Monday TeaDay 5/4/09 Amount of leaf/importance?

[Chip]

BTW, for virtually anything but Japanese greens, I rarely break out the scale, but still do for experimenting with a new tea or in order to quantify results a bit. This was not always the case however when I used to weigh everything. But for the first 7 years of drinking tea, I did not have a scale. When I started using one, I was shocked how much better my results were.

Yutaka Midori Shincha today, I have concluded that brewing the first steep at 68*c allows the tea to release better flavours than at just a few degrees higher. I've been quite blown away by this one!

Interesting, I will have to remember this once I finally get mine. Glad to hear you are enjoying it!

Just finishing Chiran Supreme from O-Cha which was outstanding as always.

[brlarson]

I do mine by look and feel as well..but i have been considering getting a small gram scale just to see how close i have been and how off i have been or if it will make much difference..anyone recommend what you use?

I use this electronic scale from Upton
http://www.uptontea.com/shopcart/item.a ... goryID=188
It's a little pricey, but it does a great job and I'm very happy with it.

Bruce

[ErikaM]

I use this electronic scale from Upton
http://www.uptontea.com/shopcart/item.a ... goryID=188
It's a little pricey, but it does a great job and I'm very happy with it.

Bruce

I have the same scale. My tea-brewing skills improved dramatically after I bought it. For starters, I realized I'd been cheating myself on leaf, especially with white teas and bulkier-leaf greens.

I still haven't entirely figured out leaf quantities. For example, I ordered some sencha karigane from Hibiki-an and the instructions called for a huge amount of leaf. I dutifully brewed according to the directions, but it was too much for my taste. I cut down the amount of leaf and love the tea now. I guess I'm a tea wuss.

[TaiPing Hou Kui]

Amount of leaf is very important for me.....It has been a while since I have measured to the precise gram......but, that being said, I have a sakura bark tea scoop that I use and several months ago when I got it I measures out the propper "grammage" and took not of what it looked like in the tea scoop for several of my favortie senchas and gyos and I like to think that my measurements are at least accurate to .5g. About to brew some organic sencha from www.yuuki-cha.com

-Nick

[Intuit]

*Many* tea varieties are quite forgiving of a bit of slop in measurement, infusion length and (sometimes) temperature.

Chip said: "BTW, for virtually anything but Japanese greens, I rarely break out the scale, but still do for experimenting with a new tea or in order to quantify results a bit. "

Common sense! I might expand Chips list to include some Chinese greens, and greener oolongs.

If a certain tea tends to release unpleasant characteristics (perhaps has a function of age or processing), curbing the weight and infusion length maybe needed.

When cooking or preparing beverages, most of us tend to approximate the desired mass by eyeballed volume, not actual measured weight - unless you are imbibing a difficult tea or are a persnickety teadrinker!

Green tea in the cup.

[Janine]

I said the amount of leaf is paramount. However, to clarify, I have never used a scale, nor do I ever plan to do so.

[Mrs. Chip]

Currently in my cup, mugicha, home-roasted by DH.

Up next Still waiting on Chip to decide what we will be sharing!

[cherylopal]

Crucial I am a scale freak!

Yutaka Midori Shincha today, I have concluded that brewing the first steep at 68*c allows the tea to release better flavours than at just a few degrees higher. I've been quite blown away by this one!

Mine came today!!!!!!!!!
and I will most definitely use the scale and be uber precise- thanks so much for sharing your brewing and the fact that it well, blew you away! It's too late for me to have tea so I will wake up a bit early tomorrow and hopefully be well, blown away

also my replacement pot came too- yeah! hopefully i won't be too clutzy too soon and this one will last.

[Proinsias]

Outwith Japanese green my method is usually to put loads of the stuff in a small vessel. With Japanese green I tend to go with one scoop and vary some other things which I won't speak of today.

[bsteele]

I voted: Eh, maybe important, maybe not.

Without the leaf it's just water... but some people like to drink water. And I mean, tea is (70.72/5.44)*7.53595 percent water anyway... so even a sprinkle of leaf makes it tea.

So I conclude eat more bacon.


Drinking YM shinca from o-cha

[gingkoseto]

For the song zhong dan cong I am drinking now, I would choose maybe.. maybe... or even not important. This is a mild dan cong and I dare to use as much tea leaves as possible. In many other cases, I could only use half amount as used by a native of Chaozhou

[Herb_Master]

For the song zhong dan cong I am drinking now, I would choose maybe.. maybe... or even not important. This is a mild dan cong and I dare to use as much tea leaves as possible. In many other cases, I could only use half amount as used by a native of Chaozhou

I thought the Chaozhou style was to pack very heavy and brew very strong to produce a brew which is far too strong for natives of other provinces and overseas tea afficianados.

Does the heavy Chaozhou style only apply to other teas such as TeoChew or Black tea and lower grades of Oolong BUT not to DanCong?

[entropyembrace]

I thought the Chaozhou style was to pack very heavy and brew very strong to produce a brew which is far too strong for natives of other provinces and overseas tea afficianados.

Does the heavy Chaozhou style only apply to other teas such as TeoChew or Black tea and lower grades of Oolong BUT not to DanCong?

That sounds like how I brew my xiaguan shu puerh


Sipping some Bukhail Estate TGFOP Assam...probably 2008.

[Drax]

I got a few more brews out of the 1980s Xiaguan. Actually, I could probably keep going with it (and actually am tempted to keeping doing a morning and evening 30+ min brew with it) to get the sweet echoes of camphor. Mmmmm.

For this evening, I'm trying some 2004 "He Shihua" from Jingmai. Apparently Mr. He Shihua is the mastermind behind the beeng. This tea still has quite a kick to it, but without some of the strange stray flavors I've experienced in other young shengs. Is that good or bad?

[kkthxby3]

"Important"

I use a little teaspon scoop and put in as much as directed, 1 scoop per 8oz (or it 6?). Doesn't matter as I drink from either a 12 oz or 18 oz cup size so I tend to put a minimum of two scoops in followed by an extra half scoop to a scoop or two, just depends on density and composure of leaves.

IMO you can't go wrong either way, I mean who enjoys drinking water but what's wrong with drinking water, nothing, and as for too much... I haven't quite experienced anything of the sort yet but have been consistently pleased with overdoing it just a bit for each cup.

The only bad experience I've had is with this White Tea I got as a gift from the Tea Republican or something but they're bagged, not loose, and there was no directions on measurements so I used two bags in a 18oz cup.. Disgusting, not the tea itself but it tasted like chemicals which perhaps is from the bags and doubt it had to do with one too many bags.