Friday TeaDay 2/11/11 Vendor brewing suggestions?

BYOT! Enter TeaChat here, you never know what you may find!


Much discussion over the ages on this topic. Do you ever follow vendor suggestions for brewing? Please share your thoughts on this ...

Yes, all the time
0
No votes
Yes, occasionally
3
9%
Yes, at least try it their way
13
37%
Maybe
8
23%
Not too often
1
3%
Rarely
4
11%
Virtually never
5
14%
Other
1
3%
 
Total votes: 35

User avatar
Feb 11th, '11, 00:24
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Been thanked: 2 times

Friday TeaDay 2/11/11 Vendor brewing suggestions?

by Chip » Feb 11th, '11, 00:24

Greetings TeaFriends. Welcome to a new and great TeaDay. We hope you will enjoy much tea and share it with us throughout the day.

Yesterday we discussed the ratio of good brews to botched brews. You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.

Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic. Much discussion over the ages on this topic. Do you ever follow vendor suggestions for brewing? Please share your thoughts on this. Thanks to Mrs. Chip for this idea.

We are all looking forward to sharing this TeaDay with everyone. Bottoms up!

User avatar
Feb 11th, '11, 01:03
Posts: 2000
Joined: Mar 3rd, '09, 17:18

Re: Friday TeaDay 2/11/11 Vendor brewing suggestions?

by entropyembrace » Feb 11th, '11, 01:03

I rarely pay attention to the vendors brewing recomendations...though I used them a bit with some of O-cha´s senchas when I was starting with sencha this summer.

Feb 11th, '11, 01:05
Posts: 1634
Joined: May 24th, '10, 00:30
Location: Malaysia

Re: Friday TeaDay 2/11/11 Vendor brewing suggestions?

by auhckw » Feb 11th, '11, 01:05

>Yes, at least try it their way

At least try... then improvise according to my taste preference :lol:

User avatar
Feb 11th, '11, 01:08
Posts: 468
Joined: Aug 6th, '10, 03:45
Location: Norway

Re: Friday TeaDay 2/11/11 Vendor brewing suggestions?

by Nenugal » Feb 11th, '11, 01:08

I try following brewing suggestions from trustworthy shops like teaspring and o-cha if I consider them reasonable. Otherwise I improvise.
Last edited by Nenugal on Feb 11th, '11, 02:22, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Feb 11th, '11, 01:41
Posts: 3348
Joined: Feb 8th, '08, 02:10
Location: France

Re: Friday TeaDay 2/11/11 Vendor brewing suggestions?

by olivierco » Feb 11th, '11, 01:41

Virtually never but I sometimes try brewing suggestions from teachat members.

Golden needles this morning.

Feb 11th, '11, 02:19

Re: Friday TeaDay 2/11/11 Vendor brewing suggestions?

by brlarson » Feb 11th, '11, 02:19

I usually try the vendors brewing suggestions at least once if the vendor is reputable. Sometimes they're way off and sometimes they're spot on.

Finished the evening with tencha from Hibiki-an. I love the nose of this tea.

User avatar
Feb 11th, '11, 03:52
Posts: 27
Joined: Jan 16th, '11, 14:41
Scrolling: fixed
Location: Wales
Contact: el gringo

Re: Friday TeaDay 2/11/11 Vendor brewing suggestions?

by el gringo » Feb 11th, '11, 03:52

It really depends on how well I know that type of tea. In my limited experience the recommended temps have never been too far off, but the steeping times have tended to be way too long for my tastes; maybe I just like my tea quite weak :?

User avatar
Feb 11th, '11, 05:37
Posts: 509
Joined: Oct 8th, '10, 06:59
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Germany

Re: Friday TeaDay 2/11/11 Vendor brewing suggestions?

by Stentor » Feb 11th, '11, 05:37

Only with teas (types of teas) that are new to me. Even then I usually try to find posts regarding brewing that tea here on TeaChat. I usually do not agree that much with the vendor's suggestions.
Also, I pretty much always preheat my brewing vessel and since you never know if the vendor takes this into account or not, the suggested temperature is usually the parameter I disagree with the most.

