How do YOU brew?

White and yellow teas are among the most subtle.


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Jan 14th, '14, 01:00
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How do YOU brew?

by MrEffendi » Jan 14th, '14, 01:00

Salaam, ya'll! Greetings from the swamps of backwoods Florida. I've been on a yellow tea kick lately. I usually brew my yellows exactly how I would brew regular greens and the results are strong, but palatable. Tonight I experimented by brewing as I would brew a gyokuro. Lots of leaf, relatively LOW temperature. The results were outstanding. It was an absolute sugar fest- extremely sweet, fruit notes instead of vegetable, with no astringency. Anyone else try brewing their yellows as if they were gyokuro?

Funny story: I presented the brew to my neighbor Bubba (a good 'ole boy). his reaction: this is delicious! Don't dare tell anyone that I liked it.

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Jan 15th, '14, 05:06
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Re: How do YOU brew?

by miig » Jan 15th, '14, 05:06

Hehe thats interesting. I'm not so keen on yellows but I like Yin Zhen a lot, which I consider quite similar.
I do the opposite: Instead of the recommended 70-80°C, i often use more than 90° because I find that the tea is handling these temperatures quite well and develops a more defined character. Mostly i do it in a kind of gong fu-light style, in a relatively small kyusu with more leaves, and start by 80°, then raising the temperatures during subsequent infusions more and more... this works really well for me.

The other method of using a lot of tea and quite cold water is very interesting, i'll try that the next time i get YZ!

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Jan 15th, '14, 08:34
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Re: How do YOU brew?

by JRS22 » Jan 15th, '14, 08:34

I have some yellow tea languishing in my tea cabinet because I've never been able to brew it to my satisfaction. I think I'll try the gyokuro method (140*) first, and then what I'll call my yancha method (195*).

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Jan 15th, '14, 23:28
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How do YOU brew?

by amaranto » Jan 15th, '14, 23:28

I also found that some yellow teas work well at lower temperatures. I just throw a few leaves in a gaiwan and keep refilling.

Jan 21st, '14, 22:00
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Re: How do YOU brew?

by ClarG » Jan 21st, '14, 22:00

I experiment. I will see what a white/yellow tea is like at a higher temperature like a green tea, and a lower one too.

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Jan 23rd, '14, 00:42
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Re: How do YOU brew?

by chrl42 » Jan 23rd, '14, 00:42

yellow tea is among the most subtle, and delicate to brew.

I use a Gaiwan or super-thin Zhuni, at a very lower temp, too.

Aug 6th, '14, 05:26
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Re: How do YOU brew?

by Bok » Aug 6th, '14, 05:26

The most delicious white tea I ever had, was brewed in a large bowl (like a flat rice bowl) and after infusion time laddled in a gaibei with a chinese spoon and from there to the cups. Suggested by a teamaster who was present. Low temperature as well. But the person who brews needs to be quick with the spoon, not so easy…

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