brewing with korean infuser cups

Made from leaves that have not been oxidized.


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Nov 22nd, '11, 16:13
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brewing with korean infuser cups

by teaisme » Nov 22nd, '11, 16:13

Perhaps I have been a bit too quick to overlook this form of teaware? Somewhere in my head I had the idea that tea made from these things is just not that good (even though I had never tried).

Well I partially take it back now...popped a handful of taiwanese bilochun into the infuser, filled the cup up with water, and very slowly began to immerse the infuser into the cup (gently so water would not overflow out). Did not cover on all infusions. After first brew about 1/2-2/3 of the leaf looked saturated with water. After second steep leaves at top are still dry at the tips. 3rd, 4th, all with pretty good aspects of first infusion that I enjoy so much in this tea....

Usually when I brew this tea I aim for 3 infusions because durability is not that high unless I use a real small pot or pack very heavy. I have never had a 4th steep of this tea that matched the quality produced from this korean cup.

Anyone enjoy using these cups? Have any tips on how to use them. I think filling the cup first then slowly putting infuser in when time is right has benefits that are worth exploring for certain teas (esp the delicate ones).

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Jan 6th, '12, 23:54
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Re: brewing with korean infuser cups

by needaTEAcher » Jan 6th, '12, 23:54

If it is what I am thinking of, then I prefer to pour the water over the leaves, and pull the basket out when finished with the steep. This gets all the leaves wet initially. I will also use a wooden pick (I do not know the proper name for this tool) to push the leaves down and make sure the leaves get mixed as much as possible into the water.

Can you post a photo of your Korean infusion device?

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Jan 9th, '12, 13:38
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Re: brewing with korean infuser cups

by teaisme » Jan 9th, '12, 13:38

sorry I don't post pics :mrgreen:

It looks pretty standard though, green celadon, newer but not the newest ones, has cranes and trees, and pretty thick and heavy

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Jan 10th, '12, 19:27
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Re: brewing with korean infuser cups

by needaTEAcher » Jan 10th, '12, 19:27

Can you post a link to someting similair? Sorry, I'm in Insadong 3 or 4 times a week, and I see tons of different infusion devices, so I am not 100% on exactly what you have.

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Jan 11th, '12, 16:01
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Re: brewing with korean infuser cups

by teaisme » Jan 11th, '12, 16:01

http://www.korean-arts.com/tea_ware/tea ... up_set.htm

Like that except looks like older version, and instead of a wisp of clouds its a tree

These things really hold heat well, though the boazhong that I thought might play well with it did not, bilochun and moa feng brewed great in them

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Jan 11th, '12, 16:11
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Re: brewing with korean infuser cups

by debunix » Jan 11th, '12, 16:11

I have had a couple of these, and found them quite nice for green teas, but impractical for hot-brewed teas (oolongs, puerhs. They're compact and sturdy enough for travel used, but traveling is when I'm most likely to brew hot-water teas, because it's harder to control temps when on the road. So I gave them away, lovely as they were, because they just didn't find as much use as some of my other teaware. It was not easy to part with them, but I figure they were too nice to sit in the back of my cupboard, waiting, waiting, waiting for some use.

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Jan 13th, '12, 02:15
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Re: brewing with korean infuser cups

by needaTEAcher » Jan 13th, '12, 02:15

Ya, that's what I thought you meant. I thought it might have been this one, which is really just a travel gaiwan:
2012-01-13 15.53.25.jpg
2012-01-13 15.53.25.jpg (23.75 KiB) Viewed 1699 times
I stand by what I said above. I had a very similar one, which I LOVED. I kept it at work, and when I had to move rooms it broke (the box it was in broke). :cry:

I just got this one for a 67 baozhong I posted elsewhere. It is 50ish ml. Happy sipping all!

Feb 3rd, '12, 02:23
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Re: brewing with korean infuser cups

by kasey » Feb 3rd, '12, 02:23

I'm not familiar with Korean infusion cups. It sounds like they have fine holes in the infuser basket and not enough of them.
I am very happy with an infusion basket I bought from Teavana online. It's made of stainless steel, has about a million tiny holes and fills up your cup immediately as you pour in the water. Likewise, it drains really fast. Makes a great cuppa tea.

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Feb 4th, '12, 01:28
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Re: brewing with korean infuser cups

by Chip » Feb 4th, '12, 01:28

... ummm, yeah ... but this is a Korean infuser cup topic. :idea:

... and we know you like the Teavana infuser.

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