multiple infusions and heating water

[bennate]

I'm an avid black tea drinker, but my doctor recommended that I drink green tea because I'm at an increased risk for breast cancer. I have never liked green tea, but I'd only had supermarket bagged green tea. I have purchased some loose tea samples and realize I really like it. I'm not ready to stop drinking black tea, but hey, I don't mind drinking more tea.

However, it's taken some figuring out how to brew green tea. With black tea, I just brew in one teapot, pour it into another teapot when it's ready, stick a tea cozy on it, and I can drink it when I finish my meal. However, with green tea, I'm brewing 4-5 ounces at a time for multiple infusions. I find myself spending a lot of time waiting for water to boil. Can you heat a lot of water at once and reuse it for green tea? I find myself drinking tea standing up in the kitchen, which isn't ideal. I don't want a water boiler, as I hate plasticy tastes (I've never used one though but electric tea kettle bother me) and I like my countertops free of clutter. I tried putting boiling water in a thermos, and the temperature dropped too much. I hate lukewarm tea. Any advice?

[JRS22]

Green tea is better when brewed with cooler water.

I prefer an electric kettle to heating water on the stove - it's more convenient and uses less energy. I have the Utilitea from Adagio and I don't find that the small amount of plastic that the water is exposed to affecting the taste. The Utilitea retains the heat well enough for all but the most temperature sensitive teas, so I bring the kettle to the table after the water is at the desired temperature. That way I can resteep while reading the morning paper.

[debunix]

I leave my electric kettle on and set to temp while I'm steeping and resteeping, and sit at the high kitchen breakfast bar near it's outlet to sit & sip.

[entropyembrace]

There are electric kettles which can automatically keep the water at whatever temperature you need for tea, one of those would probably be the most convieient solution for you.

[Kunkali]

I use pino pro tea kettle after reading many user reviews I chose that one over utiliTEA

[Chip]

Since this is a green tea topic ... for greens I bring the utiliTea to full boil, use the first pour to preheat the pot and then the same water for the first steep.

I do not have to reboil for 4 steeps or so. I just keep pouring with certain levels of cooling for the first 3 steeps, then right from the kettle for the 4th and 5th.

Of course this would work for any full boil kettle. I never use the other settings on this adjustable electric kettle, never.

[Mr. Usaji]

Most electric kettles are stainless steel on the inside, so you don't have to worry about horrible plastic taste (not to mention bisphenol-A, etc, if you're worried about health effects). I use a stove-top steel kettle but I would like to get an electric one.

Low temperature is a good thing: boiling water ruins most green tea. (I think one reason why people think they don't like green tea is that they brew it like black tea.) Chip uses boiling water to pre-heat the pot, which also cools the water to a good green-tea temperature at the same time. If you're a bit more careless/impatient, like me, you can stop heating the water before it boils (just when bubbles start to form, or somewhere between 160 and 180 F, depending on the kind of tea), and pour it directly onto the tea in an unheated teapot. This is probably not as good as Chip's way but it works OK for me.

Another option for you is just putting leaves and hot water directly in a big glass. It works pretty well for anything with big leaves (like most Chinese green tea, but not Japanese). It was recently discussed here:
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=13777

[britt]

If you want a high-quality way to have water of the correct temperature available at all times, a Japanese hot-water dispenser is the way to go. You can get sizes ranging from 1.5 liter to at least 4.0 litres from either Zojirushi or Tiger. Both are made in Japan so meet strict quality and safety standards.

Most of these have three temperature settings but they can vary from model to model. You need to find one with three temperatures that are suitable for your personal use. I use 158 F for most green tea but many others use 175F.

I own the 3 liter Tiger which I purchased after falling asleep with my kettle on the stove. It's one of the best tea purchases I've made. The Tiger heats much quicker than I thought it would, even when filled to the top line. It has never tasted like plastic as it has a coated metal cannister inside. You can leave it on all the time if you wish, and it will shut off automatically if it runs too low on water. I've also noticed how long it retains the heat when I do shut it off. It seems to be very efficient.

Although not a very traditional tea tool, I would not give it up now that I've tried it.

[bennate]

Thanks everyone for your helpful replies. Does the water taste stale when it's been sitting at 160-170 degrees while you drink each infusion? With black tea, I've always thought you should start with freshly drawn water. Is the issue different for greens?

[Chip]

Yes, I steep four or more steeps from one heating of water, no problema!

[debunix]

Does the tiger allow you to adjust the temperature degree by degree, or just have low/medium/high settings?

(and don't tell the pinos that I'm asking this question)

[britt]

Does the tiger allow you to adjust the temperature degree by degree, or just have low/medium/high settings?

(and don't tell the pinos that I'm asking this question)

Unfortunately it has three preset temperatures. Mine has 158, 195, and 208. Although I use lower temps than 175 for green tea, I still would have preferred 175 and then cool the water in the cups for a minute or so. With 158 if I don't preheat (I rarely do) the temp is even lower making it closer to the temp used for gyokuro.

Some models have different combinations of temps and some have 4 instead of 3.

I usually don't bring the water to a boil. It takes too long to come back down unless you open the lid. I watch it going up in temp in boil mode and as it crosses the correct temp (on the digital readout) I shut off the boil function and it remains at the preset point.

[Stentor]

Oh yes, it is quite tricky that the first infusion actually needs the water to be at lowest temperature when you need slightly higher temperature with each of the following infusions.

What I do is pour the boiled water into an "Alfi" stainless steel thermal carafe (can be found at Amazon) and preheat the kyusu with excess hot water straight from the kettle.
The thermal carafe (when quickly preheated with the hottest water my tap offers) keeps the (previously filtered) water at about 194° F for as long as it takes for me to finish 3 to 5 infusions (filled all the way to the top it will keep it hot for hours but it appears that the air that replaces the water that you pour out will cool the water inside the thermal carafe down a little). The water for the last infusion will usually come straight out of the thermal carafe.

For me, this is a convenient solution. I can keep the hot water right where I'm drinking tea and don't have to constantly get up to reheat.
Before each infusion, I'll just pour the amount of water I need in a cooling pitcher and wait for it to cool down to the desired temperature.

Also, a thermal carafe doesn't use electricity, which may be a plus to those of us who want to do a little something for the environment.

Do you guys see any disadvantages to my method that I am unaware of?
I don't feel that the thermal carafe adds anything to or takes anything away from the taste of the water. I only ever store filtered water in it (so there is no scale buildup) and it has never come in contact with anything other than water.