To stir or not to stir?

[love4God]

I just got my first inegnuiTEA and black tea sampler yesterday and have been really enjoying it very much.

Quick question. When I add my tea, should I be stirring it a lot or at all? Or just letting it sit and steep?

[Teatime]

I just let it steep and then pour. I've been drinking the black flavored teas.

Teatime

[Ric]

I just got my first inegnuiTEA and black tea sampler yesterday and have been really enjoying it very much.

Quick question. When I add my tea, should I be stirring it a lot or at all? Or just letting it sit and steep?

Sit and steep.

[love4God]

That's what I've started doing, just leaving it alone.

I stirred a lot once and my tea tasted a tiny bit bitter. I don't know if it was the stirring or if I steeped too long.

[Bergamot]

Most of what does not naturally come out of the tea in the recommended steeping time is stuff you don't want anyway. Stirring probably doesn't release significant abounts of these chemicals, but there is no need to help it along.

The only exception I can think of is if the tea leaves are sitting in a pile on the water, and the ones at the top are still dry.

[Ric]

The only exception I can think of is if the tea leaves are sitting in a pile on the water, and the ones at the top are still dry.

That's why I add water to the tea leaves and not the tea leaves to the water.

[Sarai]

Stirring the tea while it's brewing?! Lol! This reminds me of when I was much younger and I would obsessively stir the tea bag around in the hot mug of water with a spoon until the 3-5 minutes were up thinking that the full flavor from the tea bag would not be released unless I did this!

[bonescwa]

This reminds me of when I would obsessively check teachat because it used to have knowledgeable people talking about tea

[Sarai]

This reminds me of when I would obsessively check teachat because it used to have knowledgeable people talking about tea

This reminds me of when I would join new forums and people who aren't so veteran themselves would throw out snarky comments.

[Mary]

Stirring the tea while it's brewing?! Lol! This reminds me of when I was much younger and I would obsessively stir the tea bag around in the hot mug of water with a spoon until the 3-5 minutes were up thinking that the full flavor from the tea bag would not be released unless I did this!

I do stir the teabags too

[ole]

I normally just let it steep in peace, only exeption is I sometime use the lid of the gaiwan to move the leaves around a little if they're a bit "stuck".

[kyarazen]

its not uncommon to use the gaiwan lid to "stir" or "flip" the pile of leaves, some even "compress" the leaves a little with the lid whilst steeping in the gaiwan. all in all just to push out more flavours/aromatics. many vendors do that.

[jayinhk]

I stir with the lid in later infusions. I pour water on fast to get things moving around with every infusion