Is it REALLY this complicated??????

[salome000]

My husband and I tasted and loved Formosa Nut Oolong from Teavana. We brewed it in my IngenuiTEA and promptly ruined it as the spices now permeate the plastic. That's okay...we just use it for Oolong and we're done with it.

At lest I THOUGHT we were.

Next thing I know, it's recommended we get a Yi xing because we only use the one Oolong. But then, someone on here started talking about turning the pot upside down in water, etc. and they included pics that looks like the tea was dumped into a bowl or something. Gong Fu...is that right? What the hell is gong fu?I also have no idea what to do with the leaves because the Yi xing pots don't have a strainer, right?

I began buying tea a month ago with Adagio. I love them. But I also ordered some stuff from Teavana. I love them too. That being said, there are apparantly 5 million places to order tea with numbers and names I can't pronounce.

Any help with the above issues would be great as well as pointers as to where to start learning about my new obsession. We love the blacks, oolongs and we've been using a bit of mate' in the oolong just for the 'get up and go'.

On a side note, I saw a guy order like 10 ounces of tea for 400 bucks. Don't get me wrong...I know this person is knowledgeable in ways I'll never be and my hat is off to him. However, when tea becomes more expensive than methamphetamines, well, my 'get up and go' may have to come from a different source. Kidding. Thanks in advance for your help and patience!

One more thing...I've let that oolong steep for as long as 10 minutes and it tasted great. Are you really only supposed to steep it for 20 seconds? You can do muliple infusions, right?

[hooksie]

Next thing I know, it's recommended we get a Yi xing because we only use the one Oolong. But then, someone on here started talking about turning the pot upside down in water, etc. and they included pics that looks like the tea was dumped into a bowl or something. Gong Fu...is that right? What the hell is gong fu?I also have no idea what to do with the leaves because the Yi xing pots don't have a strainer, right?

I'll save the finer points of Yixings and Gong-fu for someone more knowledgeable than me, but I know some (most? all?) Yixings come with some sort of filter built in.

On a side note, I saw a guy order like 10 ounces of tea for 400 bucks. Don't get me wrong...I know this person is knowledgeable in ways I'll never be and my hat is off to him. However, when tea becomes more expensive than methamphetamines, well, my 'get up and go' may have to come from a different source. Kidding. Thanks in advance for your help and patience!

And how would you know how much meth costs?

One more thing...I've let that oolong steep for as long as 10 minutes and it tasted great. Are you really only supposed to steep it for 20 seconds? You can do muliple infusions, right?

Depends on your leaf to water ratio. I don't know much about oolongs specifically, but more leaf tends to mean less steeping time.[/quote]

[iannon]

hello,
I am by no means an expert on Oolongs but I have been drinking them for a bit. I think how complicated it is really depends on you and what you want out of your tea making experience. there are some purists or perhaps "traditionalists" is a better term that follow the old traditional 'ceremony" type methods as thats what gives them satisfaction.

As for me. I do have a yixing pot but I dont preheat the pot..I just make sure I have a good high temp water pour. Most yixing pots I have seen do have somewhat of a strainer.. 5 or 6 or so small holes at the inside base of the spout..wouldnt be good for say japanese teas as they have much smaller particles but for most loose leaf Oolongs that are whole leaf..never had a problem. perhaps a particle or 2 in the cup but I dont mind that at all.

I bought a lot of samples when i first started to see which i would enjoy the best. One place you can get samples from is funalliance.com you can get like 3 samples for about 7.50 shipped. it takes about 2 weeks and they are based in taiwan. i have had good experiences with their teas and Kam ( the owner) is quite responsive with any questions you send him thru email. I ended up ordering a larger portion of their TKY King. very nice orchid aroma.

[iannon]

One more thing...I've let that oolong steep for as long as 10 minutes and it tasted great. Are you really only supposed to steep it for 20 seconds? You can do muliple infusions, right?

on the steeping.. as hooksie said..it really does depend on how much or large a pot you are going to brew. most Yixing pots are pretty small. I have 2 one is about 10 oz andf one is about 8oz and they are on the larger side of "the norm". So some people are brewing 3 to 6 oz at a time only. I tend to like to brew a little more I usualy use just under bioling temp and about 1 minute to start for the first infusion and the next one or two then go a bit longer for the new few

[ABx]

I really wouldn't worry about yixing pots or gongfu style brewing at this point. Just get what works for you, and then if you get more into tea later then you can get into that stuff when you are ready to do so

[woozl]

Try a couple of mesh strainer baskets.
good for 1 or 2 cups in a large mug.

Don't sweat it. Relax, have a cuppa

[salome000]

Next thing I know, it's recommended we get a Yi xing because we only use the one Oolong. But then, someone on here started talking about turning the pot upside down in water, etc. and they included pics that looks like the tea was dumped into a bowl or something. Gong Fu...is that right? What the hell is gong fu?I also have no idea what to do with the leaves because the Yi xing pots don't have a strainer, right?

