Does pu have to be brewed gong fu style

[Sacha]

I would say the Gaiwan best demonstrates the new green or ripe Pu Er. For Yixing pots, it will best demonstrates the old Pu Er, no matter green or ripe.

Again, for very skillful Pu Er brewers, they wont use any strainers or filters when brewing the green Pu Er, because if use the strainers, then the tea liquid will taste different, not as concentraction as before.

I totally agree that the use of strainer is the problematic step when brewing pu, it definitely changes something. I personnaly prefer the Gaiwan for the young sheng and the yixing gong fu for both of the more fermented stuff -old shenh and shu- because of the high temperature that is needed in the long run of infusions 8-9-10...

[wyardley]

I don't see what a strainer has to do with whether it's brewed gongfu style or not. I almost never use a strainer with any type of tea I'm brewing. I don't mind having tea in my tea.

I did speak to one person whose tea master prefers to use a strainer and a clear fair cup for puer, the idea being (I'm kind of paraphrasing here, so sorry if I get the concept wrong) that there is a certain luminescence / glow (forget the exact name) that a good puer will have, which you won't be able to see if you don't strain.

[debunix]

Interesting that the strainer is seen as a problem by some people.

Would you consider a little ceramic strainer inside the yixing, like this one, to be undesirable?



Or is the only concern the one like this, that might introduce some aeration and maybe increase oxidation a bit as the tea pours through it?

[IPT]

I personally never use a strainer for any of my teas, either at home, or in my tea shops. Traditionally in China they didn't use strainers and in fact the teapots had a single large hole, instead of many small ones. They either just ate the tea leaves, or left them on the bottom of the cup and then dumped them out. If you use a Gaiwan long enough, you can pour it with virtually no leaves escaping, so a strainer is not necessary. It just takes some practice.

As others have said, Gongfu Tea is the best way to get the subtle flavors and aromas out of your Puer. If you wish to brew it in large quantitites, you can do that too, but I'd recommend doing it with a cheaper or newer Puer. Otherwise you waste the subtle nuances that your Puer has to offer.

[wyardley]

Interesting that the strainer is seen as a problem by some people.

Would you consider a little ceramic strainer inside the yixing, like this one, to be undesirable?

Sorry - I didn't mean builtin ball or multi-hole strainers; I do have a lot of single-hole pots, but I don't have any problem with the builtin type. With certain types of tea in certain types of pots, it is nice to have some sort of strainer in the pot to keep the spout from getting clogged. You can get add-on metal filters that will go in a single-hole pot; I have a couple of these, but so far, haven't felt the need to install them in most of my single-hole pots.

I think the external metal strainers are the worst, since they're a pain to keep warm, and the metal might influence the taste of the tea more. I have one, but almost never use it. It's just one more piece of equipment to fiddle with (folks who know me in person might find that statement a little amusing, considering I've got a lot of unnecessary tea equipment).

I don't mind the gourd ones which have nylon or cloth over the opening, but since I don't really use a strainer, I've never bothered to get one, even though they're pretty cheap. Also, most of the gourd ones I've come across are a little cheap looking.

Most of the people I drink tea with don't have a strong preference, or prefer un-strained. I don't mind straining if someone really minds having tea in their tea, but personally, I think it's a little silly.

[IPT]

Interesting that the strainer is seen as a problem by some people.

Would you consider a little ceramic strainer inside the yixing, like this one, to be undesirable?

Sorry - I didn't mean builtin ball or multi-hole strainers; I do have a lot of single-hole pots, but I don't have any problem with the builtin type. With certain types of tea in certain types of pots, it is nice to have some sort of strainer in the pot to keep the spout from getting clogged. You can get add-on metal filters that will go in a single-hole pot; I have a couple of these, but so far, haven't felt the need to install them in most of my single-hole pots.

I think the external metal strainers are the worst, since they're a pain to keep warm, and the metal might influence the taste of the tea more. I have one, but almost never use it. It's just one more piece of equipment to fiddle with (folks who know me in person might find that statement a little amusing, considering I've got a lot of unnecessary tea equipment).

I don't mind the gourd ones which have nylon or cloth over the opening, but since I don't really use a strainer, I've never bothered to get one, even though they're pretty cheap. Also, most of the gourd ones I've come across are a little cheap looking.

Most of the people I drink tea with don't have a strong preference, or prefer un-strained. I don't mind straining if someone really minds having tea in their tea, but personally, I think it's a little silly.

I too have the metal strainers, but have never installed them in my single hole teapots. Since they weren't made with them I don't like to use them. In fact, my custom made teapots all have the single holes in them. I like it because it is traditional, and also because it makes them unique from other teapots that those makers make. In fact, I'm the only person in the world who owns teapots made by the artisans with the single hole.

I have probably 20 straines, and most of them have never been used. Now that's what I call T-OCD! In my defense, a lot of them were gifts.