How many steepings?
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.
Mar 30th, '10, 11:31
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debunix
Re: How many steepings?
Not only type of tea, but type of steepings--longer, hotter, low-leaf-to-water ratio steepings take more out of the leaf.
Mar 30th, '10, 13:44
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Herb_Master
Re: How many steepings?
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
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
Re: How many steepings?
Thanks for the help, Debunix and Herb_Master!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
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?
Mar 30th, '10, 18:00
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Herb_Master
Re: How many steepings?
Probably!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?
In our household the family pot was much larger and it was always 1 teaspoon for each cup and 1 extra for the pot!
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
I wonder where all those gorgeous Tea Spoons went to!
Re: How many steepings?
Ooh, that is pretty! But now you have me looking at yixing pots for no other reason than just because. Shame on you! 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!
But really, thanks for the help!
Mar 30th, '10, 20:53
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debunix
Re: How many steepings?
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.
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.