Leaving leaves for extended time during gongfu

[Alex]

Lets say you bust out 3-4 brew and then head out for a few hours. When you get home and want tea do you.......

-write those leaves off
-jump straight back in with a brew
-re-wash the leaves and carry on.
-come home and smash the whole house up in a massive rage for no reason.

[Proinsias]

keep on brewing

when done cover in boiling water and leave as a starter for the next tea

[TwoPynts]

I just carry on, though if I leave the leaves overnight, a hot rinse may be in order.

[tingjunkie]

Depends on the tea of course. After only 3-4 infusions of most teas, I'd hit it with a very quick rinse of boiling water, then carry on as normal.

Once I get up to infusions over 20 minutes, I will even put room temp water in the pot/gaiwan to brew overnight, and drink it in the morning. I'll then fill the pot again, drink it that evening, go back to boiling water for 2 hour infusions that night, and repeat the whole process. I've had some teas go for 5-6 days like that, but that's rare. Many good sheng puerhs and roasted/aged oolongs will give me at least 2-3 nights of brewing before I toss the leaves. I think this process of 8+ hour brews helps to season the pot as well.

[tortoise]

Depends on the tea of course. After only 3-4 infusions of most teas, I'd hit it with a very quick rinse of boiling water, then carry on as normal.

Once I get up to infusions over 20 minutes, I will even put room temp water in the pot/gaiwan to brew overnight, and drink it in the morning. I'll then fill the pot again, drink it that evening, go back to boiling water for 2 hour infusions that night, and repeat the whole process. I've had some teas go for 5-6 days like that, but that's rare. Many good sheng puerhs and roasted/aged oolongs will give me at least 2-3 nights of brewing before I toss the leaves. I think this process of 8+ hour brews helps to season the pot as well.

This is a helpful response. I just realized I posted the exact same question. Sorry for the redundancy.

[RaynBeatle]

Keep on brewing.

[theory]

I like this choice best:

come home and smash the whole house up in a massive rage for no reason.

Its a good question - I guess I would try another brew or two to see how its going, but it really depends on a lot of other factors.

[Alex]

I think what I'm finding myself is that say I leave it 1 hour. The remaining water on the leaves just turns in to over brewed tea and although it gets concentrated down into the mix on the subsequent brew I can sense the tangy stale edge if I dont rinse them.

The other question would be, would it be best to pop the lid of the vessel off?

On one hand if you take the lid off the leaves would cool but they would be exposed to more air.

on the other if you leave the lid on they'll cook a little?

Or maybe its best to leave the lid of till they cool a little then pop it back on? I'm just thinking out loud here so some one probably needs to digitally slap me in the chops.

[tingjunkie]

I think what I'm finding myself is that say I leave it 1 hour. The remaining water on the leaves just turns in to over brewed tea and although it gets concentrated down into the mix on the subsequent brew I can sense the tangy stale edge if I dont rinse them.

Either rinse them quickly with boiling water when you come back, or put cold water in, and let them cold brew for the hour or two you are gone. Either way should work.

I too have bad results when the leaves are not in water for extended periods of time, so I prefer the cold brew method myself.

[britt]

If I knew I was going out, I'd just brew some the conventional way and dump the leaves before I left. If not, I wouldn't hesitate to use the same ones when I returned. I have left oolong leaves in an Yixing overnight and they've been fine to use as-is the next morning. Japanese tea would be dumped and new leaves added, but oolongs seem to be very forgiving in this regard.

[whatsinaname]

I routinely leave my tea in the gaiwan overnight and continue to resteep the following day.

And, I'm just fine (...twitch...).

[noname]

Depends on the tea of course. After only 3-4 infusions of most teas, I'd hit it with a very quick rinse of boiling water, then carry on as normal.

Once I get up to infusions over 20 minutes, I will even put room temp water in the pot/gaiwan to brew overnight, and drink it in the morning. I'll then fill the pot again, drink it that evening, go back to boiling water for 2 hour infusions that night, and repeat the whole process. I've had some teas go for 5-6 days like that, but that's rare. Many good sheng puerhs and roasted/aged oolongs will give me at least 2-3 nights of brewing before I toss the leaves. I think this process of 8+ hour brews helps to season the pot as well.

LOL ))) I am sure there is nothing wrong with that strategy, but it sounds disgusting.
Anyhow if by a a single brew you are referring to a filled up gaiwan then I rarely have just 3 brews. My gaiwan takes three steeps to fill the pot that i use to pour. And i usually drink two pots so that 6 steeps. So if i leave to go to work/run an errand and come back a few hours later I would just toss the leaves. After 6 brews there is hardly any nutritious value remaining in the tea especially considering the time that leaves have been sitting around wet. I actually read somewhere that its not very healthy to keep re-steeping the same tea once its been sitting around for some time.

[rabbit]

Depends on the tea, most I use up in that session, if it's good enough or I run out of time I give them a quick rinse (mostly just to heat up the pot and leaves again) and keep brewing, even over night.

And I tend to leave the cover off.