Caring about water
I started off drinking Japanese greens where the water never got too close to boiling. I learned about the "fish eye" "crab eye" stuff. I'm starting to get into oolongs and now the water must be much closer to boiling. I just recently found out that water that sits for a long time or boils for an extended period will loose oxygen and reduce the amount of flavors that will be extracted from the tea. I use a brita pitcher and an electric kettle. I read about filtering the water just before use but should I only boil enough water for each infusion? I also read that distilled water isn't great either (I guess it needs some minerals). What type of bottled water is best then? I never realized there were so many other things to worry about for water.
I use a brita filter with bamboo charcoal sitting in the pitcher. I have read that water should sit there for a couple of hours letting the charcoal do its thing. Many times it does sit there for that long, but, I'm certainly not going to wait for 2 hours to drink tea if I'm in the mood!
Usually for each tea session, I use most of the water in a 1.2L SS electric kettle. But, occassionally, I will top up a half full or even 3/4 full kettle that has been previously boiled. Now you can talk to your water and apologize for the terrible way you are treating it. Some people whisper sweet nothings to their water. Personally, I don't worry about it and the tea still tastes good. I do notice the biggest difference is the addition of the bamboo charcoal to the pitcher.
Usually for each tea session, I use most of the water in a 1.2L SS electric kettle. But, occassionally, I will top up a half full or even 3/4 full kettle that has been previously boiled. Now you can talk to your water and apologize for the terrible way you are treating it. Some people whisper sweet nothings to their water. Personally, I don't worry about it and the tea still tastes good. I do notice the biggest difference is the addition of the bamboo charcoal to the pitcher.
