gong fu black

[Beidao]

So, this time we tried it gong fu style. A good heaping tablespoon or so into a little glass pot (175 ml?). And short steeps -- no more than 5 seconds for the first 3 or 4 steeps. The result was delicious!! Far more complex, sweet, smoky, all kinds of stuff. And each brew was subtly different from the others. (I should've known it'd be like that -- it's the same with pu-erh gong fu style.)

So today I'm drinking a Keemun Mao Feng (also from Upton), similar parameters: about a tablespoon of dry leaves in a 150ml gaiwan, ~5-10s steeps for the first few. Yummm, I'm getting some caramelly sweetness out of this one that I was definitely not finding with the western brew style.

So.. I think I might start exploring black teas a bit more now. Gong fu takes a bit more time and attention, but it's more fun and more tasty, IMO.
Anyone else do this with blacks?
-dave

Dizzwave, I'm really interested in what you have to say here. Would you mind explaining your very short steep method? I know you gave tea and water amounts, but I'm also interested in how you go about doing these short steeps. What is the Gong Fu method? Do you drain the shortly steeped tea into another cup even if you're using a gaiwan?
I'm also a fan of Pu erh, having tried both the loose versions offered by Adagio, and just ordered my first cake yesterday. I think it would be neat to try your method. I've read that some very old Pu ers can be resteeped up to 30 times!!
Any information you offer is appreciated. Thanks very much!

You pour the tea from the gaiwan into a cup by placing the lid so that it offers water but not leaves to pour through. Gaiwan is often used for Gong fu, sometimes also small pots.

[Proinsias]

depravitea: If you've got a spare eight minutes I would recommend watching our very own MarshalN explaining gaiwan brewing here:

http://marshaln.xanga.com/701007573/using-a-gaiwan/

[depravitea]

Thank you both Beidao and Proinsias, I appreciate the info.
I have always used the gaiwan as a pot/cup, using the lid to strain the tea as I was drinking it. I read to do it that way it in one of my tea books - I guess the book fails to mention alternative uses/methods.
Thanks for answering my questions. I have one more though...

The water. It doesn't look like (in the video) it was boiling every time he poures. When doing the Gong Fu brewing method, do you need to always use boiling water? Or just the hot water that's left in the kettle?
I'm guessing you don't need to reboil for every steep, but I just want to confirm.
Thanks!

[Zion21]

depravitea: If you've got a spare eight minutes I would recommend watching our very own MarshalN explaining gaiwan brewing here:

http://marshaln.xanga.com/701007573/using-a-gaiwan/

Great site, i really recommend it.

[Proinsias]

The water. It doesn't look like (in the video) it was boiling every time he poures. When doing the Gong Fu brewing method, do you need to always use boiling water? Or just the hot water that's left in the kettle?
I'm guessing you don't need to reboil for every steep, but I just want to confirm.
Thanks!

I think it all depends on what you can be bothered with and what equipment you have. I suppose ideally you would have a clay stove and pot or a tetsubin with a heating device to keep the water at whatever temp you wanted throughout. Or maybe something like a Zojirushi.

I tend to boil water and use it for 2 or maybe 3 steeps and then start over again.

I do recall MarshalN saying somewhere that he tends to brew pretty much all of his tea with water just a little off the boil.

[depravitea]

Proinsias, thanks again. Really useful info. I think I'd like to get a tetsubin, but it sounds like they're not made for use on the top of a stove? - I'll have to check that out. I think I'm going to boil water, use it for 2 or maybe 3 steeps, then do a fresh boil. I'm looking forward to trying this method. Thanks once again!

[Proinsias]

If you're getting a tetsubin to heat water in make sure you get one that doesn't have an enamel coating.

[depravitea]

So I can get my daily amount of iron? lol

Can you use a tetsubin on an electric stove?

[Proinsias]

I don't see why not, you can get electric hotplates for keeping next to your tea set up and these are effectively electric stoves.

[depravitea]

Nice. I'm definitely going to get a tetsubin in that case. I have been looking at stove top kettles for about a month, I've been using an electric kettle for several years but I'm wanting something a little nicer now. The thing I don't like about regular kettles is that they really have no pour spout, it just a short metal pipe with an open end lol The water just kind of dumps out. Anyway, a tetsubin was what I have been looking for. Thanks once again!