Sunday TeaDay 8/17/08 Black tea, multible steeping?

[Geekgirl]

So, Geek, does the Yutaka Midori sing in your new Fred Parker Lily cup? Looks awesome! My biggest problem with YM, other sencha now taste less flavorful. Even the Fukamushi Supreme, also from O-Cha seems tamer now. But still very good.

Ha! YM is actually a little beefy for me. I like a gentler sencha, so it doesn't put me off other senchas. Really, I do have to be in the mood to be able to enjoy my YM, but when the mood strikes, it delivers!

[bronzebed]

hey geekgirl-this is probably a dumb question, but how do you get the matcha to be bubbly in the middle? i get foam on the sides but not in the middle.

[Geekgirl]

hey geekgirl-this is probably a dumb question, but how do you get the matcha to be bubbly in the middle? i get foam on the sides but not in the middle.

I dunno, I just whisk until the bubbles go all the way across the surface. Probably about 30 seconds or more.

[bronzebed]

hey geekgirl-this is probably a dumb question, but how do you get the matcha to be bubbly in the middle? i get foam on the sides but not in the middle.

I dunno, I just whisk until the bubbles go all the way across the surface. Probably about 30 seconds or more.

just tried making matcha for the first time today. i must be doing something wrong. guess i just need to experiment.

[Geekgirl]

just tried making matcha for the first time today. i must be doing something wrong. guess i just need to experiment.

You probably just need practice. Also, are you using a chasen or a wire whisk? I get very little nice foam if I don't use a chasen.

[bronzebed]

just tried making matcha for the first time today. i must be doing something wrong. guess i just need to experiment.

You probably just need practice. Also, are you using a chasen or a wire whisk? I get very little nice foam if I don't use a chasen.

i'm using a chasen. it is a cheap one though.

[Geekgirl]

That's okay, I get just as good foam from my $4 chasen as from my $20 one. Make sure you are whisking back and forth, and not in a circle. And try not to scrub the bottom of the bowl with the chasen.

[bronzebed]

That's okay, I get just as good foam from my $4 chasen as from my $20 one. Make sure you are whisking back and forth, and not in a circle. And try not to scrub the bottom of the bowl with the chasen.

i've been doing the 'W' shape whisking and using my wrist to create the foam. thanks for the tip about hitting the bottom of the bowl. i'll try to watch that when i make my next cup.

[Salsero]

do you resteep your black tea?

Without fail. If it won't give me at least 3 good infusions, I won't be buying it again. If it is well-made tea, I feel I owe it to the hard working people who made it. Five, however, seems to be the blacks' max, unlike most puerhs and some oolongs (most notably Dan Cong), which will sometimes go 15, 20, or even more rounds. As great as those many-infusion teas are, I start to lose patience around infusion eight to ten. It's like houseguests ... no matter how beloved, after a while your thoughts turn to putting them down.

I do find this concept of 'Traditional English' brewing problematic. ... the Historian ... unleashed

That is way cool! How on earth did you find that great passage? The author was thinking about the same stuff we are interested in today, the language is a bit different, but the word infusion is still our funny little old-fashioned sounding term. I suspect that the one shot style of brewing came with the teabag ... or descends from the cheap teas (prolly fannings and dust) that were all the working class could afford in 19th century England. Thomas Lipton (the Sam Walton of tea history) and the rush of tea sellers to come up with cheaper and cheaper products probably encouraged the demise of quality leaf.

the famous blue carp! It left me wondering if you had a matching pot ...

Indeed I do, and in the morning I am going in for the tatoo. Out of respect for our readers, I will not mention where the tatoo will reside.

Yunnan Gold ... kyusu (heresy I know).

I always admire those who can mix tea culture weapons like this, but so far I have not been able to go this far. Russian Soul has also used some vessel/leaf combinations that I admire.

[Yin-Jun-Mei-Souchong] would stand up to multiple infusions. Anyone here tried it?

I haven’t tried it, but I would suggest emailing Daniel at TeaSpring first to ask if the smoke is an added flavoring or done over a fire or in a smoke house. In my experience he has been very upfront about such things. Andy (current Adagio name: Warden) has a good bit of experience with Lapsang. He does not frequent TeaDay, so you will have to PM him, but he is smart, friendly, and approachable.

Started the morning with yummy matcha (the tea, not the bird)
Fred Parker lily teabowl

Whew, you gave me a little start there for a moment about our mascot!

So far I have been totally unimpressed with this Fred Parker stuff, but I had never noticed that nice design at the base. Is it porcelain? I would like to like him since he is almost local to me, living not too far from my almost neighbor, Omegapd.

Those poppets are so cute. If I had them here I would just eat them!
You've got the poppets, you've got the mascot, you've got the gorgeous matcha and chawan we see today ... dang, girl, you got it all!

hitting the bottom of the bowl.

Yes, it's a suface only thing. If you scrape the bottom, you will also wear out your chasen before its time. What specific matcha are you using?

Our own Scruff Mcgruff has a nice series on matcha, including a part III on actual prep. Another of TeaChat's denizens, Space Samurai, has also posted a good series beautifully illustrated HERE.The vendor O-Cha among others has nice, simple instructions.

