Multiple infusions?

[caligatia]

What teas are good for multiple infusions? I've tried a few teas -- blacks, mostly, and an oolong -- but they tasted terrible on the second brew. I see people here referring to second and even third infusions, and I want to know what the heck they're drinking...

[Pentox]

Pretty much everything depending on your water:leaf ratio. Black teas are the most common to have a single infusion only. (except for matcha which is by default always only one infusion).

Greens, yellows, whites, puerh, blacks to some degree, you name it, you got it. (except matcha).

[Salsero]

Quality of the tea is critical. Generally bagged teas will not go more than once without a dramatic reduction in quality, and I doubt that most scented teas and herbal teas (though I don't drink either) will do multiple infusions.

For many oolongs, puerhs, and greens the second or third infusion is the best. Some puerhs and dan cong oolongs will lope into a 20th infusion or beyond.

[Pentox]

Quality of the tea is critical. Generally bagged teas will not go more than once without a dramatic reduction in quality, and I doubt that most scented teas and herbal teas (though I don't drink either) will do multiple infusions.

Flavored/scented teas will more often then not go for a second round, but the flavor will change drastically. On most flavored teas the flavor disappears and you get to taste the underlying tea more, and scented teas you may still have a good solid second if it was a good job of scenting.

[scruffmcgruff]

Also timing, though this is indirectly related to water/leaf ratio. If you brew the first infusion for 4+ minutes, you will probably have used up all the goodies in those leaves.

[Chip]

An additional technic is to increase temps from one infusion to the next as well as brew time. This is not a rule of thumb approach however.

Regardless, you still have to start with good tea.

Also, there are now premium bags on the market offered on line that can be brewed several times, for instance O-Cha Uji sencha bags have 5 grams of flavor packed leaf in each bag.

[Space Samurai]

Also timing, though this is indirectly related to water/leaf ratio. If you brew the first infusion for 4+ minutes, you will probably have used up all the goodies in those leaves.

Good point.

When I start a tea, I get an idea of how many infusions I want, 1-2, 3-4, or more, and decide from there how much tea I'm going to use, how long do I steep, and what not.

I never bother with second infusions of black tea.

[caligatia]

Thanks to everyone for the input. I'm drinking pretty good quality loose teas, except for the occasional cup of Twinings decaf at night. And I never try to re-use that bag. It sounds like the issue is that I mostly drink black teas. I have the green and white samplers on my Adagio wishlist, so next time I place an order I'll get those too if I have the cash. I've never had quality versions of either type, so it'll be neat to see if I like the good stuff.

I'll try a second infusion of my favorite oolong again, this time brewing for a bit longer. My problem was that it was too weak. (But if I add more leaves then the first infusion is too strong.) Maybe longer steeping time will help. It's the Formosa Oolong Choicest from Upton, and I think it's pretty good tea, so I doubt it's a quality issue unless I'm completely misjudging things...

[JadeKitsune]

For the teas I've tried, the first brew is like spring; fresh and golden flavor.

With a second steeping the flavor subsides to autumn; a rich flavor mix with a touch of bitterness.

After that, the flavor diminishes to a whisper of it's former glory.

Also timing, though this is indirectly related to water/leaf ratio. If you brew the first infusion for 4+ minutes, you will probably have used up all the goodies in those leaves.

Scruff is so right.

I've tried double-brewing with matcha and Oolong before. I've also double-brewed an herbal infusion tea with a long list of Chinese ingredients.

I've heard if you steep certain teas beyond 4 minutes, bitter chemicals start to leach into the water. I think that's probably accurate, because the second steeping does have a different taste to it. I still enjoy it.

I love the idea of adding a few fresh leaves to the second infusions

[Pentox]

I've tried double-brewing with matcha

how did you do that out of curiosity?

[JadeKitsune]

Flash-steamed the water away immediately after adding the powder.

No, it's a newbie matcha from Whole Foods. Comes in a very fine bag that poufs green shimmers when you squeeze it. As such, it can be steeped twice in this form.

I've not had the authentic matcha experience. Any recommendations for where to start?

[olivierco]

Ippodo or Ocha for Japan based shops.

For US based stores, I don't know: itoen I guess.

[silverneedles]

Den's Tea (California)

[Pentox]

Of all the matcha converts i've seen, people have been happiest with the ippodo kit. Unfortunately it's expensive to ship, but compared to a lot of the kits available stateside it's rather competitive.

[Beidao]

Caligatia: If you want to make several infusions of a black, try with Keemun and Yunnan. I always make 2-3 infusion out of them. I have never tried Formosa Oolong since I've heard that it is not the best quality. If that's accurate, maybe you should try other oolongs. I strongly recommend a good Dan Cong, a ginseng oolong, a gui hua (flavoured with osmanthus) and a Dong Ding. If you want lots of infusions, a gaiwan is great. Good luck!