Too Dusty to Filter?
I have a brick of 9908 shu. I think it was called Red Dragon or something. Anyway, while gongfuing it, it not only clogs my teapot, but it also clogs the tea strainer too. There's so much dust and particles in it, I can't even finish brewing it. Does anyone else have this shu and have similar problems? Any suggestions to speed up draining time? It takes more than a minute just to drain the pot, then another minute or so draining through the tea stainer. Also, it stays in clumps inside the pot and won't loosen up into tea leaves, even after 5 or so infusions. Maybe I need to break it up very small?
Re: Too Dusty to Filter?
Is that the Haiwan (Laotongzhi) Tea nugget (Laochatou)? I've never had that problem with laochatou, but I had a large tuo of shu that looked like chopped and formed leaves. It would always clog the pot and the filter. The trick was to swirl the pot a few times during the pour. Don't wait till the pot is almost empty to swirl or you won't have enough liquid to bring the leaves out of the filter. As for the metal filter/strainer, you can tap the tea back into the pot after a pour.
Kind of a pain in the a$$, but better than wasting the tea.
Kind of a pain in the a$$, but better than wasting the tea.
Re: Too Dusty to Filter?
This tea doesn't even come out as whole leaves after brewing. It's all little pieces of stuff, like it was either cooked too long, or maybe that's what the tea was before it became a brick. But breaking it up into smaller pieces has helped a few things. The pot doesn't clog, but the strainer still does. I have a ceramic strainer with a very fine plastic mesh filter. So it can filter out the tiniest dust particles.
No other shu that I own can clog as badly as this one. But it still tastes pretty good, even if it clogs things. However, when it only dribbles out of the pot it tends to get over-steeped and very astringent. But it sure makes one heck of a thick syrup.
No other shu that I own can clog as badly as this one. But it still tastes pretty good, even if it clogs things. However, when it only dribbles out of the pot it tends to get over-steeped and very astringent. But it sure makes one heck of a thick syrup.
Re: Too Dusty to Filter?
Interesting...I've never had an astringent shu. Can get really strong or sweet...but never astringent like sheng. Maybe this is a light fermentation. Another Idea is to use a chopstick or back of a spoon...or something similar to swirl or "scratch" the screen of the filter. I use that technique with my mesh drain catch in the kitchen sink. It can break up the film and allow flow for a brief period. You really need to keep "scratching" the surface of the screen if it is really clogging.
Re: Too Dusty to Filter?
I did brew it for a minute before pouring, so it was like a 2 or 3 minute steep. Might be too much for shu. And this is deffinately not a light fermentation. This brick is charcoal black and the first infusion usually comes out black like cowboy coffee. The second comes out dark red.
Re: Too Dusty to Filter?
Try swirling the pot as beachape suggested, and pour as if you were brewing sencha- with a start/stop motion. For example... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZKc3cx6 ... r_embedded
The other thing you could try is filling the pot to overflowing each infusion so some of the smallest particles float up and out through the top before putting the lid on. Good luck.
The other thing you could try is filling the pot to overflowing each infusion so some of the smallest particles float up and out through the top before putting the lid on. Good luck.