Do you think this guy is going overboard with how many times he rinses his teaware? It seems like SUCH a long process for the small amount of tea at the end... although it does look REALLY good!
Gongfu Cha Prep. (Google Video)
Yes, that's how it's done...if you are obsessive compulsive! 
The guy wasted too much good water and time unnecessarily, IMO. I usually skip (although, yes, the proper way is to warm the teapot first before putting the leaves in) the pouring of clean hot water to warm up the teapot and cups. When I "rinse" the tea leaves for the first time in the teapot, this warms up the pot, then I use the first tea to rinse, warm and prime all cups and other utensils. 3 birds with one stone. The second pour is tea drinking time! Why did the guy need to rinse the leaves twice???
And I don't understand why he had to use the sniffer (tall cups) for a cooked pu-erh. I was taught that sniffers are for aromatic oolongs. Pu-erh's aroma is in the liquor, not on the bottom of your empty cup, IMHO.
Very good link, Rabbit. Thanks!
The guy wasted too much good water and time unnecessarily, IMO. I usually skip (although, yes, the proper way is to warm the teapot first before putting the leaves in) the pouring of clean hot water to warm up the teapot and cups. When I "rinse" the tea leaves for the first time in the teapot, this warms up the pot, then I use the first tea to rinse, warm and prime all cups and other utensils. 3 birds with one stone. The second pour is tea drinking time! Why did the guy need to rinse the leaves twice???
And I don't understand why he had to use the sniffer (tall cups) for a cooked pu-erh. I was taught that sniffers are for aromatic oolongs. Pu-erh's aroma is in the liquor, not on the bottom of your empty cup, IMHO.
Very good link, Rabbit. Thanks!
She definitely didn't need to wash the teaware twice (or three times, really). There is a reason why you want to wash your puerh leaves twice though -- puerh is often fairly dirty, and washing it twice will clear away all unpleasant tastes. I am actually not 100% sure it's cooked puerh. It looks more like well aged raw stuff, since the colour of the liquor is not pitch black, so it seems. Hard to see, since quality isn't very high.
Her biggest sin though, I think, is when he pours tea from her teapot, she is doing it from FAR TOO HIGH an elevation. What I know is that when pouring from the teapot into the fairness cup (the white thing) you ought to pour it in from low, because the highness will cause splashes and also dissipate some of the tea's flavour, etc.
The other thing is that when you use a smelling cup, you really should use one that matches with the drinking cup from the same set. Using ones from different sets, as she is doing here, makes for leaky transfers and the need for her to only pour the smelling cup half full.
I think smelling cups are silly for any kind of tea, but that's not a sentiment shared by all.
Her biggest sin though, I think, is when he pours tea from her teapot, she is doing it from FAR TOO HIGH an elevation. What I know is that when pouring from the teapot into the fairness cup (the white thing) you ought to pour it in from low, because the highness will cause splashes and also dissipate some of the tea's flavour, etc.
The other thing is that when you use a smelling cup, you really should use one that matches with the drinking cup from the same set. Using ones from different sets, as she is doing here, makes for leaky transfers and the need for her to only pour the smelling cup half full.
I think smelling cups are silly for any kind of tea, but that's not a sentiment shared by all.
I do appreciate the ritual aspect of it, however. I don't have nearly as much of a ritual for my tea...it's usually, "Boil water, dump in ingenuiTEA, wait wait wait, and drink." There's something to be said for having your own little ceremony. I wonder if this is how she normally drinks tea.
What's with the little tray that she's dumping the water into? Does it have a compartment to catch the water, or is it just dumping onto her table?
What's with the little tray that she's dumping the water into? Does it have a compartment to catch the water, or is it just dumping onto her table?
Apr 13th, '06, 16:49
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jzero
In the beginning, the camera focuses on a hose leading into a bucket. I'm pretty sure the tray drains into that bucket.Richard wrote:What's with the little tray that she's dumping the water into? Does it have a compartment to catch the water, or is it just dumping onto her table?
They Call Me Jzero
Well, this person was a tad excessive, although only by one cycle of washing.
The first cycle of cleaning the teaware with hot water, and preheating the teaware is essential, and i never skip it, even when i make a cup of tea with a bag and a mug (just will the mug up with boiling water and let sit for a minute until the cup is hot, then proceed as normal).
