So I'm reading this book, The Story of Tea, by Mary Lou and Robert J. Heiss. It's an amazing book. One of the things it suggests is lower water temperatures than are usually recommended. Instead if 212F for black teas, it says 190-200F.
I decided to try this on the golden monkey I wanted to drink this evening. I adjusted my electric kettle to 200F and brewed for my standard 5 minutes, and the difference in the taste of the tea is utterly amazing. Suddenly the golden monkey is extremely sweet (but not too sweet) and even slightly tart. I liked it a lot at 212F, but it's even more impressive at 200F.
So I thought I'd post about it. I'm going to try the lower temp for the other black teas I like so I can see it their character changes as much as the GM did. Very interesting, yes?
Oct 27th, '08, 23:48
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I will certainly give this a try! I have played around quite a bit with my black teas in regard to leaf amount and brew time... the standard rules make a cup that is too strong and too easily going bitter to suit my palate. I think those bold cups are great if the drinker really wants a wake-up or drinks their tea with sugar and cream... but I am more in the mood to tate those delicate complexities of the tea... so I have tried variations on the amount of leaf, usually going up a bit, but shortening my brewing time considerably. A cooler water temp might also get me where I want to go. Thanks for posting your experience!
Sarah
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Oct 28th, '08, 00:35
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I've decided to shorten my brewing time as well. Next time I make tea I'm going to go with the lower temp for four minutes. Should reduce the tartness in the golden monkey a bit, I should think.
I look forward to trying the lower temp with other black teas, too. Particularly the Darjeeling #22. I suspect I might like it more. At 5 min @ 212F it's a bit boring...
I look forward to trying the lower temp with other black teas, too. Particularly the Darjeeling #22. I suspect I might like it more. At 5 min @ 212F it's a bit boring...
Oct 28th, '08, 00:50
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Though I have never really done it, others have advocated fooling around with brew temperatures to find different features of a tea. I think it was Tenuki who has gone into some detail about the changes from fruity to floral that Gao Shan (Taiwan High Mountain Oolongs) show given different brewing temps.
I have a bit of Tea Nazi in me so I always feel things must be done the right way, but in reality there seems to be a lot for the intrepid to learn by fiddling with temps.
Do keep us posted on your experiments.
I have a bit of Tea Nazi in me so I always feel things must be done the right way, but in reality there seems to be a lot for the intrepid to learn by fiddling with temps.
Do keep us posted on your experiments.
Oct 28th, '08, 01:47
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Oct 28th, '08, 03:24
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In eight years I've noticed that if I mix up simple brewing temperatures between those roguish greens and blacks I receive a new taste every time. When I first tried an oriental spice blend it was rather fumy and unflavorful, the base of the black tea overpowering any 'spice' the tea had. When brewed lower at around 190 I found the spice was increased as with the smell blooming from the cup rather than settling just around the lip. Counter to this brews with many flavors or lighter infusions do poorly at lower temperatures. A sample mixture of Cinnamon added to Apple at 190 lead to a watered down toaster stroodle whereas at 212 the apple was the main flavor while the richer cinnamon simply added to the flavor as it was counteracted by the leaves' natural flavorings. The hardest ones to steep from my experience are blends that have two very subtle flavors that counteract eachother when hot or cold. Irish Breakfast has become my most common culprit for varying temperatures as it becomes very bitter or tannin-rich while at lower temperatures it is barely more flavorful than colored water. Sadly I'm just going to write that one off as my own inexperience or repeated poor brewing so it might not be the best example for mixed temperatures. Sadly I've more to say about brewing greens hotter than blacks hotter so that's for another place, neh? But definently try all your blacks lower at least once and around the 3rd or 4th steep and you might just be surprised.
Speaking of the #22, I often steep mine about 200 degrees as it comes out a little lighter, brisker, and smoother to be as redundant as possible. Lower than that and it loses much of the flavor from testing but it will develop some different tones as you get closer to boiling. Unfortunately it seems to never do well when pushed past boiling as most black teas spoil rather quickly when someone uses a pressure boiler to get their water higher than 212. Ah, science.I look forward to trying the lower temp with other black teas, too. Particularly the Darjeeling #22. I suspect I might like it more. At 5 min @ 212F it's a bit boring...
Oct 28th, '08, 05:11
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Chip, you'll be pleased to know that the book recommends slightly lower temps for the other classes of tea, too -- roughly ten degrees cooler than conventional times, basically. The authors talk about how the tea can scorch at higher temps. I'm not treating the book as a final authority, but it's a great read and makes a lot of suggestions I want to try.
Rakuras, thanks for the input. Science is indeed cool.
Sal, according to the book the Chinese have been using slightly lower temps for centuries. The book even lists the poetic Chinese names for how the water should look for different teas. So who knows -- maybe lower temps are the "right" way.
I'll definitely keep posting about my experiments...
Rakuras, thanks for the input. Science is indeed cool.
Sal, according to the book the Chinese have been using slightly lower temps for centuries. The book even lists the poetic Chinese names for how the water should look for different teas. So who knows -- maybe lower temps are the "right" way.
I'll definitely keep posting about my experiments...
I'm with you on that. I never go over 3 mins on blacks.Trioxin wrote:For the most part I usually brew slightly off boil for my blacks. Its how long most of you brew your blacks that kinda scares me. Usually I try to keep my brew times at around two and a half minutes. Someday soon I should try a four to five minute brew just to see the difference.
After that, to quote Treazure from TeaDay today it's, "strong enough for a mouse to walk on."
For me, it depends very much on the tea. I have two Keemun: For the first one the max steep time is about 2.5min but the second one needs at least 4min to fully reveal its taste.Victoria wrote:I'm with you on that. I never go over 3 mins on blacks.Trioxin wrote:For the most part I usually brew slightly off boil for my blacks. Its how long most of you brew your blacks that kinda scares me. Usually I try to keep my brew times at around two and a half minutes. Someday soon I should try a four to five minute brew just to see the difference.
After that, to quote Treazure from TeaDay today it's, "strong enough for a mouse to walk on."