I've recently started drinking tea for the first time at our local tea shop. I'm pretty much in love. I'd like to start brewing my own at home.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a brew system?
Something that I could put together when I goto sleep.. wake up and then just brew my tea 'n be on my way
Also what's a good tea.. for like morning?
Re: New to Tea..
What you should do is get an electric kettle and a basic 1 cup tea pot (or larger if you share with your family) The more watts the electric kettle uses the faster it will boil your water. Also buy some loose leaf tea. You can probably get what you need at your local tea shop 
The method is fill the kettle with fresh water 1st thing in the morning and switch it on. Then place the loose leaf tea into your pot (the tea shop should be able to give specific recomendations of how much for each tea to buy but two heaping teaspoons per cup is what I use for most teas) and when the water reaches the right temperature (fully boiling for black and oolong, just starting to bubble for greens and whites) you pour the water from the kettle into the teapot over the leaves. Then place the lid on the teapot and wait until it reaches the strength you like (usually 2-5 minutes)
It´s fairly quick, especially if you have a fast boiling kettle and it´s really not hard to do.
I´d suggest buying your favourites from the tea shop you goto and trying samples of their other teas to see which you like best
I drink the same teas in the morning and evening so I don´t really have a this is good for the morning type recomendation.
The method is fill the kettle with fresh water 1st thing in the morning and switch it on. Then place the loose leaf tea into your pot (the tea shop should be able to give specific recomendations of how much for each tea to buy but two heaping teaspoons per cup is what I use for most teas) and when the water reaches the right temperature (fully boiling for black and oolong, just starting to bubble for greens and whites) you pour the water from the kettle into the teapot over the leaves. Then place the lid on the teapot and wait until it reaches the strength you like (usually 2-5 minutes)
It´s fairly quick, especially if you have a fast boiling kettle and it´s really not hard to do.
I´d suggest buying your favourites from the tea shop you goto and trying samples of their other teas to see which you like best
I drink the same teas in the morning and evening so I don´t really have a this is good for the morning type recomendation.
Re: New to Tea..
Thank you for the informiation. What do you think of like the electric tea makers 'n stuff? Also how much is 16oz of tea. When I was looking online I was wondering out loud to myself. Also what teas do you drink in the evening and morning?
Re: New to Tea..
I think really the classic kettle to heat water plus a pot to brew the tea in is by far the best method for making tea. The newer gadgets are never as good and don´t seem to actually save time either.focusinc wrote:Thank you for the informiation. What do you think of like the electric tea makers 'n stuff? Also how much is 16oz of tea. When I was looking online I was wondering out loud to myself. Also what teas do you drink in the evening and morning?
16oz of loose tea is a LOT...normally I only buy 2 to 4 oz of any one tea at a time.
Or if you mean fluid oz it´s not so crazy...I use a 12 fluid oz teapot.
Aug 23rd, '10, 16:31
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Re: New to Tea..
Brewing is a very enjoyable part of the overall enjoyment of tea!
I thought I needed one of those contraptions when I was a newbie to tea, I am so glad I did not buy one because for me it would have been a mistake.
Like Entropy mentioned, a kettle and teapot is the way to go, unless you have your heart set on one of the self brewing machines that are out there. But realistically they are not going to deliver the best brew for most teas. Some things are still better done the old fashioned way.
I thought I needed one of those contraptions when I was a newbie to tea, I am so glad I did not buy one because for me it would have been a mistake.
Like Entropy mentioned, a kettle and teapot is the way to go, unless you have your heart set on one of the self brewing machines that are out there. But realistically they are not going to deliver the best brew for most teas. Some things are still better done the old fashioned way.
Re: New to Tea..
I tend to buy my tea in 17.05 ounces, or 200grams. I drink it everyday though and so it goes pretty fast for me. It is a lot though and if you are not drinking it everyday, you might want to buy less to start out with. Especially if you don't even know what type of tea you want to stick with. Might be a better idea to buy a lot of samplers at 1oz bags and find the tea you like the best, or the teas.
For me the easiest thing is to have a Electric Hot Water Dispensing Pot by Zojirushi. I keep it full of water and just have it set to the temp I want. usually 175. This way all you have to do it get the tea and a strainer into a mug and you are pretty much done. Once you get more into tea and know that you are going to be doing this for a very long time, and you have a few teas you are going to stick with. Then start getting pots for your tea to enhance the experience.
For me the easiest thing is to have a Electric Hot Water Dispensing Pot by Zojirushi. I keep it full of water and just have it set to the temp I want. usually 175. This way all you have to do it get the tea and a strainer into a mug and you are pretty much done. Once you get more into tea and know that you are going to be doing this for a very long time, and you have a few teas you are going to stick with. Then start getting pots for your tea to enhance the experience.
Aug 24th, '10, 02:07
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Re: New to Tea..
I love my Pino--set temp, fill with water, wander off, come back, hot water at just the right temp for tea.
And then a simple gaiwan, or little glass or glazed ceramic pot, and you're good to go. I drink tea daily, share tea with other people, and a pound would still take me a long, long time to drink up!
I like to buy no more than 100 grams or 4 oz at a time of any one tea, except for shaped compressed teas like puerh, where I buy one *piece* at a time.
And then a simple gaiwan, or little glass or glazed ceramic pot, and you're good to go. I drink tea daily, share tea with other people, and a pound would still take me a long, long time to drink up!
I like to buy no more than 100 grams or 4 oz at a time of any one tea, except for shaped compressed teas like puerh, where I buy one *piece* at a time.
