To use a timer for gongfu, or not?

[tingjunkie]

In an effort to get better at my new hobby, I wanted to start a discussion about using a timer when preparing teas gong fu style.

I think it goes without saying that for the seasoned veterans out there, it's better to trust one's experience and intuition, rather than a time piece. But what about someone like me who is just beginning to learn how to brew oolongs and puerhs?

The first 10 or more gongfu sessions I tried brewing in my gaiwan, I used a timer and took very precise notes about how each infusion turned out. I definitely think it helped to establish a bit of a framework in understanding what time ranges work for different varieties of tea. Now, I'm starting to use the timer less and work off of my intuition more.

So, please share how you go about timing your infusions. Are you meticulous and precise and measure down to the second? Do you just commune with the tea and listen to when it calls out to you? Do you do advanced Euclidian equations based on the weather and positions of the stars? Please share whatever wisdom and experience you have with this humble student. Thanks!

[Maitre_Tea]

I like to think that I'm part of that veteran brewing school, but it also has to do with the tea at hand, and whether I'm comfortable with it or not. I drink a lot of Taiwanese Oolong probably once or twice everyday, so I know intuitively when to pour. With more unfamiliar or difficult *cough*cough*Dan Cong*cough*cough* I like to time the infusions. But that doesn't mean using a dedicated timer, except with Japanese greens...since infusions can be longer compared to the initial brews of oolongs (generally speaking). Instead, I count quietly, or use the hot water rinse to tell me when I should pour.

These are some choice words from somebody more eloquent than me to elaborate on this:
http://half-dipper.blogspot.com/2008/05/timing-tea.html
http://half-dipper.blogspot.com/2009/01 ... d-tea.html
http://half-dipper.blogspot.com/2009/02/timeliness.html

Actually, you know what...just read the whole damn blog, everything he writes is marvelous (as expected from an Englishman)

[Tead Off]

one one thousand, two one thousand.............

[depravitea]

I count quietly

Same here.
One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand...

I'll sometimes use my mobile when it gets up into full minutes though, I've caught myself daydreaming a couple times after forty-five one-thousand lol.

[Intuit]

Wristwatch with sweep second hand: timer on a wrist.

[Zanaspus]

one one thousand, two one thousand.............

+1

[tenuki]

Everytime you use a timer a tea fairy loses her wings...

[Maitre_Tea]

ROFL!!!

[tingjunkie]

Haha. Nice, Tenuki!

Thanks for the responses. So when do you start counting? When you first start pouring the kettle, or when you stop pouring? Is there an "industry standard" answer to this?

[Victoria]

LOL Tenuki!! She's holding my AliShan!!

Count when the lid goes on.

[orguz]

Just brew the tea and if it's too strong use less tea leaves or shorter infusions, if it's weak add more tea next time or steep longer.

Each tea session is different, experiment and find what you like.

[Maitre_Tea]

I start counting when the water fills to the top, since it takes a few seconds to put the kettle onto a safe place...but I usually don't count too much these days. Not to complicate the discussion, but sometimes the infusion time is influenced by pour speed.

[tingjunkie]

Just brew the tea and if it's too strong use less tea leaves or shorter infusions, if it's weak add more tea next time or steep longer.

Each tea session is different, experiment and find what you like.

Yes, on one hand you are right. It is that simple. On the other hand, it's nice to know how to follow brewing directions from others who know way more than I do. For example, on Imen's site, she recommends specific infusion times for dan cong. If she recommends a 15 second infusion time, but I started counting when I started to pour the water, I would only get about a 7 second infusion. I find this type of info very useful as a beginner.

[Intuit]

Infusion starts after leaf submersion but before vessel thermal equilibration. You need a physical reference point, so when the lid goes on works, bearing in mind the rate of pour of your pot. If its slow, and you have a 15s infusion time, you got problems.

[tea fish]

If the infusion is longer than 20 s, then gimme a timer. It would be nice if there were a timer that didn't sound like an alarm clock, though--crickets, croaking frogs, something like that, that would be nice.