Brewing Chinese greens

[Poohblah]

Hi guys,
I haven't had much Chinese green tea (or Japanese for that matter), so I am looking for brewing tips. I just picked up a little bit of Bi Luo Chun and Long Jing from the local Chinese tea shop. The issue is that I have heard of many ways to brew greens: gongfu, non-gongfu, the "root" method, variations on the "root" method, the "double brew" method, and I'm sure there are others that I've forgotten. I'm not sure which to use. I just want a forgiving and reliable method of brewing these greens since I don't have enough tea to do much experimentation. I have an 80mL (probably 100 to the rim) porcelain gaiwan and a 200mL glass teapot. Guidance, please?

[bagua7]

Well, you need a small thin cup (30-40mL) which you can use for pouring the tea from your gaiwan. Make sure you use filtered or spring water. Boil it, wait a bit and then pour it from above to help cool down water to 80 deg. Alternatively you can pour from gaiwan to a serving pitcher and then onto the drinking cup.

Enjoy your tea.

[Poohblah]

I am not sure whether you are being facetious, being serious, or telling me to enjoy my tea without worrying. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume a combination of the second and third. In that case, thanks

[debunix]

The issue is that I have heard of many ways to brew greens: gongfu, non-gongfu, the "root" method, variations on the "root" method, the "double brew" method, and I'm sure there are others that I've forgotten. I'm not sure which to use. I just want a forgiving and reliable method of brewing these greens since I don't have enough tea to do much experimentation.

Since you have not got a lot of tea, I'd start with a good amount of it in the gaiwan, and start gongfu, to see what works for you. Why gongfu? You can use a moderate quantity of leaf for several infusions to get an idea of what time and temperature parameters make you happy. And when you get something working for you, you can decide if you like the gongfu/small gaiwan or want to scale up to the larger pot.

I don't bother with the 'root' but know that sometimes I don't get the gaiwan completely empty, and it doesn't make a whole heck of a lot of difference to the tea.

I do brew my 2nd infusions short, because a lot of what wasn't yet dissolved in the first infusion seems to be already in the water clinging to the leaves, and it can be very unpleasant if extended as long as the first. So I might go 30", 10", 30" or 1 min, 20", 1 min depending, but always that 2nd one is shortest.

[Oni]

Enjoying green tea from a gaiwan or a glass cup without decanting might seem easy, but you need to follow a few easy steps, first do not use the lid of the gaiwan, preheat the cup from above in a circular motion, but only fill it to 1/4th of it`s capacity, roll the cup to preheat the walls, put in the leaves generally 3 grams to 200 ml, maybe a little more if the tea is really good quality, but no more than 4 grams, and pour water in a circular motion only hitting the rim of the cup (gaiwan) and only to 1/4 th of the capacity, only enough to cover the leaves, using a small amount of water, only 50 ml, it will loose enouogh heat, so that it would not burn the leaves, wait a minute, and fill it up from a height so that the leaves are stired, wait 3 or more minutes, or until the leaves have sunk to the bottom of the cup, DO NOT stir the leaves, do not move them just drink the tea down until 1/3 or 1/4 th of the water remains, this is the root, it is very concentrated, it should not be bothered, pour hot water again and wait, only the water should stir the leaves, the second infusion should be short do not wait drink it as soon as the temperature is confortable, reapeat this again, the tea lasts 3 infusions, with the last infusion if the taste is weak stir the leaves and drink it dry.

[britt]

Since you're fairly new at brewing the Chinese greens I think you need to try the simple way first.

1. If you do gongfu style, which requires a much larger amount of leaf, the timing is very tricky and you can waste a lot of tea. I'd just do a normal brewing to begin with, with a normal amount of leaf.

2. If your tap water is like mine (loaded with chlorine, fluoride, etc.), spring water is essential for the best taste.

3. I don't know how you're heating the water, but I use water between 160 and 175 degrees F for green tea. Since my hot water dispenser has only 158, 195, and 208F I use the 158 or I cool the water when using 195.

4. Try brewing with the lid off, especially if the gaiwan is not very thin.

[Poohblah]

Hi britt,
I think I need to try the simple way as well. I have a one question though: is the purpose of leaving the lid off simply a preventative measure against overbrewing?

[Kunkali]

Why does gongfu style require such a large amount of leaf to water? Especially if it's just for one user.

[Chip]

Western style = lower leaf to water ratio for longer steeps

Gong fu style = much higher leaf to water ratio for much shorter steeps

If you think about this, it makes sense.

There is also the hybrid we call semi gong fu style which fall between the two main styles.

[Proinsias]

Your gaiwan sounds perfect. Pour on some water, then decant to a cup. Repeat.

I just want a forgiving and reliable method of brewing these greens since I don't have enough tea to do much experimentation.

Don't use much leaf and use cooler water. I've been drinking 2010 bai jha lu green from Jing tea shop over the past few weeks. It's dirt cheap and can't take my usual heavy handed brewing but works a treat if I go easy on it.

With an 80ml gaiwan you've got far more room for experimentation than the 200ml pot will give you.

[Kunkali]

I think I do semi brewing. If it calls for 3 oz water I use 5 oz if it calls for 4 oz I use 6. I do this probably because I'm still trying to get used to introducing caffeine into my body and more water just means less infusions.

[MadeForTeaVea]

Western style = lower leaf to water ratio for longer steeps

Gong fu style = much higher leaf to water ratio for much shorter steeps

For some reason I never thought about it like that. But yea, it does make sense and is a lot simpler of a concept.

[Tead Off]

Western style = lower leaf to water ratio for longer steeps

Gong fu style = much higher leaf to water ratio for much shorter steeps

For some reason I never thought about it like that. But yea, it does make sense and is a lot simpler of a concept.

But, the outcome is not the same for both styles. Both can make good cups of tea but the intensity of flavor and often aroma will be more with gongfu brewing. It is like having an espresso made with a good machine that extracts the oils and crema out of the coffee as opposed to a drip method.

In the case of Long Jing, the casual style of using a glass and drinking directly from it is a popular way but when you really want to savor a good LJ, a concentrated brewing at low temp, 55-65C and short brew times bring a new appreciation for the tea.

Personally, the only teas I like brewed western style are black/red teas, especially Darjeeling and Assam teas.

[debunix]

the only teas I like brewed western style are black/red teas

+1 (yunnan gold, Taiwanese black teas)

[Poohblah]

+1 on western style for the Yunnan reds.

Thanks guys, I think I have enough information to get something decent out of my teas. I already tried using 2 grams of Bi Luo Chun in the 80mL gaiwan and steeping in cooler water for about 2 minutes, but I was mostly unimpressed; the flavor was slightly weaker than I expected. I'll try the Long Jing with more leaf without a doubt.