tieguanyin

[m147]

good tea. i love the way the leaf looks when rolled. what i want to know, is how many infusions do you all get from this tea? i think i may be nearing ten and it is still decent but losing its taste. i was surprised at how many infusions you can get out of it.

[debunix]

It really depends on whether you're doing a lot of leaf in a small volume of water with short infusions, or a little leaf in a large volume of water with long infusions.

As I normally do it, I usually get 6-8 infusions easily and if I pack the gaiwan (so that the wetted leaves are pushing the lid up a bit) with a really fine version, sometimes it holds out for 10-15.

[tingjunkie]

There are many different grades of TGY. The number of infusions will depend on how much leaf you are using, and the quality of the tea. Decent TGY should last at least 6-7 infusions, and the really good stuff can easily go for more than a week.

[debunix]

the really good stuff can easily go for more than a week.

What kind of a week would that be?

I've gotten as many as 15 infusions from really fine leaves, but that sure doesn't suffice for a week's worth of tea...unless perhaps I used several ounces of dry leaf....!

[tingjunkie]

the really good stuff can easily go for more than a week.

What kind of a week would that be?

I've gotten as many as 15 infusions from really fine leaves, but that sure doesn't suffice for a week's worth of tea...unless perhaps I used several ounces of dry leaf....!

On 7g of tea in a 110ml gaiwan, I've had TGY last for 10+ days myself. 15-20 infusions the first day, followed by long infusions there on out. Hot water before I go to bed, then again before I leave for work.

[Bob_McBob]

Hot water before I go to bed, then again before I leave for work.

Can you describe this in more detail?

[tingjunkie]

Sure. Lots of high end puerhs and oolongs can handle this type of treatment for a few days. Not many can go for more than a week and still give nice strong flavors and nice mouthfeel!

Whenever I drink a particularly nice tea, once the infusions on the initial session start getting up to 30+ minutes, I will pour boiling water in the pot/gaiwan, and let it brew overnight. I then drink the cold tea in the morning, and refill with boiling water. Sometimes at this point, I'll even drink this hot infusion after a 2-3 minute brew, then refill with boiling water. At the end of that day (usually after work) I'll drink the cold tea, and refill the pot/gaiwan with boiling water to sit overnight again. By this method, I get 2-4 infusions of the tea per day.

For me, the longest I've brewed one set of leaves in this way was about 13-14 days. That was an 80's sheng puerh. Our board Member TIM, and Michael of the Tea Gallery report drinking a 1950's (?) puerh in this method for 4 months while still getting nice changing flavors from it!!! The only reason they stopped is that the leaves were accidentally thrown out by Michael's wife.

[m147]

i used about 8grams in a 150ml gaiwan. i'm going to try this few hour brew, see what i get from it. i do really like the tea.

[debunix]

I will pour boiling water in the pot/gaiwan, and let it brew overnight. I then drink the cold tea in the morning, and refill with boiling water. Sometimes at this point, I'll even drink this hot infusion after a 2-3 minute brew, then refill with boiling water. At the end of that day (usually after work) I'll drink the cold tea, and refill the pot/gaiwan with boiling water to sit overnight again. By this method, I get 2-4 infusions of the tea per day.

For me, the longest I've brewed one set of leaves in this way was about 13-14 days. That was an 80's sheng puerh. Our board Member TIM, and Michael of the Tea Gallery report drinking a 1950's (?) puerh in this method for 4 months while still getting nice changing flavors from it!!! The only reason they stopped is that the leaves were accidentally thrown out by Michael's wife.

Do you have a table, cabinet or counter where you store the teapot with their superlong-brewing leaves during this process? I am imagining a little collection of pots with tea-in-progress, separate from the dry, cleaned pots....and a generous pot collection to facilitate this.

[tingjunkie]

Do you have a table, cabinet or counter where you store the teapot with their superlong-brewing leaves during this process? I am imagining a little collection of pots with tea-in-progress, separate from the dry, cleaned pots....and a generous pot collection to facilitate this.

Couldn't be more accurate if you had seen my setup with your own eyes. I built a nice big tea table out of oak and porcelain tile, and I re-purposed my parents old unused liquor cabinet to store my tea and Yixing collection.

[brandon]

Do you have a table, cabinet or counter where you store the teapot with their superlong-brewing leaves during this process? I am imagining a little collection of pots with tea-in-progress, separate from the dry, cleaned pots....and a generous pot collection to facilitate this.

[TIM]

Do you have a table, cabinet or counter where you store the teapot with their superlong-brewing leaves during this process? I am imagining a little collection of pots with tea-in-progress, separate from the dry, cleaned pots....and a generous pot collection to facilitate this.

[Oni]

Even with the best grades, that usually resemble high mountain oolong, it has that thick creamy texture and high mountain oolong veggie protein, but I never got beyond 8 infusions, in fact with no green oolong have I got beyond 8, only with Dancong and puerh, and not with wu yi, those are max 8 too, I can imagine 15+ infusions only with aged sheng, with very short first infusions, like max 10 seconds.

[Tead Off]

Even with the best grades, that usually resemble high mountain oolong, it has that thick creamy texture and high mountain oolong veggie protein, but I never got beyond 8 infusions, in fact with no green oolong have I got beyond 8, only with Dancong and puerh, and not with wu yi, those are max 8 too, I can imagine 15+ infusions only with aged sheng, with very short first infusions, like max 10 seconds.

Last night, after a heavy meal of meatballs + spaghetti, followed by local Japanese made cheesecake, (no, I don't eat like this every night ), I reached for a wu ling gaoshan I got from TFT. This morning, I sat here finishing it up. There must have been 15 good infusions.

Granted, this is an exceptional tea, but, I have gone past 8 infusions with many different types of oolongs, both from China and Taiwan. The only teas that I've never gotten anywhere near those numbers with have been green teas and most black teas from India. A good TGY will give you more than 8 if you are using enough leaf. But, normally, I usually don't sit for 15 brews of any tea. Must be restless leg syndrome.

[debunix]

I think the debate over how many infusion max you can get from a tea is strongly biased by preferences for weaker or stronger brew. Someone like me, who likes tea more dilute, can easily enjoy more infusions from the same amount of tea, even without adding additional infusions by brewing overnight a few times.