Weekend TeaDay 9/4-5/10 Mouth brewing?

[Chip]

Greetings TeaChatters to a TeaWeekend. Please share what is in your cup throughout the weekend.

Yesterday we discussed Tea-Morphing. You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.

This weekend's TeaPoll and discussion topic.

In my conversation with some new tea drinkers, I've noticed what prevents them from mug brewing is that they can't bear with having leaves in the same cup they drink from, without having them filtered away. (I advocate mug drinking to new tea drinkers because very often their only alternative is a very big teapot which can kill most greens or oolongs.) It was never a problem for me, because most of the time the tea leaves stay put at the bottom of the cup. Even when one or two float into my mouth, I don't mind.

What do you people think? Do you mind drinking from a mixture of leaves and water, not acceptable, barely acceptable, or no problem at all? Hey Chip can this be a Tea Day question?

So the topic is cup brewing aka "grandpa brewing" where the leaves are loose in the cup as you drink. Do you do it, enjoy it? Does the thought of all the leaves in the cup as you drink bother you? Please share.

Here is the topic on this subject btw. http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=13777

I am looking forward to sharing this TeaWeekend with everyone. Bottoms up!

[entropyembrace]

I don´t brew grandpa style very often but when I do I enjoy it and the leaves in the cup don´t bother me. Only caveat is that the teas I choose to brew this way have to be fairly carefully selected....has to be something that won´t get very bitter or astringent if overbrewed....so Assam definitely not! but a green TKY, Yunnan Gold and most white teas are nice brewed this way in my experience.

[Trey Winston]

I have done it accidentally, and I really didn't enjoy it. I generally dislike seeing as much as a tiny fragment of a leaf in the cup. I really should try to get over myself one of these days.

No tea so far today, but we'll see.

[artmom]

Have done it; don't like it.

No Tea yet this morning.

It's Football Time in Tennessee. Go Vols!

[JRS22]

It's on my list of things to learn about tea. Daniel Ong at Teaspring recommended it for brewing TPHK and included a photo of the leaves standing upright in the glass - beautiful.

I don't mind a bit of tea leaves in with the tea which is interesting - since I've been known to strain the pulp out of my orange juice.

[dooble]

^Heh straining the pulp out of orange juice .

I've done it, and it doesn't bother me at all. Of course you have to use somewhat high quality leaves, small chopped ones wouldn't work.

But, I still prefer using the old fashioned tea pot or at least pouring the tea out from the gaiwan.

Sometimes, very seldom, I also drink straight from the yixing-pot . This is a custom from the olde times of China, at least that's what I've read.

Drinking some medium quality black tea now because I'm not at home.

[Victoria]

I have done it, but I don't often brew it that way.

In my cup a mystery brew, I think it a Darjeeling from Mariage Freres.
I put it in a canister and didn't label it. I remember thinking, "I'll remember what this is." Ha.

[brandon]

Breakfast time! Cinnamon Raisin French Toast, Maple Pork Sausage, Fresh OJ, Fig Compote.



Still sleepy...



And now a plug for the Matt Cha Korean Book Club '10.

http://mattchasblog.blogspot.com/2010/0 ... -club.html

TeaDay is off to a killer start and just heating up with some 1986 Yiwu.

[gingkoseto]

It's interesting to learn what everyone thinks!

I do it all the time for most of my greens and am still testing which oolongs I can brew in this way for lazy tea sessions

[AdamMY]

Todays TeaDay made me realize it has been far to long since I have done this, so receiving a new thermos as part of the Welcoming of new students to my University, I decided to make some Wuyi Yancha grampa style.

[Proinsias]

not often

not brave enough to try the real deal mouth brewing though:
http://www.wikicha.com/index.php/Mouth_Brewing

[appleberry]

I've done it and don't mind the leaves at all. I like watching them in the cup. I never do it though, because most of the teas I like and drink most often get bitter if left too long.

[debunix]

I have done something almost equivalent on occasion: take tea, dump in thermos, add water from 'hot' tap on random source, run, and hope tea ends up drinkable.

I always use the lid of the thermos to filter out as much leaf as I can, though, as I do not enjoy chewing on leaf.

Works ok with some shu puerh, and kukicha.

I can see how this might work ok with a green tea if I was brewing it cool enough to drink pretty quickly, and used very little leaf. But still a bit skeptical.

[Proinsias]

does using a gaiwan count? I do that a little more often and it does make things a little eaiser.

[Seeker]

'Other'. I have enjoyed tea this this way but only a couple of times. I tend to prefer straining my tea after infusing carefully. However I have been told that it is more (& perhaps even most?) common in china to sip straight from the gaiwan, not fussing about infusion time, just enjoy the tea as it evolves in the wan, leaves remaining in the brew.
I've been considering tea this way again lately. Thank you again dear mod for a great question, as a result I will be trying tea this way again.
Cheers.