, '10, 11:31

Not only type of tea, but type of steepings--longer, hotter, low-leaf-to-water ratio steepings take more out of the leaf.

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Mar 30th, '10, 13:44
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Re: How many steepings?

by Herb_Master » Mar 30th, '10, 13:44

The rough ballpark is 8 minutes!

Brew western style and you can have 2, first just over 3 minutes, 2nd just under 5 minutes.

Brew in a heavily packed Yixing or Gaiwan - and you may get 12

1 second, 2 seconds, 4 seconds, 8 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 45 seconds, etc

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Mar 30th, '10, 14:13
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Re: How many steepings?

by Crafty_Mom » Mar 30th, '10, 14:13

Herb_Master wrote:The rough ballpark is 8 minutes!

Brew western style and you can have 2, first just over 3 minutes, 2nd just under 5 minutes.

Brew in a heavily packed Yixing or Gaiwan - and you may get 12

1 second, 2 seconds, 4 seconds, 8 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 45 seconds, etc
Thanks for the help, Debunix and Herb_Master!

Now, quick question. Please forgive my ignorance as I am new, but by western style do you mean the common 1tsp per 6-8oz of water in a larger teapot?

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Mar 30th, '10, 18:00
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Re: How many steepings?

by Herb_Master » Mar 30th, '10, 18:00

Crafty_Mom wrote:

Now, quick question. Please forgive my ignorance as I am new, but by western style do you mean the common 1tsp per 6-8oz of water in a larger teapot?
Probably! :D

In our household the family pot was much larger and it was always 1 teaspoon for each cup and 1 extra for the pot! :shock:

and the Tea Spoon was always a special Tea Spoon for the caddy rather than a teaspoon!

like this one at http://www.ziggles.co.uk
Image

I wonder where all those gorgeous Tea Spoons went to!

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Mar 30th, '10, 20:41
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Re: How many steepings?

by Crafty_Mom » Mar 30th, '10, 20:41

Ooh, that is pretty! But now you have me looking at yixing pots for no other reason than just because. Shame on you! :lol: I'm going to go do some research on them and how to properly use them. (Did I mention that I'm new? :?: )

But really, thanks for the help!

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Mar 30th, '10, 20:53
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Re: How many steepings?

by debunix » Mar 30th, '10, 20:53

Just as a very rough guide, when preparing to brew up some tea in a small pot or gaiwan, using about a gram of tea leaf per ounce of water, I expect to get 2-4 steepings or 30-90 seconds each from a white or green tea, 6-8 steepings from an oolong, and 8-12 steepings (often much shorter) from a puerh. It comes down to how much tea I'm prepared to drink assuming I get at least that many infusions.

But I've gotten a 8 steepings from some very lovely white tea, a dozen steepings from some exceptional Tie Guan Yin and Ali Shan Oolong, two dozen from some nice sheng puerh, and up to 30 from a nice Dan Cong oolong before I was done, although the leaf still was not.

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Mar 31st, '10, 12:20
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Re: How many steepings?

by Crafty_Mom » Mar 31st, '10, 12:20

Thanks, debunix! Great info!

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