Chinese GT Brewing: last 1/5 water always kept

[Maertin]

Hello,

I have been unable to find detailed explanation for the instruction, present for example in the Seven Cups steeping videos on youtube, that one should keep about 1/5 of steeping water in the pot when preparing chinese green teas like long jing or tai pin hou kui.
What is the actual reason behind it? Is it 'just' to make the following brew stronger?

Thanks!

[bonescwa]

That is the reason. You can let chinese greens sit in water a long time, that is how Chinese people mostly drink them anyway. You can put them in a normal glass or mug and put hot water in, and just drink it once the leaves settle in the bottom, and add more water while there is still some tea so it doesn't become too weak.

[Evan Draper]

In my limited experience, green teas change significantly over repeated steepings. Earlier brews have much more sweetness and body, while later brews are sharper. If you value consistency of flavor over 2-3 steeps, one would imagine that leaving behind some of the previous steep would serve that goal. I prefer the captivating heartbreak of the flavor life-cycle.

[mcrdotcom]

I would say there are 2 reasons:

1. Allowing the leaves to be exposed to the air will adversely affect them and the next brew.

2. Keeping a small bit of the previous steeping gives the next one a kick, and you can continue to enjoy immediately after adding the water.

Just what I've gathered from resources and the main reasons I do it

[Maertin]

I mostly use gaiwan for ch. greens and all oolongs, so it's also kind of an extra thing to keep in mind when pouring the water out, because it's actually much easier to pour out all of it. But if the argument of air vs water was the case, then it makes sense yea. Plus once the lid is off, the steam doesn't affect the leaves and the water cools down quite fast. Maybe it's good to have this in mind and not to worry about proper 'last drop out' kind of pouring as in the case with jap. tea. Plus it makes sense for later infusions, to strengthen the taste.

It's similar to waiting about a minute after the first rinse of oolongs, before pouring in the next portion of water. As they are just wet, it moistures them, without actually brewing too much.

Thanks for the feedback! I'm curious to hear if there are any other ideas...