OTTI Suggestions Topic II, how many and how much tea?

by **Chip** » Aug 22nd, '10, 20:16

OTTI Suggestions Topic II, how many and how much tea?

by Chip » Aug 22nd, '10, 20:16

This is OUR Official TeaChat TeaTasting Initiative, so get involved! :mrgreen:

I may post questions here and seek advice from members on how to improve future OTTI.

Question 1. How many teas and how much of each tea?

I figure there are pretty many ways to do this, currently we do OTTIs with smaller amounts of 5 different teas +/-. So, a typical OTTI will have around 50 grams of tea leaf. From 1-5 vendors.

Under this method, I endeavor to supply enough leaf for 2 sessions per tea.

Other possible scenarios.
Provide about an ounce (28 grams) of leaf of one tea, maybe 2.

Provide larger (than current) samples of up to 5 teas.

Other?

Please share and discuss. Thanks!

by **Mr. Usaji** » Aug 22nd, '10, 20:29

Re: OTTI Suggestions Topic II, how many and how much tea?

by Mr. Usaji » Aug 22nd, '10, 20:29

I haven't participated in this before, but I just read about how it worked, and I'd like to participate this time. 10 grams of 5 teas sounds like a good amount. If it had to change, I think more, smaller samples is better than fewer, bigger ones, because there's more variety to try.

I think it would be good to focus on very narrow categories and try several very similar teas (like "long jing" rather than "Chinese green"), to get a sense of what a particular "genre" of tea is about.

by **Chip** » Aug 22nd, '10, 20:34

Re: OTTI Suggestions Topic II, how many and how much tea?

by Chip » Aug 22nd, '10, 20:34

Thanks Mr. U! :mrgreen:

Hope you join us in Round 5.

There will be all sorts of possible themes. So there would likely be a Long Jing Round (great idea!) but also a round featuring select types of Chinese Greens, there is room and interest in both ideas ... I think. :mrgreen:

by **nickE** » Aug 22nd, '10, 20:38

Re: OTTI Suggestions Topic II, how many and how much tea?

by nickE » Aug 22nd, '10, 20:38

Having participated in 3 OTTI's so far, I'd agree with Mr. Usaji. Smaller samples are best as I prefer variety over quantity.

Also, more specialized sounds good to me. I'm not really in need of a beginners intro to most teas, but I'd love to see something like Long Jing of different grades, etc.

I'd venture to say that there is no better deal for sampling teas at these quality levels to be had. Great job Chip!

by **woozl** » Aug 22nd, '10, 21:09

Re: OTTI Suggestions Topic II, how many and how much tea?

by woozl » Aug 22nd, '10, 21:09

I agree,
variety trumps volume.
Think of wine tastings,
Flights of one varietal, ie long jing,
or more across the board...as sincha or pu
A great way to broaden the palette.

by **entropyembrace** » Aug 22nd, '10, 21:19

Re: OTTI Suggestions Topic II, how many and how much tea?

by entropyembrace » Aug 22nd, '10, 21:19

I like the current quantity...5 teas to try and enough for 2 sessions with each...just in case the first try at brewing is off.

by **Geekgirl** » Aug 22nd, '10, 22:48

Re: OTTI Suggestions Topic II, how many and how much tea?

by Geekgirl » Aug 22nd, '10, 22:48

Definitely like the "tea flight" approach. The 10g x 5 teas is perfect IMO. I already have brewing vessels appropriate to 5g tasting sessions, and 2 tries is usually enough for me to know if I like the style, or wish to purchase more of a particular tea.

Also, I buy a fair amount of my favorite teas, so I'm not sure how much I'd want to participate if it involved a large(r) quantity (say 30g each) of only one or two teas. Practically speaking, the beauty of tastings is they are low risk. Yeah, per serving they might cost a wee bit more (although 50g for $7-10 is a helluva steal,) but if it's a bust, you're not out much on any single tea.

Looking forward to Round V - the puerh edition. :mrgreen:

Website · by **debunix** » Aug 22nd, '10, 23:17

Re: OTTI Suggestions Topic II, how many and how much tea?

by debunix » Aug 22nd, '10, 23:17

I also would vote for 10g samples of 4-5 teas. At that quantity I can do a couple of the smaller 2-3 g brewings I do most often, get an idea of the sweet spot for each of the teas, and then do at least one head-to-head of 3-4 teas at a time.

At the moment I am so busy working my way through what I have that I have not been signing up for recent rounds, but I hope to participate again in the future. The Round I shincha experience was great.

by **Marco** » Aug 23rd, '10, 15:51

Re: OTTI Suggestions Topic II, how many and how much tea?

by Marco » Aug 23rd, '10, 15:51

Chip you do this one perfect!
5 teas and for 2 sessions each - great.

Lets continue with this path

by **Chesslover** » Aug 23rd, '10, 15:57

Re: OTTI Suggestions Topic II, how many and how much tea?

by Chesslover » Aug 23rd, '10, 15:57

I like it that way too...

by **the_skua** » Aug 24th, '10, 16:29

Re: OTTI Suggestions Topic II, how many and how much tea?

by the_skua » Aug 24th, '10, 16:29

I think it's great right now as it is. I'd take a couple more grams (10g, as opposed to the previous 8g), but don't need any more than that. I'd much rather get to try 5 teas once or twice, than one or two teas multiple times.

by **nickE** » Oct 12th, '10, 14:07

Re: OTTI Suggestions Topic II, how many and how much tea?

by nickE » Oct 12th, '10, 14:07

Somewhat off topic, but I think the aged Puerh OTTI should definitely be during the colder months of the year!

This is when I really start to crave it. :shock:

by **brandon** » Oct 13th, '10, 16:13

Re: OTTI Suggestions Topic II, how many and how much tea?

by brandon » Oct 13th, '10, 16:13

Tasting 5 samples of the exact same style of tea is quite a lot IMO.

At least this time around they were all good.

by **TwoPynts** » Oct 13th, '10, 16:24

Re: OTTI Suggestions Topic II, how many and how much tea?

by TwoPynts » Oct 13th, '10, 16:24

I think the 5 grades of one kind of tea was a great idea, but yes, it helps that they were all good. Perhaps a cooked pu OTTI would be good for the winter months? Or roasted Oolongs...

Facebook · by **Proinsias** » Oct 13th, '10, 22:08

Re: OTTI Suggestions Topic II, how many and how much tea?

by Proinsias » Oct 13th, '10, 22:08

might be nice to have an occasional otti where one, or maybe two, large samples replace the 5 or 6 small ones. There's a lot to be said for getting to know a particular tea, but I can't be bothered saying it.