Welcome one and all to TeaDay. You are invited to stop in and share what is in your cup throughout the day.
Yesterday we discussed "sweet spots" and how we find them. You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.
Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic. 2010 coming to a close, but have you become more of a TeaExperimentor in brewing of teas (finding those sweet spots) this year? Please share!
I am looking forward to sharing this TeaDay with everyone. Bottoms up.
Dec 29th, '10, 01:10
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Dec 29th, '10, 01:17
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Re: Wednesday TeaDay 12/29/10 2010, TeaExperimentor?
Thank you very much, Chip!Chip wrote:Happiest of Birthday wishes to Nenugal!
About tea experimentation, since I just started drinking tea seriously this summer, I still mostly rely on hints on how to find the sweet spot, but I have also lately started to enjoy experimenting, and feel a bit more confident about improvising...
Re: Wednesday TeaDay 12/29/10 2010, TeaExperimentor?
I want to do an experiment, but I feel a bit lost. You can't help but hearing "those used tea leaves are great for composting!"
Well, this sounds painless enough. I produce a prodigious amount of used tea leaves in a week.
But now what? Put them in a bin indoors, does it have to be a special bin? Some have filters and hold only 1 gallon of carrot peels or something silly.
Does one need to add worms and/or bacteria and/or fungi?
Well, this sounds painless enough. I produce a prodigious amount of used tea leaves in a week.
But now what? Put them in a bin indoors, does it have to be a special bin? Some have filters and hold only 1 gallon of carrot peels or something silly.
Does one need to add worms and/or bacteria and/or fungi?
Re: Wednesday TeaDay 12/29/10 2010, TeaExperimentor?
My other experiment: 'designing' water.
Most filters remove impuriteas from your tap water and reduce the dissolved solids slightly, but not much. They are not effective at all in turning hard tap water into soft tea water.
So I just got a 'Zero Water' filter to play with. It is very slow, but effective at removing all solids from water. Really reads 0 TDS.
Towards the design bit, I am mixing in water from a Pur filter until TDS reads around 40. (Matches the current standard, Poland Spring).
By itself, my water doesn't taste as good as the PS yet, but it is making pretty decent tea, much better than normal filtered tap. The 0 TDS water for regular drinking tastes better than the mix, I might try a different brand of filter, or Concentrace, for bringing up the TDS.
In earlier experiments I think Concentrace gives a very artificial taste at a very low concentration (few tiny drops).
I have also tested a Mavea filter recently, it also makes very good water but is too soft / low in minerals for many teas.
Most filters remove impuriteas from your tap water and reduce the dissolved solids slightly, but not much. They are not effective at all in turning hard tap water into soft tea water.
So I just got a 'Zero Water' filter to play with. It is very slow, but effective at removing all solids from water. Really reads 0 TDS.
Towards the design bit, I am mixing in water from a Pur filter until TDS reads around 40. (Matches the current standard, Poland Spring).
By itself, my water doesn't taste as good as the PS yet, but it is making pretty decent tea, much better than normal filtered tap. The 0 TDS water for regular drinking tastes better than the mix, I might try a different brand of filter, or Concentrace, for bringing up the TDS.
In earlier experiments I think Concentrace gives a very artificial taste at a very low concentration (few tiny drops).
I have also tested a Mavea filter recently, it also makes very good water but is too soft / low in minerals for many teas.
Dec 29th, '10, 10:14
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Re: Wednesday TeaDay 12/29/10 2010, TeaExperimentor?
More of a TeaExperimentor for certain! I mean, I tried !greens! 
Brandon, my parents were great gardeners. They just dumped the tea leaves in around different plants and scratched the soil a little. They didn't put them in a compost pile. Hope that helps.
Brandon, my parents were great gardeners. They just dumped the tea leaves in around different plants and scratched the soil a little. They didn't put them in a compost pile. Hope that helps.
Re: Wednesday TeaDay 12/29/10 2010, TeaExperimentor?
Well, 2010 was my year of getting into great loose leaf teas, so i would say that without a doubt, I've become more of a teaExperimentor this year!
My cuppa is Ooooh Darjeeling this morning.
My cuppa is Ooooh Darjeeling this morning.
Dec 29th, '10, 10:49
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Re: Wednesday TeaDay 12/29/10 2010, TeaExperimentor?
Same here--this last year I've really been tasting everything I could get my hands on, and finding out more likes and dislikes. Can't say I'm a real expert at brewing yet (still have too much of a tendency to wander off and forget how long my tea's been steeping!), but hopefully I'm getting better ....
