Rinsing your Pu

[beachape]

I've seen different recommendations for pu rinses. I was wondering what you guys tend to do for a rinse. Just curious. For Sheng? Shu?

I read 30 seconds for sheng, 2x 30 seconds for shu. I'm usually pretty lazy and just do a single 30 second rinse for shu. However, when I break the shu bing it is usually in decent sized chunks, so it takes a while for the water to permeate into the leaves. Maybe I should be less lazy and break the cake better.

Anyways, let me know what you guys are doing.

[entropyembrace]

about 30s to 1 min rinse for both shu and sheng

I do it to open up the leaves trapped in chunks and to wash away the dust...if I´m drinking maocha or loose shu I don´t rinse.

[debunix]

Three reasons to rinse--remove dust; hydrate leaves; remove bitter start to some teas.

I do a flash rinse on most--water in, let sit 10 seconds or so, then rinse, and let the tea sit for a minute or so to allow the leaves to absorb the water before 1st true steeping.

But for the Lao Ban Zhang Mao Cha that is has been so tricky yet delicious with a mix of bitter and sweet, I do two 20 second rinses to get rid of most of the bitter before getting on to the steeps that I will enjoy drinking.

[nickE]

I do a flash rinse on most--water in, let sit 10 seconds or so, then rinse, and let the tea sit for a minute or so to allow the leaves to absorb the water before 1st true steeping.

+1

Also for really messy shupu I will do 2 flash rinses instead of 1. And I agree that rinses are great for removing some of the "beginning bitterness" from younger shengs.

[beachape]

For your shu, do you guys break it into single leaf size, or leave it in chunks. It takes a lot of work to break up those chunks...Sheng cha is much easier to get into small pieces.

[debunix]

I break it up only into chunks the size of what I want to brew.

Each time you separate some off, no matter how carefully, you're breaking leaves, and in theory that leads to undesirable flavors. Hence, I prefer to let the tea gently soak up the water that sticks to it after the rinse and open up more gradually.

Should improve taste, and definitely improves my safety, given the hazards of breaking off bits of some of the more highly compressed bricks and beengs.

[beachape]

Ha, yeah I've stabbed myself with my pu knife quite a few times. I'm glad it isn't very sharp otherwise I'd be missing a few fingers.

[shogun89]

I do a flash rinse with everything, sheng or shu. water in water out.

[nonc_ron]

I break it up only into chunks the size of what I want to brew.

Each time you separate some off, no matter how carefully, you're breaking leaves, and in theory that leads to undesirable flavors. Hence, I prefer to let the tea gently soak up the water that sticks to it after the rinse and open up more gradually.

Ah ha!
The more I think about it, the more you make sense.
When I break pu up fine the second cup is always way to strong.
Your way the Pu would release into the water slower as it breaks down
and the leaves open up. And produce a more even cup 1 to cup 8.
I wonder why I didn't think of this?