My First Pu

[hooksie]

Sounds like I'll have to shorten my rinses next time.

[oldmanteapot]

Two 60 second rinses? That would suck out almost all of the flavor. The best part would be going down the drain. Cooked pu'er takes a pretty nasty process, so it's the only pu'er I give a second rinse, but they're only a few seconds each.

I'd second Tony on this. 2 short (few seconds) rinse would do.

Cheers!

[shogun89]

Sounds like I'll have to shorten my rinses next time.

haha, yeah, take it down a notch my friend.

[depravitea]

The Report Is In - The Pu Is Good! I opened it – finally. I was worried I would mess it up, but figured I just better go for it, and learn from my mistakes (if there were any.) I took pictures of each step. I unwrapped it, broke some away from the edge, put it in my gaiwan, and tried several steeps - though some at the end got pretty weak. I started with one rinse. I poured in boiling water, then dumped it right away. Waited about a minute, then did my first steep. I steeped for 10 seconds, 20, 30 ,40, 50, 60, 90, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes. The last three were pretty weak, especially the last two, but I was unsure if I should steep past 5 minutes due to (possible) bitterness. I probably just needed to go for it and try it out. Any opinions? Following a suggestion of Tom’s, I put in both flakes and a chunk. I also made sure to use boiling water every time. I really liked almost every steep, except some at the end and that was due to possible under-steeping on my part. I didn’t take photos of every steep, just the first, though I noticed the second was considerably darker – and tastier! I did notice the fermentation taste/smell (the du wei?) very slightly, but I honestly can't say I minded... Thanks for all the help and suggestions everyone. I really like this Pu Erh, and will be ordering a sheng very soon! Any suggestions on a first sheng beeng? (economical please lol)



EDIT - Oh yeah, Tom, I emailed Hou De, they have the book, and it's only $34.50 - as opposed to $80.00 or whatever it was on amazon. Thanks again for the info.

[pb2q]

Try it using much more leaf: fill up the bottom 3rd or so of the gaiwan.

Don't worry about bitterness with this tea, some folks steep shu for a really long time even in the early stages. I don't do that, but I often get up to 15m for later steeps. If it's getting weak fast (shu often does after many steeps) then start doubling the brewing time.

Depending on the shu I'll sometimes use a little less leaf - still much more than you're using here - and increase early steep times a bit.

[depravitea]

Fill the bottom third? Wow, that's a lot of leaf...
As for steep times, do you have some specific times you like to use?

[shogun89]

Looks like you did a good job! I typically only get about 6 steeps from a shu anyway so you did good. As mentioned you caould add more leaf, but take your time down with more leaf. Shu is very hard to make bitter, so just keep on experimenting.

[pb2q]

Fill the bottom third? Wow, that's a lot of leaf...

With most teas brewed gongfu style, the amount of leaf in the vessel once the leaves have opened and hydrated indicate if an appropriate amount of leaf was used - adjusted for personal preference and the specific tea. So for instance with sheng puerh when the leaves have opened I expect the gaiwan to be nearly full of leaves. If the leaves are pushing the lid off I know I've used too much.

shu confounds this metric: the leaves don't expand as much and just sit at the bottom of the vessel. Play around with amounts: start with 1/3 and if it seems like too much or if you're having a hard time controlling the steeps then adjust.

Furthermore you'll become accustomed to different types of compression. I won't fill the vessel with as much dry leaf for tightly compressed tea, like tuos and iron beengs. An alternative is to buy a small scale.

As for steep times, do you have some specific times you like to use?

Try 5s increments instead of 10s. Once you try with more leaf you may decide to adjust the times. I prefer transparency of color in the brew, so if the tea looks black then I know I've left the leaves steeping too long and adjust. Though flavor should be the primary guide.

[pb2q]

Also these leaf amount recommendations assume that you're filling the gaiwan completely to brew: if you're not filling all the way then use less leaf.

[depravitea]

Thanks a lot pb2q, I really appreciate all the input and suggestions.
I figure I'll bite the bullet, as it were, and throw a good amount of leaf in there.
I just hate to see my supply dwindle lol

[sriracha]

With what little experience I have with (shu, sheng kinda scares me )pu I may not be the best person to advise but-I usually fill my 100 ml gaiwan ~1/5 full of leaf and it has given me pleasant results so far. 9-10 steeps at least.

=)