I'll save the finer points of Yixings and Gong-fu for someone more knowledgeable than me, but I know some (most? all?) Yixings come with some sort of filter built in.

On a side note, I saw a guy order like 10 ounces of tea for 400 bucks. Don't get me wrong...I know this person is knowledgeable in ways I'll never be and my hat is off to him. However, when tea becomes more expensive than methamphetamines, well, my 'get up and go' may have to come from a different source. Kidding. Thanks in advance for your help and patience!

And how would you know how much meth costs?

Ummm..Internet?

One more thing...I've let that oolong steep for as long as 10 minutes and it tasted great. Are you really only supposed to steep it for 20 seconds? You can do muliple infusions, right?

Depends on your leaf to water ratio. I don't know much about oolongs specifically, but more leaf tends to mean less steeping time.

[/quote]

The nice thing is lack of bitterness that I run into with the Black Teas...I would love recommendations!

[salome000]

I'm going to the site for the tea from Taiwan...any recommendations?

Also, I'd love suggestions for places to shop as well as ones to try...it's a big, scary world out there and I'd love to start sampling based on a good review here and there.

You all are great!

[Shelob]

Also, I'd love suggestions for places to shop as well as ones to try...it's a big, scary world out there and I'd love to start sampling based on a good review here and there.You all are great!

Almost all the individual teas have reviews and vendors listed in their individual threads...i.e. under green check out the Shincha review thread. It's fun to read about the recommendations and also the preferred vendors.

Have fun with it!

[iannon]

I'm going to the site for the tea from Taiwan...any recommendations?

Also, I'd love suggestions for places to shop as well as ones to try...it's a big, scary world out there and I'd love to start sampling based on a good review here and there.

You all are great!

well..there is a thread on funalliance as well..i think everyome that bought from them was happy..a was I.
I would suggest (what i like anyway) the Tie Guan Yin KING (2008 Autumn) which is my favorite. the Snow Flake Lone Bush was also very nice. The prices are pretty decent and i matched up the TGY (or TKY..same thing depends on how they spell it) with samples i got from Rich Barbarian "Supreme+ Anxi Tie Guan Yin"( also a string on that here somewhere that people were pretty happy with) as well as the Dragon tea House.
They are all ebay sellers with decent repute here on the boards. I look them up here before ordering from anywhere
anyway..i did like Kam's ( funalliance's) the best of those.
A lot of people will probably point you to floating leaves as well but last i looked their online store was down but i think you can still order by phone. teaspring.com is also one of high regard

[entropyembrace]

If you're curious about gongfu there's a lot of really good information on the Tea Masters blog that you can read through here.

http://teamasters.blogspot.com/2005/01/ ... sters.html

And yep...tea really can get complicated, but it can also be extremely simple. Take your time, relax and explore.

[scruffmcgruff]

Gong fu is one of those things that really is quite complicated but becomes second nature with practice. IMO, don't get flustered about gong fu unless you *really* want to get into it.

Don't just do it because people say it's better (which it is ). It's kind of like golf; if you are just ho-hum about it you'll get frustrated and quit before you get anywhere, but if you are dedicated enough, it will come together before you know it.

Also, hardly anyone here practices real gong fu-- most of us have our own preferred (but admittedly bastardized) techniques that are more or less based on gong fu.

[Oni]

http://chineseteas101.com/ , this site is very informative, and explains most of the things that one needs to know about chinese tea basics.

[nimpercent]

I started a lot like you, ordering from Teavana solely. The more I read on this site the more I realized that Teavana, and Teavana employees, are only trying to sell you things. No offense to the employees, who are forced to do so. But many of the things you said in your post reflect Teavana's selling points which I too have encountered. They really push the Yixing pots (which are used for Gong-fu), without really explaining the method or true purpose for buying them. Don't worry about it if you like the way you are brewing tea, just enjoy it and don't let Teavana sell you things you don't really need. If you start to get really into Oolongs especially, I would recommend starting to learn the Gong-fu method (which I am in the process of learning), it is a pretty fun and interesting way to brew Oolong Tea. As for the multiple infusion question; many Oolongs can be brewed multiple times using non-gong fu methods if they are of high quality, just give them a try and see what happens - the worst you will get is a watery cup of tea!

[acdidion]

Try vinegar in your IngenuiTEA to clean out the smells stuck in it. Or make a paste with baking soda and let it sit on there. Its a really nice little brewing vessel for beginners and I wouldn't give up on it. Somebody on here posted a quote once. "Its just tea". I can't remember who posted it or where it came from, but it is good to keep in mind. Don't stress too much over it, you will learn what you like as you explore tea.