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May 20th, '14, 11:22
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Am I being Silly?

by TimsMom » May 20th, '14, 11:22

I am sort of a gadget person. I saw a pocket tea scale on line- is it worth buying? My other one doesn't measure grams well.

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May 20th, '14, 11:34
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Re: Am I being Silly?

by Poseidon » May 20th, '14, 11:34

Absolutely not.(are you being silly) I, too, like to weigh out my tea. I think it is good practice when you are first starting with loose leaf because 5 grams of puerh does not look like 5 grams of white tea or green tea! I say go for it!
Last edited by Poseidon on May 20th, '14, 13:54, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Am I being Silly?

by Chip » May 20th, '14, 12:02

I am moving this topic to Teaware and Accessories where it will be more at home.

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May 20th, '14, 13:08
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Re: Am I being Silly?

by yalokinh » May 20th, '14, 13:08

I have one, and I only use it when I am definitely not sure how much tea I'm weighing. If I drink a certain tea often, I weigh it out and then try to remember how much a certain weight looks, in future sessions I don't need the scale.

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May 20th, '14, 13:17
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Re: Am I being Silly?

by Chip » May 20th, '14, 13:17

I use mine daily, even after many years of drinking loose leaf tea. For Japanese greens for me, I enjoy refining the parameters quantitatively and finding the sweet spot that way. Once I find the sweet spot, I will still use the scale ... and electronic digital thermometer, etc.

This will not be a unanimous issue on TeaChat and the topic of whether to use or not use a scale has become more heated than ... boiling water at times. It is a personal choice, preference.

I understand that some would prefer to not and being more in touch with their tea on a fully natural way.

Brew how you like, like how you brew.

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May 20th, '14, 13:50
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Re: Am I being Silly?

by Poseidon » May 20th, '14, 13:50

I tend to use a scale and thermometer for everything but Oolong tea. I just cover the bottom of the brewing vessle and use boiling water. Gong fu brewing takes away words like exact and replace them with feel.

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May 20th, '14, 21:59
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Re: Am I being Silly?

by gongfutea » May 20th, '14, 21:59

I use a digital scale daily . My teacher just gave me a new one the other day that was more accurate. I think it is important to weigh your tea so you can find the right balance of water and tea .Just remember it's a tool you can use to make life a little easier and hopefully your tea taste a little sweeter . :D

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Re: Am I being Silly?

by MEversbergII » May 21st, '14, 09:09

I use a scale for when I'm brewing in pots. If I'm using my infusion mug, I don't. Much like Chip, I use my tools even when I've "got it", though I tend not to use my thermometer much lately.

M.

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May 21st, '14, 10:58
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Re: Am I being Silly?

by jayinhk » May 21st, '14, 10:58

I only ever weigh tea when I'm packaging some up for someone else! With my regular teas I can pretty accurately eyeball the amount I want, and I raise or lower the amount I use depending on my mood.

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May 21st, '14, 16:58
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Re: Am I being Silly?

by PaddyB » May 21st, '14, 16:58

jayinhk wrote:With my regular teas I can pretty accurately eyeball the amount I want, and I raise or lower the amount I use depending on my mood.
Same here! I never really felt the need to weigh my tea, even though I see the appeal. I just allways use the same wooden scoop and try to remember how much it was. Also, I feel like adding another piece of technology into tea brewing "ritual" would somehow ruin the moment (even wrist watch for measuring time can take from feeling of timelesness).
I do not claim that I allways manage to choose the right amount that way. I often make my cup slightly weaker or stronger than I would like, but I don't mind that too much.

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May 22nd, '14, 04:02
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Re: Am I being Silly?

by Alex » May 22nd, '14, 04:02

To the OP buy one and try it!

For me I don't like them for a couple of reasons. One I'm a bit of a minimalist. And two I like to change the amount based on mood and feel. I eye ball the amount I need for any given moment and get amazing tea that's a little different each time but fitting for the way I'm feeling.

As with all things though give it a try both ways and see which you prefer.

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May 22nd, '14, 09:09
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Re: Am I being Silly?

by TimsMom » May 22nd, '14, 09:09

I use my thermometer with every brewing; I got it too hot the other day...never had tasted scorched tea before ;-( .

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May 23rd, '14, 13:08
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Am I being Silly?

by mcrdotcom » May 23rd, '14, 13:08

I would say buy it! I weight tea if I haven't drank it in a while and I can't remember how much was what. Rolled oolong as a rule just forms a single or double layer on the bottom of my vessel, but other than that I'd weight out the first few times I try the tea at least.

I especially do it for Japanese Greens and compressed teas like Puerh because I find them impossible otherwise!

I use a thermometer for Japanese greens because the margin for good and bad is so fine!

Enjoy :)

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