Tea Scales and does anybody weigh their tea

[jashnew]

I was wondering if anybody weighs their tea leaves before they brew their tea. I know the general rule is 2.25 grams of tea for every 6 ounces. Weighing your tea gives you a better cup. I'm wondering if anybody out there weighs there tea and if so what kind of scale do you use.

[Eastree]

Many people here weight their tea. It does give a much more consistent cup. Some people prefer to estimate. It's all personal preference.

[bambooforest]

2.25 for every 6 ounces may work very well sometimes, but other times it may be less than ideal! Some tea's simply call for more leaf to water ratio. Let your pallet be your guide--but I suggest you not be religious about tea to water ratio as some teas will not shine until you use more leaf.

I use a really small scale. The best prices I've ever seen for scales is on ebay. Make sure that if you buy one it measures .1 of a gram!

I think my scale is part of the "my weigh" line.

[Space Samurai]

Some, many, suggest that using a scale is too...I guess anal retentive. That variety is the spice of life, and we should all let go, use The Force and wabi-sabi ourselves to a place of blissful imperfection and inconsistancy.

I say a scale is a valuable learning tool. After using a scale for a while with specific teas, I can eye-ball easily the right amount of leaf. Also, certain teas can be harder to get right, and having a way of quantifying your results can help you and let others help you. I definitely recomend using a scale.

I, too have one of the my weigh's, and it works great.

[Wesli]

Well, you need to measure how much leaf you use, be it with a scale, a teaspoon, or just your eyeballs. Pretty much anything can just be eyeballed. I think the best part about scales is to learn how much of a tea to use by asking what others use. You can't exactly explain to someone how much leaf you use if you're just eyeballing it...

[Chip]

I have used my scale for over a year now, and in 8 years of drinking tea, I can say it is perhaps the number one device that I have for improving my consistant enjoyment of tea.

I enjoy quantifying differences in flavor based on actual weight of leaf used...down to .05 grams. Is this really necessary, likely not, but I enjoy it as part of my personal tea ceremony.

LOL, I even have one at work, you can imagine the looks I get when I am weighing out my leaf.

[hop_goblin]

I generally use a scale for my pu and for samples for the same reason as Eastree. However, I really measure my samples so that I can get even servings

[bambooforest]

I even have one at work, you can imagine the looks I get when I am weighing out my leaf.

Yes I can, haha

[Wesli]

I suppose you get asked to take urinalyses quite often.

[Chip]

Yep...I have had to give up my smack habit for this reason.

[Mary R]

I probably shouldn't be admitting this...but *my* tea scale did cause *my brother* a few minor legal problems. He's currently doing some elaborate court-mandated program for all his substance abuse woes, and his court-appointed life-coach had some severe issues with my possession of a pocket scale. Apparently I, the sister who spent her adolescence as a vegetarian and straight edge, am "a negative influence in the greater fabric of his recovery."

Long story short, I had to have my lawyer write her a letter so that I could keep my scale. He thought it was funny, so he did it gratis.

It was a proud moment?

[Wesli]

But Mary, what about the "residue?"

[jashnew]

I think weighing tea is important because the leaves sizes are different. With lighter leaves you need more leaves in your water and a teaspoon doesn't do you any good as far as measuring goes. I'm not worried about being anal. I want a perfect cup everytime. A cup of tea can be ruined if it's too strong or too weak.I got a great digital scale from Upton. It was worth every penny. I reviewed it on my site.
Its review #2

Also I go into detail on the importance of weighing tea
It's class number 2

(edit...please limit blog promo to the blog thread)

[Wesli]

But Jash, even with a scale, you must find out how much leaf is perfect for each kind of tea. 1 gram of fuka is different from 1 gram of sencha which is different from one gram of pu-erh; there are teas that need less leaf (by weight) and teas that need more leaf.
If you're using 2.25 grams of leaf per 6 ounces of water for every kind of tea, then your simply defeating the purpose of having a scale. The reason most people like their scales is that the scale allows them to experiment, and find the exact weight of leaf for each different kind of tea. Well, that and they don't trust themselves.