When one is using these porcelain competition sets to compare different teas than maybe a using a scale is useful, but that is hardly optimizing the flavor of the tea.debunix wrote:You shouldn't need a scale for every session, but when you're trying to compare tea brewing parameters, it's a lot more accurate than trying to eyeball the proportion of the tea vessel you're filling with a tea. Is 80% full meaning to 80% of the height of the vessel brim? for a gaiwan that gets wider as it gets taller, that measure isn't the same as 80% of the volume. Is 80% full to the rim where the lid fits, or the edge of the rim? A scale lets you weigh the tea and the water, the easiest way to be sure you're talking about the same thing.theredbaron wrote:I agree that scales should be put away when enjoying tea
I find that a scale is still very misleading, especially when purely enjoying tea. Every pot/vessel is slightly different, and does different things to the tea. Different tea pots are more suitable to different teas, depending on clay, age of the pot, shape of the pot, thickness of the walls, etc. One has to get to know any particular tea as it brews in the best available pot, water, etc., and has to make adjustments accordingly. It takes time and effort to get to know a tea, and how it reacts to the many different factors that influence the tea, and what the tea does to you.
Sitting there with a scale, a watch and a thermometer will not result in the best possible pot of tea - it will only result in what these tools are made for: an attempt of a standardized cup of tea, which more often than not is not the optimum.