Am I brewing Shui Xian wrong?

by **Exempt** » Jan 18th, '13, 00:27

Am I brewing Shui Xian wrong?

by Exempt » Jan 18th, '13, 00:27

I have had good luck with all other wuyis and dancongs I've tried, but for some reason I get a vegetal flavor that overtakes the sweet and fruity notes that come out around the 5th steeping in the Shui Xians I've had. I use a gram of tea per 20ml of water. The water is at 208 degrees Fahrenheit and I do infusions starting at around 10 seconds. Is this vegetal flavor typical for Shui Xians or am I doing something wrong?

by **TIM** » Jan 18th, '13, 00:35

Re: Am I brewing Shui Xian wrong?

by TIM » Jan 18th, '13, 00:35

Try doubling the amount of tea?

by **Exempt** » Jan 18th, '13, 01:08

Re: Am I brewing Shui Xian wrong?

by Exempt » Jan 18th, '13, 01:08

TIM wrote:Try doubling the amount of tea?

So for a 60ml teapot I should use 6 grams of tea? That sounds like a lot but I'll give it a try next time.

by **Poohblah** » Jan 18th, '13, 01:15

Re: Am I brewing Shui Xian wrong?

by Poohblah » Jan 18th, '13, 01:15

It's not "a lot" until the wet leaves push the lid off of the pot

by **Exempt** » Jan 18th, '13, 01:16

Re: Am I brewing Shui Xian wrong?

by Exempt » Jan 18th, '13, 01:16

Poohblah wrote:It's not "a lot" until the wet leaves push the lid off of the pot

Alright next time I'll pack in as much tea as I can, haha

by **wyardley** » Jan 18th, '13, 02:12

Re: Am I brewing Shui Xian wrong?

by wyardley » Jan 18th, '13, 02:12

What kind of shui xian is it? Wuyi shuixian? High fire or low fire? Old bush or standard?

I haven't noticed a vegetal flavor exactly in most shuixian that I've tried, but shuixian is not always the most durable tea. It's possible that the tea just isn't that durable. While there are some shuixian that can go quite a while, I do think the initial taste can fade fast with many (especially non-old-bush shuixian). While I understand the urge to push a tea for as many rounds as it can go, I do think there are times where it's better to stop while you're ahead (i.e., when the tea is at its peak). This is very common in orthodox Chaozhou gongfucha. You can still brew the tea in a larger pot later for casual drinking if you don't want to waste leaf.

See this recent post for a bit more about that.
viewtopic.php?p=234916#p234916

Some other random thoughts:

1) The tea may just not be that great,
or
2) You may simply prefer other teas
or
3) You may just need to appreciate the way the tea changes, rather than expect it to keep the same taste you get in the first few infusions.

Last edited by wyardley on Jan 18th, '13, 02:40, edited 1 time in total.

by **Exempt** » Jan 18th, '13, 02:27

Am I brewing Shui Xian wrong?

by Exempt » Jan 18th, '13, 02:27

wyardley wrote:What kind of shui xian is it? Wuyi shuixian? High fire or low fire? Old bush or standard?

It's a standard Wuyi Shui Xian. I'd say its pretty in the middle when it comes it comes to firing, it has a roasty flavor without getting into the smokey range. It's not a particularly special tea, just something to tide me off until my jing order arrives. I figured I'd see if my brewing had anything to do with the flavor or if it was the tea. I'll tray jamming a bunch of tea in the pot tomorrow and see how it goes

by **wyardley** » Jan 18th, '13, 02:41

Re: Am I brewing Shui Xian wrong?

by wyardley » Jan 18th, '13, 02:41

Yeah, sometimes more tea will be better. I would try like 3/4 or a bit more by volume.

by **the_economist** » Jan 23rd, '13, 12:56

Re: Am I brewing Shui Xian wrong?

by the_economist » Jan 23rd, '13, 12:56

i hate it when the vegetal flavour kicks in...more leaf sometimes helps, but much of it is a matter of the tea base.

by **chado.my.teaway** » Jan 23rd, '13, 13:27

Re: Am I brewing Shui Xian wrong?

by chado.my.teaway » Jan 23rd, '13, 13:27

I think, the problem is not in quantity but in quality. Maybe you have Fenghuang SX. Thats old SX or young? And U dont know where it from? But if you dont feel the fruity knows i think that is old SX. with earthy notes.

by **jayinhk** » Feb 19th, '13, 01:37

Re: Am I brewing Shui Xian wrong?

by jayinhk » Feb 19th, '13, 01:37

For the record I don't drink any SX past infusion four or so, and I drink a lot of SX!

by **Teaism** » Feb 19th, '13, 11:31

Re: Am I brewing Shui Xian wrong?

by Teaism » Feb 19th, '13, 11:31

jayinhk wrote:For the record I don't drink any SX past infusion four or so, and I drink a lot of SX!

I am quite close, I squeeze the best out in 3 and run on 4.

by **gasninja** » Feb 19th, '13, 11:56

Re: Am I brewing Shui Xian wrong?

by gasninja » Feb 19th, '13, 11:56

Poohblah wrote:It's not "a lot" until the wet leaves push the lid off of the pot

I think you meant to say its not Enough until the wet leaves push the lid off the pot :wink:

by **TIM** » Feb 19th, '13, 21:03

Re: Am I brewing Shui Xian wrong?

by TIM » Feb 19th, '13, 21:03

jayinhk wrote:For the record I don't drink any SX past infusion four or so, and I drink a lot of SX!

Please don't drink DHP or Old Bush SX, the tea fairy will kick you in the head in your dream. :lol:

by **JakubT** » Feb 20th, '13, 11:49

Re: Am I brewing Shui Xian wrong?

by JakubT » Feb 20th, '13, 11:49

Exempt wrote:
wyardley wrote:What kind of shui xian is it? Wuyi shuixian? High fire or low fire? Old bush or standard?

It's a standard Wuyi Shui Xian. I'd say its pretty in the middle when it comes it comes to firing, it has a roasty flavor without getting into the smokey range. It's not a particularly special tea, just something to tide me off until my jing order arrives. I figured I'd see if my brewing had anything to do with the flavor or if it was the tea. I'll tray jamming a bunch of tea in the pot tomorrow and see how it goes

I guess that ordinary Shui Xian has problems more often than not. I can not remember a "middle" Shui Xian which would be too good for more than 3-4 steepings (well, mostly not even that).