Sunday's TeaDay 2.24.08

[TimeforTea]

My brewing vessel is 16 ounces right now. I can't wait to receive my kyuso from Den's. I'd like to make that my every day tea pot.

Today I had loose leaf sencha from Harney & Sons. The first steep was delicious. The second steep tasted more grassy and thicker. I did not do a third steep. Moving the dial down on the utiliTEA helped make the steeps taste less bitter.

I just returned from a tastefully simple party, where GASP! there was no tea. However, I told 3 people about teachat and they were very excited about looking into joining and trying samples from adagio. I am turning into a tea proselytizer!

[TimeforTea]

Go easy on me, I'm still a newbie!

Do you all use small pots so you can taste the different flavors from multiple steepings? Is that why you don't use the large pots you bought when you were new?

[Chip]

Yes...also this way we can use less leaf...saving money. But if you brew 5 steeps of 200 ml...compare that to 5 steeps of 16 oz...a lot more liquid.

[scruffmcgruff]

Heh, well, I probably use about double the amount of leaf now that I used in my big pots, but I get more concentrated flavor and a lot more steeps.

[GeoffK]

2nd cup today was Bubble Tea. OK OK I know many of you poo poo Bubble Tea, but I was with my kids and they wanted it.

I made up for it with a newly purchased 1998 Meng Hai Puerh which is AMAZING.

[osadczuk]

My main brewer is the TriniTea, approx 32 oz. Other then that it's the InginuiTEA at 16.

[Victoria]

My second brew today is Lu An Gua Pian -
Just learning my way around the greens, thanks dotK!

[Ladytiger]

I'm going to settle down for some peppermint tea in a moment.

[daughteroftheKing]

Like many of us, I have lots-of-pots, lots of different sizes.
But it's the 16oz. IngenuiTeas that I use several times a day.

I had a rather old ti kuan yin from Enjoyingtea, that came as a sample but had been forgotten. Should have remained forgotten. By the 4th infusion I mixed it with a TKY I already like, which helped some but wasn't as good as I was hoping.
For my iced tea today, I'm having Stash's White Christmas (I know, Christmas is over), it's white tea with mint and ginger. It's part of my secret teabag collection .

[Victoria]

I had a rather old ti kuan yin from Enjoyingtea, that came as a sample but had been forgotten. Should have remained forgotten. By the 4th infusion I mixed it with a TKY I already like, which helped some but wasn't as good as I was hoping.

I really haven't found any TQY that can go 4 steeps in the IngenuiTEA. It's produced 42oz by that time already. I guess that's why gaiwans are so popular. ;o)

[TimeforTea]

Tea number two is Taiwan oolong. Brewed it longer this time, much better. But now I am all but out.

Zhong Shu Hu...a green oolong.

Chip...Where do you buy your green oolongs, and how you can tell a tea is a green oolong if you can't see a picture of the leaves, when ordering?

[scruffmcgruff]

Time4Tea:

It's a name thing. After a while, you learn what specific names (such as Ali shan, Li shan, gao shan, baozhong, etc.) are usually on the lighter end of the spectrum.

I personally wouldn't buy tea from a place that doesn't offer a picture, though-- too easy to get fooled into buying something you aren't expecting.

[Chip]

Chip...Where do you buy your green oolongs, and how you can tell a tea is a green oolong if you can't see a picture of the leaves, when ordering?

A vendor will often describe it as a green oolong. Most vendors will usually show a picture of the tea as well. Really helps to sell the tea, but pictures are not always ...a true indication of what the leaf looks like. I have run into this with TeaFromTaiwan.com. The pics are so much greener than the leaf itself.

Hopefully, they will at least indicate the % oxidation. I generally consider 25% or less a green oolong, but this is rather subjective on my part.

Tenuki...is there a set % that indicates whether an oolong is a green oolong or not???

[Chip]

I really haven't found any TQY that can go 4 steeps in the IngenuiTEA. It's produced 42oz by that time already. I guess that's why gaiwans are so popular. ;o)

Yes, it would require A LOT of leaf to get 4 or more infusions using the ingenuiTEA. Plus you would really be drinking a lot of tea as well.

An option is to use less water with the ingenuiTEA. Have you ever tried this?

[Eastree]

My brewing vessels:

One side-handled puffer fish ceramic pot, ~8oz
One glass teapot ~16oz
Yixing: 120ml, 130ml, two 150ml-ish
Gaiwans: 120ml, 90ml, one 100ml on the way