Leaf to water ratio help

[skilfautdire]

Typically I have to extract the spent leaves from the the 150ml yixing I use. That means the leaves are not floating loose inside the teapot by no means. Raw organic sheng puerh. After the some 12th infusion one can say it starts not tasting much, but certainly not before. Steeping times are about 30 seconds to 2 minutes, to more by the end. So I'd say that if spent leaves are floating in a small yixing teapot, then it's not a good sign

[plant partaker]

I am using a gaiwan

[bearsbearsbears]

I am using a gaiwan

My spent leaves don't float in either a pot or a gaiwan, typically.

I brew faster than others are indicating here. Water in, water out for the first few infusions (after rinsing the tea).

[plant partaker]

I did a 30 second infusion and it worked fine. I am still experimenting, but I think that my only problem was the amount of leaf. A teaspoon and a half seems to be excellent with 4 ounces of water. . Do you drink a lot of pu er? What is one of your favorites that is affordable?

[bearsbearsbears]

I did a 30 second infusion and it worked fine. I am still experimenting, but I think that my only problem was the amount of leaf. A teaspoon and a half seems to be excellent with 4 ounces of water. . Do you drink a lot of pu er? What is one of your favorites that is affordable?

I drink a lot of pu. <--understatement

Because we brew so differently, making recommendations seems difficult: affordable stuff I like might not brew as good your way, and vice versa.

If you're drinking sheng (green/raw) pu to enjoy it now, I suggest anything with a really big leaves. They tend to brew sweet, so you could use more leaf, and get a richer flavor without much bitterness. Look for teas from Yiwu/Mansa/Manzhuan mountains, also teas from Nannuo. http://cgi.ebay.com/2007-Yong-Pin-Hao-Y ... 0479833151 would be a likely choice of something good to drink now that's sweet & big leafed. If you're not comfortable ordering from Asia, peruse pictures on US vendor sites to find something similar. Also, Changtai factory teas tend to be on the sweet/easy side and somewhat affordable when young. I don't tend to buy them as I'm not convinced of their aging prospects, but they do perfectly well as daily sheng.

As far as shu (cooked/ripe) pu, I always go with Dayi brand stuff, and rarely with anything else. Their hong yun mini cake is really good, 100g for about $5-8 depending where you buy it. I also like their 7562, 7262, & 7452 recipes, none of which are very expensive.

[plant partaker]

Thank you very much for the recommendations. I will have to wait as I am already over my budget.

[skilfautdire]

Considering the amount of cups one can get per bunch of leaves I find puerh rather inexpensive, really. And quite a good experience in taste for the price. Then again, I only started last year with good quality teas in general. So far I order puerh (and other teas) from Yunnan Sourcing. And so far I only got raw (sheng) organic puerh.

I'm about to get some shu (ripe) organic puerh if the ship ever crosses the ocean ! I get the impression so far that Scott Wilson of Yunnan Sourcing does a great job in choosing teas that are pretty good for the prices. Although a more expensive one (approx. $60 for 357g cake) has appeared earlier this week.

I'm surely not drinking the most fancy puerhs but I like what I drink and that's pretty much the most important. I do not feel I'm spending a lot for tea, even when I buy several cakes for storing, the principle stays the same: the amount of cups per bunch of leaves is quite high and that levels pretty much the price (and the shipping costs).

[plant partaker]

Exactly! I am still waiting on some pu er from yunnan sourcing. I hate slow deliveries