With known teas I only "follow" the instructions if they happen to coincide with what I would do anyway. :)

User avatar
Feb 11th, '11, 06:08
Posts: 1796
Joined: Sep 15th, '09, 16:11
Location: Wilton, New Hampshire USA
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: Friday TeaDay 2/11/11 Vendor brewing suggestions?

by JBaymore » Feb 11th, '11, 06:08

I sometimes try it thier way....just to see.

best,

..............john

User avatar
Feb 11th, '11, 08:46
Posts: 673
Joined: Sep 1st, '10, 00:08
Location: Northwest Louisiana

Re: Friday TeaDay 2/11/11 Vendor brewing suggestions?

by tortoise » Feb 11th, '11, 08:46

Maybe...depending on if I have experience with the tea or the vendor. Some vendors I know use boilerplate instructions that are the same for nearly every tea they sell. I never try it their way. If I am new to the tea/vendor, I may give there instructions a shot...maybe.

Irish breakfast this chilly morning.

User avatar
Feb 11th, '11, 09:05
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: Friday TeaDay 2/11/11 Vendor brewing suggestions?

by Chip » Feb 11th, '11, 09:05

Rarely, I guess after a decade of really crazy brewing instructions, I had pretty much gave up on them.

WORST BREWING DIRECTIONS AWARD goes to RoT (republic of tea) who on their tin directed boiling water for 3-5 minutes for my first green tea (12 years ago). I went so far as to call them, and the CS person said bitter is a sign of a good tea! :shock: Somehow I figured it out on my own.

Fortunately we are seeing better brewing directions from vendors these days.

Thing is, I do understand it is difficult to offer the right directions that are universal for all drinkers. But they should at least be in the ballpark and for the actual tea in the package.

User avatar
Feb 11th, '11, 09:32
Posts: 319
Joined: Dec 29th, '09, 14:28
Location: Cazenovia, NY

Re: Friday TeaDay 2/11/11 Vendor brewing suggestions?

by GreenwoodStudio » Feb 11th, '11, 09:32

The brewing suggestions always seem really different then what I've read here on TeaChat. I'm having some Keemun now that I just brewed up in my new gaiwan. I did a quick rinse, and then a couple of 5 sec. infusions and it's great. The directions say to do 3-5 min. using boiling water, yuck.

As a side note, I went to Teavana the other day in Buffalo, NY to see what they had. No one there had ever heard of a gaiwan. In fact, I don't think they believed me that such a thing existed :) It was weird.

User avatar
Feb 11th, '11, 10:34
Posts: 776
Joined: Jul 9th, '10, 11:17
Location: Florida
Been thanked: 2 times
Contact: TwoPynts

Re: Friday TeaDay 2/11/11 Vendor brewing suggestions?

by TwoPynts » Feb 11th, '11, 10:34

I always at least try it the vendor's suggest way once. If that doesn't work, I go with my gut.

Brandon's 8582 from the OTTI about to go into the pot today.

User avatar
Feb 11th, '11, 12:28
Posts: 722
Joined: Dec 1st, '09, 08:47
Location: Tennessee Foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains
Contact: artmom

Re: Friday TeaDay 2/11/11 Vendor brewing suggestions?

by artmom » Feb 11th, '11, 12:28

JBaymore wrote:I sometimes try it thier way....just to see.

best,

..............john
+1 :D

User avatar
Feb 11th, '11, 15:12
Posts: 136
Joined: Dec 15th, '08, 11:15
Location: Indiana

Re: Friday TeaDay 2/11/11 Vendor brewing suggestions?

by ErikaM » Feb 11th, '11, 15:12

That question made me laugh. I'm having flashbacks of some of the crazier brewing instructions I've seen.

I voted maybe, depends on how crazy the suggestions are.

Locked