Bits and Pieces

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Tillerman
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Thu Feb 28, 2019 9:33 pm

This month I clean up some of the clutter on the desk and opine about counting steeps, using wulong and oolong, and the ongoing nonsense regarding "detox" and "weight loss" teas. Just a chance to vent on these much discussed topics. https://tillermantea.net/2019/03/steep/
Ethan Kurland
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Fri Mar 01, 2019 7:31 am

Thank you for a charming, humorous, and informative blog. Suggesting members read the wise words that can also make one laugh!

I disagree with one point made to a degree. I think a vendor telling how many rounds a tea will provide is useful. A most-expensive tea that provides many more infusions than similar tea (which may be only very slightly lower in quality), is a sensible purchase for many people because the cost per round is almost the same for the best and next-to-best teas sometimes.

Great blog!
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Fri Mar 01, 2019 7:34 am

I do not know how 3 words in my post got underlined to refer people to a vendor for a tea infuser. I hope it is only on my computer and not yours. I have no affiliation with ......
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Bok
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Fri Mar 01, 2019 8:26 am

As always a good read, even when it is only an opinion :D

I do have to say that tea seems to help with digestion, at least some teas do. Which might be vaguely connected to a healthier lifestyle, but then again that is only my personal impression, not based on any science.
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pedant
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Fri Mar 01, 2019 4:28 pm

@Tillerman thanks for another great post. a pleasure to read as always.

regarding detox tea scams... in the course of (successfully!) battling spam on the forum, i've become somewhat sensitive to the trends, and "red tea detox" in particular is popular.

as for health, believe it or not, i am not convinced that tea is unambiguously healthful. yes, many studies only suggest the possibility of (less commonly demonstrate) health benefits, but efficacy varies individual to individual. also, i think that there are some valid concerns. caffeine can be harmful, and puerh can contain toxic substances (carcinogenic and otherwise).

then there's pesticides and other agrochems..

i drink it because it tastes good and is relaxing :)
my pessimistic and conservative hope is that tea is not very harmful and possibly healthful.
Ethan Kurland wrote:
Fri Mar 01, 2019 7:34 am
I do not know how 3 words in my post got underlined to refer people to a vendor for a tea infuser. I hope it is only on my computer and not yours. I have no affiliation with ......
you have malware on your computer that's injecting ads into pages you view. only you can see them.
run some kind of reputable crapware remover (if one even exists in 2019) or better yet back up your data, reformat your hard drive, re-install your OS, keep all your software up-to-date, keep your computer behind a firewall (e.g. a typical router with NAT), and don't install questionable software or plugins.
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Tillerman
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Fri Mar 01, 2019 7:28 pm

pedant wrote:
Fri Mar 01, 2019 4:28 pm

i drink it because it tastes good and is relaxing :)
And there is no better reason than that!
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Victoria
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Fri Mar 01, 2019 8:37 pm

Interesting take on steeping, language, tea and health. I think I’ve actually gained weight since drinking more tea, as I am sitting down and chill, while sipping away. Sometimes I don’t even want to exercise, I’d rather be sipping tea. Detox simply means ‘to rid the body of toxins’, and a well formulated tisane can assist in this. To my surprise, I have found boiled Yerba Mate acts as a purgative, as does using too many rose buds in an infusion. Then there are herbs like Dandelion, Burdock, and Orange Peel, that stimulate the liver to excrete more bile, so are used in cleansing “teas”.

I get you are not into multiple steeps. Given that you are so inquisitive and interested in researching tea, I’m surprised you are not more curious as to why certain teas steep longer than others. As some of you know, I am fascinated by the longevity of certain teas, and enjoy mulling over which factors might contribute to a leaf’s increased ability to extract more compounds over greater lengths of time. This query leads me to think quite a bit about a leaf’s trajectory; the cultivar, the tree’s age, it’s roots, minerals in the soil, it’s growing conditions, time of year plucked, processing (type of tea), oxidation and roasting levels, as well as aging. I haven’t come across any vendors yet that use number of steeps as a selling point though.
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Tillerman
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Sat Mar 02, 2019 4:45 pm

Victoria wrote:
Fri Mar 01, 2019 8:37 pm
Interesting take on steeping, language, tea and health. I think I’ve actually gained weight since drinking more tea, as I am sitting down and chill, while sipping away. Sometimes I don’t even want to exercise, I’d rather be sipping tea. Detox simply means ‘to rid the body of toxins’, and a well formulated tisane can assist in this. To my surprise, I have found boiled Yerba Mate acts as a purgative, as does using too many rose buds in an infusion. Then there are herbs like Dandelion, Burdock, and Orange Peel, that stimulate the liver to excrete more bile, so are used in cleansing “teas”.

I get you are not into multiple steeps. Given that you are so inquisitive and interested in researching tea, I’m surprised you are not more curious as to why certain teas steep longer than others. As some of you know, I am fascinated by the longevity of certain teas, and enjoy mulling over which factors might contribute to a leaf’s increased ability to extract more compounds over greater lengths of time. This query leads me to think quite a bit about a leaf’s trajectory; the cultivar, the tree’s age, it’s roots, minerals in the soil, it’s growing conditions, time of year plucked, processing (type of tea), oxidation and roasting levels, as well as aging. I haven’t come across any vendors yet that use number of steeps as a selling point though.
Hi @Victoria,

I have absolutely no problem with multiple steeps, nor with keeping track of them, for that matter (I do it myself.) The problem arises when quality is adjudged on the basis of the number of infusions that someone is able to coax out of a particular tea. A tea that yields two marvelous steeps is not necessarily inferior to a tea that yields a dozen good ones. As an example, I can get more steeps from Chen Kuan Lin's Dong Ding than I can from Chen Huan Tang's. The latter, though, is the better tea (though I am obliged to say that Andy's tea is better value.) Also, you may get 10 steeps from a given tea and I might get only 5, yet the quality of the tea clearly is the same given that it is the same tea.

As to vendors using steep numbers to sell tea, these are all over the place. Claims such as "This tea will give 12 great infusions" abound on the internet and in print: I find such claims to be misleading at best.

Regarding research, I am passionately interested in the determinants of tea quality; I simply don't accept number of steeps as a necessary indicator of quality.

Cheers,

@Tillerman
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Victoria
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Sat Mar 02, 2019 5:13 pm

@Tillerman, Ah I see your point regarding quality. I agree with that, a great gyokuro might only give three spectacular steeps, but oh so good. In my limited experience though, I have found teas that are able to steep on and on, do also have greater depth and quality. Those five teas I listed in my original post were each of exceptional quality. I suppose though there may be a tea out there that has longevity but just tastes terrible.
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Bok
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Sat Mar 02, 2019 5:18 pm

Victoria wrote:
Sat Mar 02, 2019 5:13 pm
I suppose though there may be a tea out there that has longevity but just tastes terrible.
Some kinds of puerh come to mind...
Or low quality mate.
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