Boiling water
I've been thinking recently about boiling water: how do you go about doing it? Just kidding I live at 6960 ft, which means that water boils at a lower temperature here than it does at lower altitudes. I don't know the exact formula for figuring out the temperature at which the water is at a full boil, but I do know that I can't get water hotter than 205 degrees without using a pressure cooker (as I am now to cook black beans). As a result, the usual guides for judging ideal water temperature -- size of bubbles, "age" of boil, type of steam, etc. -- are not the same as they are at other altitudes. If these guidelines were developed in the tea producing areas of the Chinese mountains, then the guidelines may be right for high altitude and wrong for low altitude. My present method for oolongs and pu-erhs is to heat the water until there is mild turbulence in the glass kettle, before it has reached a rolling boil. For green tea, I stop the process when small bubbles begin to rise. Your thoughts
Here is a calculator
http://www.csgnetwork.com/h2oboilcalc.html
My guess is that if you preheat your teapot, it shouldn't make any noticeable difference for teas which are brewed with boiling water.
http://www.csgnetwork.com/h2oboilcalc.html
My guess is that if you preheat your teapot, it shouldn't make any noticeable difference for teas which are brewed with boiling water.
Aug 31st, '08, 14:56
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Sep 1st, '08, 12:29
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what do you like the taste of better? there is no 'correct' way to brew tea.
Do something different, something different will happen. ( Gong Fu Garden )