The second phase, of washing the tea leaves, and then washing the cups with the leaves, is IMHO, also important. Not only does it produce a better cup but allows the recently cleansed cups to absorb the oils of the tea breifly, before the actual serving.
The third phase, of a second washing, is generally not needed for oolongs, greens, etc.. But for many Pu Er teas it is. I would not bother to do a full rinse and pour on that cycle, just soak the leaves and pour out into the serving pitcher, then pour it over the top of the yi xing pot.
I completely agree about the comment regarding mismatched sniffer cups. It's not appropriate. In fact, it's considered a little rude. In this case, it's rude, both because you didn't care enough about your guest to use your best set, or didn't care enough to have a good set to use in the first place. Secondly, the sniffer and cups should never be half-full. The proper way it to full all cups to overflowing. The sniffer cup should be the same volume as the drinking cup, so that by filling it to overflowing, you cap, invert, and the tea that fills the serving cup fills it completely. It's ok to spill tea everywhere. It's expected, and if you don't fill to overflowing, it's considered impolite.
I think a sniffer cup is always appropriate but never really needed, unless working with high quality oolongs. All tea service can benefit from sniffing the aroma prior to drinking, and the sniffer cup method is a great way to do that.
All in all, this video displays an intermediate skill level. Useful to a beginner to learn from, and useful for an intermediate tea maker to find the faults in.
HTH,
Troy
The first cycle of cleaning the teaware with hot water, and preheating the teaware is essential, and i never skip it, even when i make a cup of tea with a bag and a mug (just will the mug up with boiling water and let sit for a minute until the cup is hot, then proceed as normal).
The second phase, of washing the tea leaves, and then washing the cups with the leaves, is IMHO, also important. Not only does it produce a better cup but allows the recently cleansed cups to absorb the oils of the tea breifly, before the actual serving.
The third phase, of a second washing, is generally not needed for oolongs, greens, etc.. But for many Pu Er teas it is. I would not bother to do a full rinse and pour on that cycle, just soak the leaves and pour out into the serving pitcher, then pour it over the top of the yi xing pot.
I completely agree about the comment regarding mismatched sniffer cups. It's not appropriate. In fact, it's considered a little rude. In this case, it's rude, both because you didn't care enough about your guest to use your best set, or didn't care enough to have a good set to use in the first place. Secondly, the sniffer and cups should never be half-full. The proper way it to full all cups to overflowing. The sniffer cup should be the same volume as the drinking cup, so that by filling it to overflowing, you cap, invert, and the tea that fills the serving cup fills it completely. It's ok to spill tea everywhere. It's expected, and if you don't fill to overflowing, it's considered impolite.
I think a sniffer cup is always appropriate but never really needed, unless working with high quality oolongs. All tea service can benefit from sniffing the aroma prior to drinking, and the sniffer cup method is a great way to do that.
All in all, this video displays an intermediate skill level. Useful to a beginner to learn from, and useful for an intermediate tea maker to find the faults in.
HTH,
Troy
Troy Howard aka Da Tong (大筒), Fine Chinese Tea Sales
Happy Panda Tea Co. 快乐熊猫茶司 (KuaiLe XiongMao ChaSi)
Portland, Oregon
illium37@yahoo.com (email me for more info!)
Happy Panda Tea Co. 快乐熊猫茶司 (KuaiLe XiongMao ChaSi)
Portland, Oregon
illium37@yahoo.com (email me for more info!)
I'm learning here. Did you mean that you should fill the tall sniffer cup to the top rim and when the tea is inverted into the smaller drinking cup, the tea will overflow and spill all over? If yes, wouldn't that be a waste of good tea?illium wrote:The sniffer cup should be the same volume as the drinking cup, so that by filling it to overflowing, you cap, invert, and the tea that fills the serving cup fills it completely. It's ok to spill tea everywhere. It's expected, and if you don't fill to overflowing, it's considered impolite.
Phyll, I think a properly made sniffer+drinking cup set should be so that a filled sniffer's volume is about the same as the drinking cup's volume, thus no tea should be really wasted. Also, the mouths should match in size so that until you actually lift the sniffer cup up from the drinking cup (after inversion) there should be a seal and no tea transfer should happen until you physically try to lift the cup up. At least this has been the case when I do use sniffer cups (at fancy teahouses, I don't own a set).