If I remember correctly (and I may not) I think I had trouble when I used too high a temperature. The bowl needs to be warmed and dried before you put the (preferably strained) matcha in, but the water you add to that warmed matcha-containing bowl doesn't need to be much warmer than drinking temp. I have used water as cool as about 155°. Usually, I just dispense the water into a holding container while I prep the bowl and it's cool enough by the time I am ready for it. You can use an ordinary household strainer to strain the matcha. I haven't liked the official matcha strainers because they are said to rust if you rinse them with water ... So I just take my clean one out occasinally, admire it, and put it away ... still dry and still clean. *sigh*

[Riene]

Yum!

It's just that it all looks so very very GREEN. Long experience has taught me to be wary of green things on my plate, in my cup, and discovered in the back of the refrigerator...

Wish I could taste it, made by an expert, without having to buy a big package and ruin it with my fumbling.

[bronzebed]

hitting the bottom of the bowl.

Yes, it's a suface only thing. If you scrape the bottom, you will also wear out your chasen before its time. What specific matcha are you using?

Our own Scruff Mcgruff has a nice series on matcha, including a part III on actual prep. Another of TeaChat's denizens, Space Samurai, has also posted a good series beautifully illustrated HERE.The vendor O-Cha among others has nice, simple instructions.

If I remember correctly (and I may not) I think I had trouble when I used too high a temperature. The bowl needs to be warmed and dried before you put the (preferably strained) matcha in, but the water you add to that warmed matcha-containing bowl doesn't need to be much warmer than drinking temp. I have used water as cool as about 155°. Usually, I just dispense the water into a holding container while I prep the bowl and it's cool enough by the time I am ready for it. You can use an ordinary household strainer to strain the matcha. I haven't liked the official matcha strainers because they are said to rust if you rinse them with water ... So I just take my clean one out occasinally, admire it, and put it away ... still dry and still clean. *sigh*

thanks. i'm gonna check out those resources right now.

the tea i use is matcha kaze. i've been using 160 temp and have been warming the bowl first and then completely drying it.

[Chip]

Long experience has taught me to be wary of green things on my plate, in my cup, and discovered in the back of the refrigerator...

Wish I could taste it, made by an expert, without having to buy a big package and ruin it with my fumbling.

Tea is all about experimenting. We experiment with new teas, brewing methods, teaware. It is all one grand experiment.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Besides, you have a forum at your disposal to help you through the learning curve. Many of us did not have this added benefit.

Speaking of experiments, currently Sencha Kunpu from Den's is in my cup. This is my first bag of this light steamed sencha. First attempt was pretty bad. But this is now my 3rd or 4th try and it is really good stuff.

So, it seems that the learning process is never over. This is one of the fun things about tea.

[Geekgirl]

So far I have been totally unimpressed with this Fred Parker stuff, but I had never noticed that nice design at the base. Is it porcelain? I would like to like him since he is almost local to me, living not too far from my almost neighbor, Omegapd.

I have to admit that I am more impressed with his stoneware than with the porcelain. When I first spotted his shop he had a very interesting stoneware teabowl he was calling "anthracite." It had a BLACK base, with a rough cream glaze flowing partially down the sides. It was beautiful. AND... I hesitated too long and somebody purchased it.

While his porcelain is nice, (probably some of the nicest hand-thrown porcelain you'll find on Etsy,) my real interest is in the stoneware and impressive glaze combinations he's producing. I still think he is one to watch.

I've just purchased this tiny mug, (6oz) mainly because of the glaze:



Two more potters I really love are Craig Martell (here in Oregon,) and Bill Campbell, (in Mass. I think.) Neither has any work for sale on etsy, but you can find Bill Campbell on Ebay and in various shops around the country. I haven't found an online retail outlet for Martell yet.

Riene: I'd gladly share with you if you were here! I'd also gladly send you a sample. But... if you really want to try one of the GREEN! teas, I recommend that you purchase the $3 sample from Den's Tea. It's a steal.

BB: I've not yet tried Matcha Kaze, but be certain to sift the matcha- you can use the metal strainer basket from a teapot. I too use cooler water, down to about 150. Lower than that and the tea sediments too quickly after being whisked. It seems that the higher temp is necessary for the tea powder suspension.

Sal: I still haven't bought one of those snazzy little sifters. I've been thinking about it because I drink matcha every day now. What is this about rust???

[Geekgirl]

Tea is all about experimenting. We experiment with new teas, brewing methods, teaware. It is all one grand experiment.

No joke! And for me... learning to say "this is TERRIBLE!" and not feeling bad if I put it down the sink instead of my mouth.

[britt]

hey geekgirl-this is probably a dumb question, but how do you get the matcha to be bubbly in the middle? i get foam on the sides but not in the middle.

Actually the matcha shouldn't be bubbly. It should foam, but the bubbles making up the foam should be very small.

Hotter water, less water for a given amount of matcha, and more consistent whisking (smooth and steady versus fast and erratic) should give good results without having to use a sifter. Preheating the bowl along with these things should give a very consistent, foamy bowl of matcha with minimum sized bubbles and no sediment remaining on the bottom after drinking it.

The particular bowl also affects the results. I find that more care is required with a heavier bowl such as a Hagi.