Hints for brewing competition grade Bai Hao

[GaoShan]

What is your steeping time when you use that amount of tea?

I don't use timers. Mostly it's longer first brew(no rinse) and "fast" flushes for the 2nd and subsequent brews, longer later, depending on how it evolves.

Always proper hot water. If it can't take it, it's usually the lower quality kinds.

So it's like following a recipe without written instructions: a pinch of this, a hint of that ... I guess I'll start off with a minute and do my best. I actually tried Victoria's parameters with Chen Huan Tang's Premium Dong Ding (5.1 g/85ml/210F/80 seconds) and it wasn't bitter (though there was a lot of charcoal).

Would you recommend boiling water even for teas like Bai Hao? The consensus seems to be that it prefers lower temperatures.

[Bok]

Would you recommend boiling water even for teas like Bai Hao? The consensus seems to be that it prefers lower temperatures.

Consensus by who? And according to what kind of quality of tea? As I said, if it's good enough tea it should be of no consequence.
1 minute seems a bit too long to me. Better to have a slightly too weak first cup and go stronger than to shock a neutral palate with an espresso.

[LeoFox]

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1933

[LeoFox]

100% i do boiling water. Its practically a black tea that doesnt get bitter or astringent.

Found its good western style (maybe slightly higher leafage).

Also like it 5g in 100 ml - 20s start boiling and so on.

[GaoShan]

Apparently, there are a lot of different ways to brew this tea:

3 g, 100 ml, 175F, 55 seconds (Hojo)
5 g, 100 ml, 212F, 20 seconds (LeoFox)
6 g, 100 ml, 185F, 60 seconds (Tillerman)
8 g, 100-120 ml, 212F, 30-45 seconds (Bok)
8 g, 100 ml, 205F, 80 seconds (Victoria)

Hojo is an outlyer with his much cooler temperature and lower leaf-to-water ratio. Victoria is at the other end of the spectrum. Others not listed above have suggested 195F as a middle ground.

I'm a bit afraid to try Victoria's parameters, but I should clearly experiment with using boiling water with this tea.

[GaoShan]

Also, for completeness, I wanted to add that according to Tea Masters, to brew Bai Hao competition style, use the same parameters as for black tea competitions: 3 g, 150 ml, boiling water, 5 minutes.

Tea Masters has a 2024 summer Hsinchu Imperial Bai Hao for about US$0.8/g. Camellia Sinensis has the regular grade of their producer's Bai Hao for US$0.62/g. I should really get 50 or 75 g of Bai Hao to experiment with before trying the competition stuff. (The next shipment from my supplier will be spring gaoshan samples in June, so asking them for Bai Hao would take too long.)

[Victoria]

Apparently, there are a lot of different ways to brew this tea:

3 g, 100 ml, 175F, 55 seconds (Hojo)
5 g, 100 ml, 212F, 20 seconds (LeoFox)
6 g, 100 ml, 185F, 60 seconds (Tillerman)
8 g, 100-120 ml, 212F, 30-45 seconds (Bok)
8 g, 100 ml, 205F, 80 seconds (Victoria)

Hojo is an outlyer with his much cooler temperature and lower leaf-to-water ratio. Victoria is at the other end of the spectrum. Others not listed above have suggested 195F as a middle ground.

I'm a bit afraid to try Victoria's parameters, but I should clearly experiment with using boiling water with this tea.

Haha. Just checked my steeping notes over the years, they also seem to have a broad range;
5/100ml/200f/2-3min in porcelain kyo-ware kyusu. Ethan’s OB
2.6g/100ml/195f/3min in porcelain kyusu. Wisteria OB
2.6g/100ml/ 195f/ 3min in Kyoyaki. Te Company
6g/100ml/210f/88sec. hongni yixing. Floating Leaves
5.6gr/100ml/just under boil/80. Floating Leaves

I think I now prefer 2.6g/100ml/ 195f/ 2.5-3min, but will get back to you on that. Mood, vessel used, actual tea, and momentary preference I’d mostly say plays into this.

[GaoShan]

Apparently, there are a lot of different ways to brew this tea:

3 g, 100 ml, 175F, 55 seconds (Hojo)
5 g, 100 ml, 212F, 20 seconds (LeoFox)
6 g, 100 ml, 185F, 60 seconds (Tillerman)
8 g, 100-120 ml, 212F, 30-45 seconds (Bok)
8 g, 100 ml, 205F, 80 seconds (Victoria)

Hojo is an outlyer with his much cooler temperature and lower leaf-to-water ratio. Victoria is at the other end of the spectrum. Others not listed above have suggested 195F as a middle ground.

I'm a bit afraid to try Victoria's parameters, but I should clearly experiment with using boiling water with this tea.

Haha. Just checked my steeping notes over the years, they also seem to have a broad range;
5/100ml/200f/2-3min in porcelain kyo-ware kyusu. Ethan’s OB
2.6g/100ml/195f/3min in porcelain kyusu. Wisteria OB
2.6g/100ml/ 195f/ 3min in Kyoyaki. Te Company
6g/100ml/210f/88sec. hongni yixing. Floating Leaves
5.6gr/100ml/just under boil/80. Floating Leaves

I think I now prefer 2.6g/100ml/ 195f/ 2.5-3min, but will get back to you on that. Mood, vessel used, actual tea, and momentary preference I’d mostly say plays into this.

Thanks for looking through your notes for this info! That's a bit of a range, though all the steeping times are longer than average. If you're doing a three-minute first steep, how many subsequent steeps do you get? I've noticed that when I start at 80 seconds with roasted oolongs, I get fewer but sometimes better steeps.

I'd love to try the Bai Hao from Té Company since I hear it's good, but sadly, they don't ship to Canada. I'll have to get their tea shipped to someone in the States and have them send it on. I've always wondered if it's worth the hassle. Surely Bai Hao from Hojo or Tea Masters is as good ...

Speaking of Tea Masters, I ordered their 2024 Imperial Bai Hao so I can do some experimenting. Somehow 25 g of their 2025 DYL made its way into that order as well. It's 10% off at the moment and I've never tried it. I need to know if my own 2025 DYL is in any way comparable.