Actually I think Weng Huidong might not disagree with Tead Off on this...the_economist wrote:I think Chrl mentioned
Let's start here. Is something like what Weng HuiDong described considered 'bad brewing'? Suppose I do this with something like Seadyke Lao Cong Shui Xian (a popular choice among South East Asian Chaozhou people). Would that be 'bad tea' and 'bad brewing', with too much bitterness for you TO?chrl42 wrote: Another, Weng Hui-dong of late-Qing pointed out to (in his chaozhou chajing)
1. take water when it boils to 'fish-eye'
2. take leaves and let it on top of chaozhou stove, to be awaken
3. put it on white paper, seperate thick and thin leaves
4. insert the thickest leaves first, then thinnest one, then thick leaves on top of pot
5. fill a pot with 7~80% of leaves
It's just one of old-fashion style..in present day, manufactering tea is different, pot is different..many people just fill 4~50% when it comes to yancha
He especially emphasized that "don't put too many tea leaves, because high grade tea leaves and tender buds expand rapidly, and having too many tea leaves would hinder the release of flavor and causes unfavorable bitterness and astringency..." and "... if the tea is made too concentrated, then there will be too much bitterness and astringency, and all the gongfu would be wasted..." (that's my sketchy paraphrase...) For the leaf shape of dancong and the size of chaozhou teapot, even if you try hard to put as many leaves as possible to a teapot, there won't be much. Weng Huidong's 70-80% full is not much at all.
But overall, I don't think his method is the only good method and I believe the best method is the one that suits the tea and the tea drinker. Weng Huidong was sort of a middle-class(?) intellectual and I assume he drank higher grade tea most of the time. If it's old tea leaves of dancong (which could be pretty good and cheap), more leaves and extended infusion time would be needed to get enough flavor out.