Your favorite Chinese green, how many steeps?

[Chip]

How many times do you on average steep your favorite Chinese green? Who, what, when, where, why?

[zacstill]

I had a nice dragonwell this morning during a big sunday breakfast with the roomies. There were a lot of us so I steeped it 5 times. They all like dragonwell.

[Salsero]

I don't know if I really have a favorite ... for the purpose of argument let's say Long Jing or Tai Ping Hou Kui, but I steep all of them 5 times ... if it's really good, I'll go more. Curiously, the numbers are the same for sencha.

[Proinsias]

I tend to go far more than five. Small vessel, lots of leaf and lots of steeps.

My favourite green tea atm is a can of long jing I have and it's not seen less than 15 brews yet.

My only kyusu is around 250/300ml and it takes very good Japanese green tea to be left in the pot for five brews.

Where's Britt?

[TaiPing Hou Kui]

Favorite Chinese Green would have to be TaiPing Hou Kui......I will push mine far past 5 brews and usually do so in a 4oz gaiwan. I also think to water you are using plays a big role too....I am actually visiting my dad at the moment...heading back to Williamsburg in the AM....and his water only suffices for about 4 brews with the same TaiPing Hou Kui that I brew with my highly filtered water back home.....Speaking of TaiPing Hou Kui....when I got back to my dads house earlier tonight he said he had a box of some of my tea stuff and I found a nitrogen sealed bag of TaiPing Hou Kui from 2007 Harvest....it is a 1/2 pound and I am going to open it tomorrow night and see if it is still any good.....If it is I will be posting various amounts on the buy/swap/etc. forum if anybody want to try as I think if it is good, it needs to be brewed asap and though I do like my TaiPing Hou Kui I cant do a 1/2lb in the time needed to insure it is at its highest brewing potential....it could have turned to crap...but the seal is still good and it has been in a cool dark place so we shall see!

-Nick (TaiPing)

[zacstill]

Favorite Chinese Green would have to be TaiPing Hou Kui......

i c wut u did thar.....

I think my favorite is long jing, a good PLC is nice too
I've never tried a tai ping hou kui before. I'll have to add that to the list!

[Chip]

TPHK and LJ FTW!

Anyway, I will usually brew 3-5 steeps, lately usually 5 or so since I have adopted a 1 gram per ounce water ratio in a gaiwan for most Chinese greens.

[Shelob]

Guess I will have to try a TPHK... since Chip defended the Chinese greens in the other poll!
Pleeze, I wasn't dissin' them, just said those I tried, really wasn't impressed.

thanks for the recommendations

[gingkoseto]

I also think to water you are using plays a big role too....

-Nick (TaiPing)

I agree! I value water very much. Actually I think even without tea water counted, the amount of water I drink daily is a lot The region I am living now has very nice water source. Sometimes after quite a few steeps when there is not much tea flavor in it, the water tastes excellent. In winter sometimes I use snow water, and love the experience very much. But now since our tap water is so great, I am not sure if there is difference between snow water and our tap water.

I voted for 4 steeps, even though sometimes I tend to do it over and over for many times just to enjoy the water. The first 4 steeps is when I pay attention and enjoy the most the tea can give. And I actually feel guilty if I let the tea steep for only twice or less.

I don't know which is my favorite tea, but most likely some tea from Yellow Mountain region (the region where Tai Ping Hou Kui district belongs to). For this moment I will pick lao zhu da fang. Some people believe it looks and tastes somewhat similar to long jing and good thing is it's a lot cheaper than long jing. But I like it really just for itself. It has a bit long jing taste, plus the taste typical of mountain regions.

[lydia]

I usually brew 5 steeps for a nice lung jing. I think the first four cups are very nice while the last one is a little bit lighter. But I will steep one more as it is worthy for the delicious nice tea.

[taitea]

I have a mediocre bag of dragon well that I'm trying to get rid of, this one. 3 steeps is usually as far as I can push it, in a gaiwan. Is everyone steeping their chinese greens in a gaiwan?

I'm actually looking forward to the spring so I can try a variety of new, fresh greens.

[greenisgood]

I like me some pi lo chun these days. Mostly cause i can brew it easily in a glass without getting a mouth full of leaves. And I love the aroma. It usually tastes good for about four times of refilling with hot water.

[gingkoseto]

I have a mediocre bag of dragon well that I'm trying to get rid of, this one. 3 steeps is usually as far as I can push it, in a gaiwan. Is everyone steeping their chinese greens in a gaiwan?

I'm actually looking forward to the spring so I can try a variety of new, fresh greens.

If the real thing looks the same as the picture and it's really 2008 spring, it's supposed to be good. If the color is dull on the pale side, then probably it has not been stored well.

But dragon well has rather subtle flavor compared with most other teas and 3 is about the extreme even for a good one. Still I usually do more than 3 infusions just because it's expensive stuff

Most of the time I use a glass for Chinese green. Sometimes I use a gaiwan, with lid off or half off.

[stjobs]

Four (five at most). The first two infusions are always the best - how far you go after that depends on your own tolerance for reduced flavor.

[PaulLev]

Darjeeling green is my favorite, and I agree that two steeps are the best.