Bodum Tea Press

[Djehuty]

Greetings,

I'm curious about re-steeping tea in a Bodum tea press. It occurred to me that leaving the tea leaves in a small amount of water in the bottom of the press might be much the same as drastically over-steeping the tea, thus turning the second pot bitter. Is this in fact the case, or am I worrying needlessly?

I'd just try it and find out, but my Bodum tea press is brand new, and if it turns out I've made a mistake I'd like to return it. I can't do that in good conscience if I've used it.

[Djehuty]

In other words, send it back. Thanks, I thought that might be the case, but wanted to be certain.

[JasonC]

I have a Bodum coffee press, it works about equally well I'd assume. I've had no problems using it, but yeah I'd pour most of the liquid off.

[Arguemaniac]

I have a Bodum tea press and, really, you have nothing to worry about. There is a small amount of water that gets left in there, and yeah that little bit will be bitter, but it'll get diluted completely with the rest of the water on the second steep. I've done several steeps with my bodum and it works out fine.

Just make sure you get the version that has the stainless steel infuser, not that it makes any difference with you concern about re-steeping, it's just a better quality.

Where are you going to get your Bodum from?

[joelbct]

I use a Bodum Coffee Press carafe for black and chinese green, but I don't use the mesh... just pour it thru a small handheld strainer. I wouldn't leave the leaf in water tho. You are talking about resteeping green tea, I presume?

[brlarson]

just pour out as much as you can. I use one occaisonally, and it is fine for tea that is not too critical (Black tea, some pu'erh shou, twinings, etc)

I agree with Tom. I used a Bodum Assam Tea Pot for several months and I eventually replaced it with a porcelain pot. The Bodum is fine for tea that's hard to ruin, but it's hard to beat a porcelain pot for easy everyday use. Water pooling in the base of the infuser is only one of the Bodum's problems. Another is that the plunger compacts the leaves into the infuser making it difficult for water to flow around them.

A gaiwan gives you the most control over your brews, but you might not want to fuss with a gaiwan to make morning tea. I switched to a 12oz porcelain Chatsford pot and I'm delighted with it. I'm getting subtle flavors and aromas that were lost in the Bodum.

Yes, black tea, low-grade loose cooked pu-erh, flavored greens are all good candidates for the tea press.

BTW, nice ibis on your avatar.

[Djehuty]

Thanks again for the advice. The Bodum (bought it from Amazon.com) is on its way back with tomorrow's mail. I was thinking of buying a teapot with a stainless steel mesh infuser, but:

The Bodum is fine for tea that's hard to ruin, but it's hard to beat a porcelain pot for easy everyday use. Water pooling in the base of the infuser is only one of the Bodum's problems. Another is that the plunger compacts the leaves into the infuser making it difficult for water to flow around them.

I know the plunger is a problem that only the Bodum tea press would have, but the advice to go to a porcelain pot makes me wonder something else. Are all glass pots with mesh infusers a bad idea? I was thinking of replacing the Bodum with one of the glass pots sold by Adagio Teas. I rather enjoy watching the brewing process.

BTW, nice ibis on your avatar.

Thanks, and well spotted.

[Riene]

I like my little Bodum Press. As Tom says above, I don't compress the leaves with the mesh strainer--I only plunge it about 2/3's of the way down. Since I drink black teas I don't worry about doing a second infusion. I like the glass so I can watch the leaves swirl about and change color. The small size is ideal for work.

[brlarson]

I didn't mean to push you in the direction of porcelain. My new 12oz pot solves a number of problems for me, but there are plenty of other good ways to infuse your tea.

I haven't used the Adagio pots but they all look fine. Adagio's IngenuiTEA is similar to Teavana's Perfect Tea Maker, which does a terrific job plus you can watch the leaves swirl while they brew. I'm not sure what the differences are between glass and mesh infusers (is glass used for greener teas?).

If you just get away from the plunger things should start looking up!