Thanks guys! My first time using the Gaiwan was too strong. Second time I didn't let it steep long enough and used too few leaves, basically had hot water. Today I used some of Kusmi Tea's "Prince Vladimir" and I think I did alright! It's three steepings in one cup, and I'd say it just needed about 5-10 more seconds per steep to get the right flavor, it's slightly mild for a black tea.
As for my technique, I found a fast pour gets a nice stream out, using the two fingers on the side and one on the top.
Nov 11th, '08, 07:42
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That is the 'three finger' method and works as well. Mine gets too hot on the rim to do that easily after a bit.ngower wrote:Thanks guys! My first time using the Gaiwan was too strong. Second time I didn't let it steep long enough and used too few leaves, basically had hot water. Today I used some of Kusmi Tea's "Prince Vladimir" and I think I did alright! It's three steepings in one cup, and I'd say it just needed about 5-10 more seconds per steep to get the right flavor, it's slightly mild for a black tea.
As for my technique, I found a fast pour gets a nice stream out, using the two fingers on the side and one on the top.
Also the idea of the gaiwan is to have smaller samplings of teas. Its best to have each steep in a seperate cup so you can taste all the small changes as you brew more of the tea. But that is if you have the time, its not any rule that you have too. I would probably use that method on some of the cheaper teas that I don't care much about.
No need to get larger cups. Just put a pinch of loose tea (about as much as you can easily grab with your thumb and two fingers, depending on the tea - about 2 grams). Add hot water, cover for 4-5 minutes, uncover, and drink it straight from the gaiwan. If you use good quality tea, you can usually resteep 2-3 times.
"The meaning of life can be found in a good cup of tea."
Check out more Taiwan tea stories (with photos) at taiwanteaguy.com
Check out more Taiwan tea stories (with photos) at taiwanteaguy.com
Nov 12th, '08, 02:14
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Yah but what type of tea do you usualy drink? I find if I leave blacks in too long they get awfully bitter...teaguy wrote:No need to get larger cups. Just put a pinch of loose tea (about as much as you can easily grab with your thumb and two fingers, depending on the tea - about 2 grams). Add hot water, cover for 4-5 minutes, uncover, and drink it straight from the gaiwan. If you use good quality tea, you can usually resteep 2-3 times.
For black tea you need to use a very small amount. I generally drink oolongs, because I started with the 'light' oolongs way back when, but I'm moving up the scale now, and keep an assortment of oolong, TKY, black, and pu-er teas in stock.
Most of my solo gaiwan drinking is oolong/TKY.
I haven't done black teas solo cup for awhile. I'll experiment a bit and get back to you.
Most of my solo gaiwan drinking is oolong/TKY.
I haven't done black teas solo cup for awhile. I'll experiment a bit and get back to you.
"The meaning of life can be found in a good cup of tea."
Check out more Taiwan tea stories (with photos) at taiwanteaguy.com
Check out more Taiwan tea stories (with photos) at taiwanteaguy.com
Is this at the "other" website wich I found was linked att the banner a few days ago here? The have reverted to the old URL now but the site is still up.Chip wrote:Adagio will make them available at reduced cost to the TeaChat/TCR participants and will also likely have them for normal price on their site soon.
The site says "Adagio Wholesale".