Give it a more intense tastebcos wrote:Out of curiosity, what's the purpose of crushing the leaves at the bottom? Fitting in more tea?
Are you rinsing the leaf before you start? You might get a better flavor by using high temp water (about 95C+) and going with a 1 min. steep for the first round, then 40-50 seconds (depending on taste), then adding time as you go up.
Most heavily roasted teas I drink do better with hotter water.
For MarshalN:
Actually, I'm talking about the tea in the photo in the initial post, not about apples and oranges at all!
My comments were based on the deductions of my tea instructor, which were based on the photo provided. TKY is a varietal anywhere you grow it, and is processed in many different ways in Taiwan and China. Our assumption was that it is from China, but it's much darker than one would expect from Chinese TKY generally speaking. The other questions I responded to were related to the effect of roasting on leaf expansion (as per the post title), which is part of the process.
If you wanted to make an analogy, you might say, "you're talking about Granny Smith and Red Delicious apples'" which would be nearer the mark.
Most heavily roasted teas I drink do better with hotter water.
For MarshalN:
Actually, I'm talking about the tea in the photo in the initial post, not about apples and oranges at all!
My comments were based on the deductions of my tea instructor, which were based on the photo provided. TKY is a varietal anywhere you grow it, and is processed in many different ways in Taiwan and China. Our assumption was that it is from China, but it's much darker than one would expect from Chinese TKY generally speaking. The other questions I responded to were related to the effect of roasting on leaf expansion (as per the post title), which is part of the process.If you wanted to make an analogy, you might say, "you're talking about Granny Smith and Red Delicious apples'" which would be nearer the mark.
"The meaning of life can be found in a good cup of tea."
Check out more Taiwan tea stories (with photos) at taiwanteaguy.com
Check out more Taiwan tea stories (with photos) at taiwanteaguy.com
Teaguy:
Actually, I was referring to this comment of yours
"TKY is unique in that it is roasted repeatedly to develop its flavor as part of the initial processing (averaging around 12 times, but that can vary). "
TGY, as called and sold in Taiwan, does NOT have to be from the TGY varietal (although most are). It's a matter of processing in Taiwan. On the other hand, a farmer in Fujian can be making his TGY with almost no roasting whatsoever, and still call it TGY because they're talking about the plant and not the processing. So, to say all TGY is unique in having repeated roasting is, strictly speaking, not entirely correct. One only needs to look at the great variety of pretty much unroasted TGY out there on the market to see that.
That's all.
Actually, I was referring to this comment of yours
"TKY is unique in that it is roasted repeatedly to develop its flavor as part of the initial processing (averaging around 12 times, but that can vary). "
TGY, as called and sold in Taiwan, does NOT have to be from the TGY varietal (although most are). It's a matter of processing in Taiwan. On the other hand, a farmer in Fujian can be making his TGY with almost no roasting whatsoever, and still call it TGY because they're talking about the plant and not the processing. So, to say all TGY is unique in having repeated roasting is, strictly speaking, not entirely correct. One only needs to look at the great variety of pretty much unroasted TGY out there on the market to see that.
That's all.
Apr 22nd, '09, 04:30
Posts: 342
Joined: Jul 30th, '08, 02:24
Location: Cambridge, MA
Contact:
xuancheng
One thing you can do if you are concerned that the gaiwan is too full and you aren't getting enough steeps is to pour all the tea out and rearrange it again. This can release more flavor.
Often people will dump the lump of tea out of the gaiwan onto the lid by holding it upside down and then slip the tea lump back in trying to get the bottom to face up. This is also done to smell the 'aroma in the bottle of the cup" 杯底香 which is often different from the smell under the lid, or to get a better idea of the smell of the leaf.
Roasted tea probably won't stick together, so you would have to dump it in a cup rather than hold it on a gaiwan lid.
Often people will dump the lump of tea out of the gaiwan onto the lid by holding it upside down and then slip the tea lump back in trying to get the bottom to face up. This is also done to smell the 'aroma in the bottle of the cup" 杯底香 which is often different from the smell under the lid, or to get a better idea of the smell of the leaf.
Roasted tea probably won't stick together, so you would have to dump it in a cup rather than hold it on a gaiwan lid.
茶也醉人何必酒？