Beginner question

For general/other topics related to tea.


Feb 15th, '09, 11:13
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Beginner question

by detroitmel » Feb 15th, '09, 11:13

I've been wanting to get more into tea drinking. My question is that sometimes when I make tea it seems bitter :( What am I doing wrong? I heard something about steeping, is that the process of letting the tea sit before pouring? Is there a difference in light or dark colored teas? Also are there any flavors that people enjoy more morning/evening time? Thanks for any help you can give. :D

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Feb 15th, '09, 11:16
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by Sydney » Feb 15th, '09, 11:16

There are different reasons tea can come out bitter, depending on the tea, but most of the time I think it's due to using water that's just too hot for that particular tea.

Can you give a few details about your tea-making process? (how much tea, how much water, approx. water temp, steep time (yes, your definition of 'steep' is right), etc.)

Feb 15th, '09, 11:35
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by detroitmel » Feb 15th, '09, 11:35

Well I put a teaspoon of tea leaves into my ceramic teapot, the I put water into my tea kettle (not sure how much but it was less than half of the kettle. I let the water stay on the stove until it whistled and then I filled the teapot to the top with the water. The tea I used was a blended tea and it was dark colored leaves. I was making breakfast at the time and I think I may have poured the cup after about 5-6 minutes of sitting. The tea wasn't too bad but it tasted a little bitter. I have another question, after I poured my cup I dumped out the tea leaves, I took it that with the definition of steeping I needed to get the leaves out of the teapot. I just wanted to make sure that was what I was supposed to do or could I have saved the leaves for a later use? Is there a shelf life for teas? I didn't think so but wanted to asked.

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Feb 15th, '09, 11:40
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by Sydney » Feb 15th, '09, 11:40

You put the tea in and then bring it to a boil? If so, try heating the water first, then adding the tea after it's off the burner.

Although one can be really technical about it, re-use of leaves and shelf life really boil down to "Does it still taste good?"

If you find that your re-used leaves don't make a good cup, there's your answer. Same thing for your aging tea.

Feb 15th, '09, 11:42
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by detroitmel » Feb 15th, '09, 11:42

No I have a separate metal tea kettle that I just use to boil water, have it's boils I then pour the water into my ceramic teapot.

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Feb 15th, '09, 11:46
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by Sydney » Feb 15th, '09, 11:46

Well, there aren't too many teas I'd let sit for 5-6 minutes, so that's the first place I'd look.

And I pour straight boiling water on very few teas, although that gets into the "personal taste" arena quickly. I use thermometers, timers, and weigh tea and water down to grams and cc's when I'm feeling fussy.

The rest is just trial & error. And good fun. :D

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Feb 15th, '09, 15:18
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by GT500Driver » Feb 15th, '09, 15:18

I'm new too, and yeah, every tea is going to be different, as was already said, "trial and error." That's going to be your best, and most rewarding, method. Part of the fun of this hobby is experimenting with different preps. Adagio's knowledge section is a good start, wikicha has a few useful things already, and there are many other wonderful sites out there to help push you in the right direction with getting started. I'd start with not brewing quite so long though.
Southern born and bred

Feb 16th, '09, 08:05
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by detroitmel » Feb 16th, '09, 08:05

Thanks!

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