Coconut-roasted pouchong again today--no point in going with anything more subtle when recovering from a cold ....
Coconut-roasted pouchong again today--no point in going with anything more subtle when recovering from a cold ....
Re: Wednesday TeaDay 12/29/10 2010, TeaExperimentor?
I wish I could say I have been a teaExperimentor this past year but I have not. I have been brewing the same way I did last year without too much experimenting. Well I did experiement a little with drinking yancha cooler than usual but that was all. My new years resolution should be to do more tea experiments 
rou gui again this morning.
rou gui again this morning.
Re: Wednesday TeaDay 12/29/10 2010, TeaExperimentor?
This has been a great year for me for experimenting and finding teas I love and their "sweet spots" for brewing, thanks to Tea Chat. And of course, I participated in all but one of the OTTI's, which is TeaExperimenting at its finest.
In my cup this morning, Huang Shan Mao Feng AAA and Bai Hao Yin Zhen, both from Jing Tea Shop. In the spirit of experimentation I'm going to do a comparison of the JTS Bai Hao Yin Zhen with the same tea from Seven Cups.
In my cup this morning, Huang Shan Mao Feng AAA and Bai Hao Yin Zhen, both from Jing Tea Shop. In the spirit of experimentation I'm going to do a comparison of the JTS Bai Hao Yin Zhen with the same tea from Seven Cups.
Dec 29th, '10, 12:33
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Re: Wednesday TeaDay 12/29/10 2010, TeaExperimentor?
Experimenting this morning with a gift tea, a small quantity of gyokuro from my local chinese tea shop. I was quite skeptical of it when I first brewed it, but this morning, brewing it instead of my usual sencha, it's pleasant and mellowly vegetal, and not particularly briny--which is something I generally dislike in my tea. Nice. It will not be composted or fed to the worms!
Dec 29th, '10, 18:33
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Re: Wednesday TeaDay 12/29/10 2010, TeaExperimentor?
JRS22 wrote:This has been a great year for me for experimenting and finding teas I love and their "sweet spots" for brewing, thanks to Tea Chat. And of course, I participated in all but one of the OTTI's, which is TeaExperimenting at its finest.
OTTI has been a grand experiment for many of us! Myself included. I relied heavily on advice from member/vendors in the realm of pu-erh and TGY. And much less in the realm of the Japanese greens ... where I gave more advice than I received. Dec 29th, '10, 18:39
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Re: Wednesday TeaDay 12/29/10 2010, TeaExperimentor?
Interesting TD filled with some newly arrived tea.
Also had an O-Cha organic teabag in a German eatery with the Mrs. that served hundreds of types of beers and 1 tea. Fortunately, the server was kind enough to not make me buy the crappy teabag tea and offered hot water.
While at the mall, visited a new Teavana (3 months old) and "donated" some money to the Teavana Corp. in exchange for some Washi canisters ... sans tea!
Also had an O-Cha organic teabag in a German eatery with the Mrs. that served hundreds of types of beers and 1 tea. Fortunately, the server was kind enough to not make me buy the crappy teabag tea and offered hot water.
While at the mall, visited a new Teavana (3 months old) and "donated" some money to the Teavana Corp. in exchange for some Washi canisters ... sans tea!
Dec 29th, '10, 23:20
Posts: 475
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Location: Albany, NY; New York City, NY; or Bath, ME
Re: Wednesday TeaDay 12/29/10 2010, TeaExperimentor?
I'm pretty sure I've experimented more with brewing, many thanks to the things I've learned on this forum!
Rose congou this morning and afternoon; followed that with some rose sencha, which I'm currently brewing more of.
Rose congou this morning and afternoon; followed that with some rose sencha, which I'm currently brewing more of.
Dec 30th, '10, 00:28
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Re: Wednesday TeaDay 12/29/10 2010, TeaExperimentor?
Although I mentioned yesteday that I rarely will trust brewing parameters that are far off from what I'm used to for a general class of tea, if my 'usual' starting point does not please, I am more likely to experiment to see if I can get something better.
Today, after the gyokuro start, enjoying some Menghai '07 golden needles that just comes out nice no matter what I do with it. No experiment required to get delicious infusion after infusion. The only experiments have been trying to find less risky ways to break up the very dense brick of the stuff.
Today, after the gyokuro start, enjoying some Menghai '07 golden needles that just comes out nice no matter what I do with it. No experiment required to get delicious infusion after infusion. The only experiments have been trying to find less risky ways to break up the very dense brick of the stuff.