I use loose leaf tea (Darjeeling and other blacks) to make a qt of iced tea at a time using hot water and a tea ball.
To save money, I would like to use each tea portion a 2nd time (2nd steeping). Is this possible while maintaing good flavor for the second steeped batch?
For the first batch I steep for 5 minutes. How much longer should I steep for to extract a good flave for the 2nd batch.
Thanks
May 31st, '09, 23:12
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Techman, moved this to Black Tea for better participation on topic.
Darjeeling is one black that I definitely resteep 2, 3, 4 times. Some blacks do not resteep to my liking.
I would stop using the teaball, it is not giving your leaves enough room to expand, cramping their style. An infuser basket or loose in a pot is sooo much better.
Darjeeling is one black that I definitely resteep 2, 3, 4 times. Some blacks do not resteep to my liking.
I would stop using the teaball, it is not giving your leaves enough room to expand, cramping their style. An infuser basket or loose in a pot is sooo much better.
blah blah blah SENCHA blah blah blah!!!
I gave up the balls too, when I became serious about my tea.sneakers wrote:I gave up the balls too, when I became serious about my tea.
I resteep Assam and Nilgiri, but I don't do 5 minutes the first time, maybe 3 , then 5. I expect not to waste so much (so many? doesn't sound right either) leaves this year on iced tea. Last year I used huge amounts.
I resteep Assam and Nilgiri, but I don't do 5 minutes the first time, maybe 3 , then 5. I expect not to waste so much (so many? doesn't sound right either) leaves this year on iced tea. Last year I used huge amounts.
Jun 1st, '09, 16:06
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Dreamer
Hi there,
I've recently figured out that leaving the leaf loose is the best way to go!
I have the PersonaliTea tea pot...about a 24 oz pot (4 6-oz cups).
My normal morning routine had been to put five teaspoons of whatever black I was drinking that morning into the infuser basket and steep for the time (usually 3 minutes). The family splits this pot of tea and some goes into my travel mug. I would then make a 2nd infusion (add a minute to the original time) and possibly a 3rd (add another minute or more). The 2nd (and 3rd) infusions go into the refrigerator for iced tea later. If the tea is cold, the ice doesn't melt much and the 2nd and 3rd steeps give a very refreshing glass (or I like to drink the refrigerator-cold tea without ice anyway).
I used five teaspoons..one per "cup" plus 1 for the pot.
I noticed that the basket would be very full of expanded leaves.
I decided to just put the leaf loose into the pot and "decant" thru the infuser basket
into another (serving) teapot. WOW, I found out that I only needed 4 teaspoons of leaf!!! That is a 20% savings in tea!!! When the leaf has room to expand you get more out of it (next week I'll report that I've discovered that water is wet!)
Side Note: The PersonaliTea does have a built-in filter of sorts (large holes in the ceramic inside the pot at the pour spout, but small particles of leaf do pour thru, so pouring thru a basket catches those.
Yep, go for multiple steeps (what have you got to lose??) and do consider giving up the ball!
Happy Monday,
Dreamer
I've recently figured out that leaving the leaf loose is the best way to go!
I have the PersonaliTea tea pot...about a 24 oz pot (4 6-oz cups).
My normal morning routine had been to put five teaspoons of whatever black I was drinking that morning into the infuser basket and steep for the time (usually 3 minutes). The family splits this pot of tea and some goes into my travel mug. I would then make a 2nd infusion (add a minute to the original time) and possibly a 3rd (add another minute or more). The 2nd (and 3rd) infusions go into the refrigerator for iced tea later. If the tea is cold, the ice doesn't melt much and the 2nd and 3rd steeps give a very refreshing glass (or I like to drink the refrigerator-cold tea without ice anyway).
I used five teaspoons..one per "cup" plus 1 for the pot.
I noticed that the basket would be very full of expanded leaves.
I decided to just put the leaf loose into the pot and "decant" thru the infuser basket
into another (serving) teapot. WOW, I found out that I only needed 4 teaspoons of leaf!!! That is a 20% savings in tea!!! When the leaf has room to expand you get more out of it (next week I'll report that I've discovered that water is wet!)
Side Note: The PersonaliTea does have a built-in filter of sorts (large holes in the ceramic inside the pot at the pour spout, but small particles of leaf do pour thru, so pouring thru a basket catches those.
Yep, go for multiple steeps (what have you got to lose??) and do consider giving up the ball!
Happy Monday,
Dreamer
depravitea wrote:Check out the Gongfu style of brewing tea, it's all about quick multiple steeps, and it's definitely a more involved method than what most of us normally use. I've been having a pretty good time with it.
-Also, a gaiwan is a pretty good tool for steeping, gives the leaves plenty of room!
techman, this is the best example for your question. As long as you have a great tasting whole leaf, you're going to be able to steep your leaves multiple times.
Keep in mind that not every tea is going to have the same resteeping ability as another. Eg, Pu-erh can re-steep MANY more times than a green.
And I second the notion of ditching the teaball...they definitely cramp a tea's style!
Get yourself a nice gaiwan or teapot for home brewing.