Steeping blacks twice

[sporkubus]

Thanks for the tips, guys!

[Geekgirl]

"sporkubus"

funniest handle ever.

[sporkubus]

"sporkubus"

funniest handle ever.

Well thanks

[silvermage2000]

I would say doing that is fine. I think mainly it depends on the tea. But alreast a couple of times though.

[Eugene]

I use to steep twice and not more than that, even than it retains the same good flavor. It will mainly depend on the tea quality as others suggested here. I just love black tea, because of its medicinal quality. I use Talbott Tea's gourmet tea varieties which is a infusions of different flavors and herbs.

[Bubba_tea]

Do you wash your tea first when brewing this style? I've been brewing oolongs more lately and rinsing the leaves and foamy bits first - how about with the black teas?

[Intuit]

Tea-blog entry that mentions rinsing. Presumably, rinsing with cool, not hot water.
The action is purely mechanical, removing dust and ahhh, other debris, from tea leaves.

http://blog.love4teas.com/rinsing-tea

[brad4419]

Do you wash your tea first when brewing this style? I've been brewing oolongs more lately and rinsing the leaves and foamy bits first - how about with the black teas?

I wouldn't worry about rinsing white, green or black teas. Im sure theres more to it than I know but I think the main reason is what Intuit already explained. Pu erh and Oolongs are rinsed is because there aged teas. While laying around they may have gotten some dust or other things on them. I drink the rinse anyways as well as some others do but I really don't want to start that discussion again.

[lydia]

Steeps two to three times for a good black such as fujian baroque tea should be no problem. In China we prefer to use small Yingxi ceramic teapot to enjoy black tea.

[lydia]

I don't care what the tea is - I steep and steep and steep until there is no point.

+1
If it is a good tea, why not?

[lydia]

Do you wash your tea first when brewing this style? I've been brewing oolongs more lately and rinsing the leaves and foamy bits first - how about with the black teas?

I do the same for black. For Pu erh I have to rinse twice. I only don't do it for green and white. Of course it is a quick rinse.

[salome000]

Okay...newbie here.

What is Gong Fu? What is the whole English rule thing?

I also am confused about steeping again. I can do it only (so far) with my Yunan Noir. I use 4 tsp to my IngenuiTEA and steep once for 3 min then next for 5. My Irish Breakfast turns bitter and a couple others are just too weak. My tea HAS to be strong and rich...personal preference, I know, but I'd like to know what other blacks do what the Noir does in terms of 2 good, rich steeps with none of the bitterness.

Also...as a side note...I was throwing away my tea leaves until someone told me they made incredible compost for flowers. Anyone else heard of this?

Thanks to all for being gentle with those of us who are just starting out!

[ClarG]

Some black teas do steep multiple times, while others do not.

[Frisbeehead]

I am currently enjoying the sixth steep of a Chinese black (red) tea (not sure where its from, it was a gift from someone who was given it during his trip to China). If it is a quality black tea you should be able to get many steeps out of it, especially if the leaves are whole and not crushed and shredded.

[Psyck]

This brewing chart suggests 4 western style steeps or 8 gong fu style steeps for black tea.
http://chinalifeweb.com/guides/the-tea-brewing-chart/

In addition, regarding some of the earlier comments, gong fu style brewing need not be incompatible with wanting a large mug of tea - I mix two gongfu steeps from a 150 ml pot or 3 from a 100 ml pot into my drinking mug.