Brewing Chinese greens

[Oni]

I tried gong fu style for greens, but you need some experience with simple one cup brewing before you try a harder method, I know gf style gives you much more intensity, but you can also go wrong fu and overbrew, timing should be around 30 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds, 1 min, in china they always drink green tea from a glass cup, or gaiwan, gong fu method is simply not meant for green tea, it is in it`s essence a high temperature brewing method for oolong tea, you can use large leaf to water ratio and shorter brewing time, but no boiling water, I even tried brewing chinese tea in japanese teaware, like sencha, I had good results.

[Tead Off]

Maybe a 3rd style brewing must be added for green teas because it is not really gongfu (high temp) or western brewing but somewhere in between.
Any method one chooses can go wrong if one overbrews. Giving brew times is quite meaningless unless volumes of leaf vs water volume is also given along with temps. So many ways to skin a cat. But, I have always preferred low temp brewing for all green teas and Long Jing really shines in concentrated brewing either in gaiwan or small teapot.

[britt]

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?

A Chinese co-worker who just came to the US actually recommended leaving the lid off when brewing Chinese green tea. He didn't specifically say why, but he said he never leaves the lid on when brewing green tea. I think this is, as you said, to prevent overbrewing. No lid means the heat releases quicker. When using 160F water I haven't found much difference but at higher temps I do find leaving the lid off gives better results. This is just a matter of personal opinion and taste.

I do not apply this rule to Japanese green tea as I haven't found it to be necessary. Most kyusu work just fine with the lid on as long as the water temp is kept at 175 or lower.

[britt]

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.

If the first attempt is overbrewed and results in a bad, bitter flavor, it's hard to forget that. It can leave a lasting, negative impression. I think how you started is the better way, with a rather weak result to begin with. Now you can increment the amount of leaf or the water temp until you get a flavor that suits your taste. I tend to use cooler water and more leaf, but when I try a new green tea I start off with less leaf until I see what its qualities are. I then adjust from there.

[bagua7]

An excellent video which shows an elaborate way for brewing gong fu style:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETU6jq-i ... r_embedded#!

[britt]

An excellent video which shows an elaborate way for brewing gong fu style:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETU6jq-i ... r_embedded#!

This is a great video. Did you get the impression he's done this a few times before?

[solitude]

what is your typical leaf/water ratio in gong fu style brewing for chinese greens?

[debunix]

I use anything between 0.5 to 2 grams of leaf per ounce (30mL) of water, but usually start on the low end of that until I have a feel for the particular tea.