Steeping time for whole leafs

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Oct 23rd, '10, 06:27
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Steeping time for whole leafs

by skilfautdire » Oct 23rd, '10, 06:27

Would an oolong made exclusively of whole leaves require a longer steeping than one made from broken, chopped leaves ? Also, are such oolongs made from whole leaves much more expensive ? - Thanks.

Oct 23rd, '10, 12:11
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Re: Steeping time for whole leafs

by Sirwill » Oct 23rd, '10, 12:11

Whole leaf teas definitely require a longer steeping time compared to a broken leaf tea. A longer steeping time allows the tea to impart its full flavor into the water.
As far as price goes, if you look on the internet or even some local tea shops you can find pretty good deals on whole leaf tea. Also, whole leaf tea is more economical because of multiple steepings!

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Oct 23rd, '10, 12:15
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Re: Steeping time for whole leafs

by debunix » Oct 23rd, '10, 12:15

skilfautdire wrote:Would an oolong made exclusively of whole leaves require a longer steeping than one made from broken, chopped leaves ?
I don't think I've ever seen an oolong made from broken, chopped leaves.

I've seen plenty of oolong leaves that, as they unfurl, reveal edges that are irregular and plenty of tiny bits that are the crumbled edges accumulate at the bottom of my cup, but have never seen on composed of deliberately chopped leaves--nothing like a CTC black tea.

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Oct 23rd, '10, 13:35
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Re: Steeping time for whole leafs

by entropyembrace » Oct 23rd, '10, 13:35

When I was first starting with tea I had some very chopped oolong....it looked like it was harvested with a lawn mower :lol:

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Oct 23rd, '10, 14:20
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Re: Steeping time for whole leafs

by debunix » Oct 23rd, '10, 14:20

Like a sencha?

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Oct 23rd, '10, 14:31
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Re: Steeping time for whole leafs

by entropyembrace » Oct 23rd, '10, 14:31

debunix wrote:Like a sencha?
yeah, but it was brown like houjicha

it was supposed to be wuyi oolong.

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Oct 23rd, '10, 16:45
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Re: Steeping time for whole leafs

by debunix » Oct 23rd, '10, 16:45

entropyembrace wrote:it was supposed to be wuyi oolong.
Surreal.

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Oct 25th, '10, 20:16
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Re: Steeping time for whole leafs

by Leo_Blue » Oct 25th, '10, 20:16

entropyembrace wrote:When I was first starting with tea I had some very chopped oolong....it looked like it was harvested with a lawn mower :lol:
I had a green tea that said "Green Tea" on the label when I was first starting out... I think it was supposed to be sencha, but wow was it awful. And it looked much like what you described. Just like lawn clippings. In fact the taste was much like what fresh mowed lawn smells like... plus a TON of bitterness.

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Nov 1st, '10, 05:57
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Re: Steeping time for whole leafs

by skilfautdire » Nov 1st, '10, 05:57

debunix wrote:I don't think I've ever seen an oolong made from broken, chopped leaves. I've seen plenty of oolong leaves that, as they unfurl, reveal edges that are irregular and plenty of tiny bits that are the crumbled edges accumulate at the bottom of my cup, but have never seen on composed of deliberately chopped leaves--nothing like a CTC black tea.
This is a tea I was given from someone. And so, it is a Tenfu box of TGY and Bi Luo Chun. One of those boxes, to paraphrase Terry Gilliam in "Time Bandits" that looks like the most fabulous object in the world. Complete with satin-like inside presentation and magnetized closing tabs. To me the leaves do not look whole. Maybe I should actually spread them, but here are they look like.
tenfutea1.jpg
tenfutea1.jpg (33.02 KiB) Viewed 1133 times
tenfutea2.jpg
tenfutea2.jpg (43.21 KiB) Viewed 1133 times

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Nov 1st, '10, 15:25
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Re: Steeping time for whole leafs

by TwoPynts » Nov 1st, '10, 15:25

Ya gotta love someone who quotes from Time Bandits. :lol:
Yep, those certainly don't appear to be whole leaves.

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