Bringing out the subtleties in Shengs

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Sep 30th, '12, 05:13
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Bringing out the subtleties in Shengs

by ChengduCha » Sep 30th, '12, 05:13

I found that adding ~1/3 or less of the original amount of dry sheng you put inside your Gaiwan once the taste starts to fade is a great way to taste the subtleties of it, especially when it's still rather bitter.

I use very short infusions after adding the new piece.

I thought that might interest some of you who haven't tried this yet. :)

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Sep 30th, '12, 05:16
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Re: Bringing out the subtleties in Shengs

by jayinhk » Sep 30th, '12, 05:16

I've thought about doing something similar to up the flavor quotient: sounds like it works!

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Sep 30th, '12, 11:17
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Re: Bringing out the subtleties in Shengs

by debunix » Sep 30th, '12, 11:17

I've done this occasionally when I brewed up the thermos full and had some ok but not stellar tea left over after the meeting/event/whatever, but mostly oolongs--can't remember doing it with a young sheng. Will have to play with this idea.

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Re: Bringing out the subtleties in Shengs

by beecrofter » Oct 1st, '12, 11:21

More or less the same approach as grandpa style when you want your tea with minimal fuss.

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Oct 2nd, '12, 03:33
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Re: Bringing out the subtleties in Shengs

by 135F2 » Oct 2nd, '12, 03:33

beecrofter wrote:More or less the same approach as grandpa style when you want your tea with minimal fuss.
What is "grandpa style"?

Oct 2nd, '12, 04:21
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Re: Bringing out the subtleties in Shengs

by ChengduCha » Oct 2nd, '12, 04:21

What is "grandpa style"?
http://www.marshaln.com/whats-grandpa-style/
More or less the same approach as grandpa style when you want your tea with minimal fuss.
It's not grandpa style. I'm not the greatest writer so my description may not sound too clear.

When your tea in a gongfu session loses it's taste you add 1/3 of the original amount of dry tea or less and do short infusions.

In bitter shengs you'll taste less or even no bitterness and just floral aromas or whatever else there is to explore.

Grandpa style you'd just refill a large cup / thermo that contains water and the tea leafs whenever it's water level gets too low. Never tried that so I can't tell you what the result would be.

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Oct 2nd, '12, 04:41
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Re: Bringing out the subtleties in Shengs

by jayinhk » Oct 2nd, '12, 04:41

Yup, I'm not sure why he called what you did grandpa style. Do you rinse the new tea first? I know I would!

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Re: Bringing out the subtleties in Shengs

by ChengduCha » Oct 2nd, '12, 10:58

jayinhk wrote:Yup, I'm not sure why he called what you did grandpa style. Do you rinse the new tea first? I know I would!
I'm not too paranoid about any dirt as boiling water kills all the germs but I still do it for breaking up the cake / taste reasons.

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Re: Bringing out the subtleties in Shengs

by shah82 » Oct 2nd, '12, 13:23

pesticides, man, pesticides.

Tho' I never wash my tea unless I'm sure it's dirty or that it's old cake with probable pesticide and storage issues.

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Oct 2nd, '12, 13:35
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Re: Bringing out the subtleties in Shengs

by jayinhk » Oct 2nd, '12, 13:35

This week I've been doing three rinses: loading the tea first, and then three quick washes with boiling water before infusion one. Yes, pesticide use in China is no joke: even down here in Hong Kong, we get dangerous cocktails of pesticides on our vegetables. It's not worth gambling with anything agricultural coming out of China that you intend to consume: gotta wash it!

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Oct 4th, '12, 13:53
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Re: Bringing out the subtleties in Shengs

by jayinhk » Oct 4th, '12, 13:53

Just added a nice chunk of 20-yr sheng to my Yixing, that has good wet-stored shu I've brewed around 13 times since yesterday. I did two quick washes first. I must say it is very pleasant drinking: definitely better than adding chrysanthemum to shu. They do complement each other very nicely.

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