Hello people
I'm just curious about the oolong brewing methode you use. I used to threw away the first brew to rinse away dirt from the tea due to hand processing.
It is common in Guangdong and also HongKong.
For me it gives a plus point which I can reduce the caffeine content so I can sleep well at night.
My question is, if you also practise the same method, how many seconds will you brew the first brew before pouring it out?
I'm talking about 150 mL gongfu pot brewing methode.
Many thanks for any feedback
Jul 20th, '08, 14:58
Posts: 544
Joined: Feb 27th, '08, 10:06
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: TX <- NY
Contact:
silverneedles
You just killed his placebo effectsilverneedles wrote:rinsing does not reduce caffeine content. >> chadao article
Personally i just do one quick rinse. Like 5 seconds. Ive also seen videos of gong fu style where they did this (and it was Chinese who made it). They also gave the same reason as you (hand processing).
Don't know if such a short rinse is wrong "officially" though.
I don't rinse oolongs at all, since they are roasted anything unwanted would be gone. All the essence from the rolling process is on the dried leaf, IMO rinsing is just like throwing out the tastiest part . Try it, especially when you drink the high mountain 2000m stuff. I only rinse puerhs twice for cooked and once for raw.
My take on the rinse...
so I'm starting to rinse most teas twice, but it's not as extreem as you think. I do a 5 second rinse with hot water (doesn't have to be boiling). Then, I wait about 5 minutes (doesn't have to be exactly 5 min). This allows the leaves to unfurl and whatnot (leaves don't have to "unfurl" completely) lol. I do another 5 second rinse once the leaves are more opened to get off that gunk. Now, I go about my brewing business, decreasing my first steep time from what it was before my rinsing habits changed. xxx
so I'm starting to rinse most teas twice, but it's not as extreem as you think. I do a 5 second rinse with hot water (doesn't have to be boiling). Then, I wait about 5 minutes (doesn't have to be exactly 5 min). This allows the leaves to unfurl and whatnot (leaves don't have to "unfurl" completely) lol. I do another 5 second rinse once the leaves are more opened to get off that gunk. Now, I go about my brewing business, decreasing my first steep time from what it was before my rinsing habits changed. xxx
That and also to clean off any unwanted residue on the leaves since they are hand harvested and processed. The same reason people wash any veggies or fruit bought from a market.betta wrote:Many thanks for so many replies. So rinsing serves to unfurl the tea rather than reducing the caffeine and not all teas should be rinsed.
Aug 3rd, '08, 16:34
Posts: 544
Joined: Feb 27th, '08, 10:06
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: TX <- NY
Contact:
silverneedles
i dont know how much rinsing does to clean the leaf
depending on how much pressure was used in handling the leaf- smashing particles in the leaf surface,
how much oils from the broken leaf itself + oils from people's hands making a water insoluble residue on the leaf
what sort of processing done afterwards - tight rolling and pressing leaf i think would stick whatever dirts and such pretty well to the leaf
= making alot of the residue hard to take off ... just my theory anyway....
probably most of the storage dust is taken away...
tho hopefully like 50% of residue i'd think would go...
its not like we shoot 100psi pressured water at it or scrub it like cleaning an apple
depending on how much pressure was used in handling the leaf- smashing particles in the leaf surface,
how much oils from the broken leaf itself + oils from people's hands making a water insoluble residue on the leaf
what sort of processing done afterwards - tight rolling and pressing leaf i think would stick whatever dirts and such pretty well to the leaf
= making alot of the residue hard to take off ... just my theory anyway....
probably most of the storage dust is taken away...
tho hopefully like 50% of residue i'd think would go...
its not like we shoot 100psi pressured water at it or scrub it like cleaning an apple
Aug 3rd, '08, 16:40
Posts: 1483
Joined: Mar 19th, '06, 12:42
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: On the couch
Contact:
Proinsias
Aug 3rd, '08, 16:57
Posts: 5151
Joined: Dec 20th, '06, 23:33
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Gainesville, Florida
Obviously, everyone's got their own way of doing things that works for them.Proinsias wrote:Aside from some pu-erh's it always seemed like a waste of good tea to me. Two five second rinses? that could be the first three brews.
Now, I'm wondering how you can get a rolled oolong, with no rinse, to give you a flavorful First infusion in ten seconds? Much less the first three infusions in that amount of time? You need to tell me where you get your leaves!