Drinking for one

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Vanenbw
Posts: 176
Joined: Mon Dec 16, 2019 10:14 pm
Location: NJ, USA

Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:24 am

I recently bought a 360ml kyusu pot in order to get away from using the tea bags for my loose-leaf green tea that I learned is made with polypropylene plastic. It's not just that, I also wanted to experience a more traditional way to drink my green tea. I'm also considering buying a gaiwan and trying some oolong and other types of teas. But for now, it's just green tea, and my trusty little kyusu pot. Before I learned how to correctly brew sencha, I was spooning some leaves into my kyusu pot, and filling it to the rim with hot water. I would let it steep for several minutes and then I pour my first cup into a porcelain 180ml (approximately) cup. If it was too weak, I would pour it back into the kyusu pot to stir up the leaves (I know, I totally broke tradition; what can I say, I'm a rebel) and then pour it into the cup. Ah, there it is...the bitterness I love in green tea. Then I would enjoy my second cup (all the while it would be steeping in the leaves, as I did not pour out the entire brew at once), a little stronger, but still enjoyable. And lastly the third cup, and the strongest of them all.

Now I am trying to brew sencha the way it should be brewed. I have a scale, a timer, soft water, a thermometer, and a yuzamashi en route from Japan. I even ordered a pair of 100ml yunomi cups, also en route. For now I'm still using the 180ml porcelain cup. I like drinking out of smaller cups. Although I have drank my tea from a 12oz. Starbucks mug for many years, I very much enjoy sipping on tea from small cups (one of the great enjoyments I have had when I used to go to Chinese restaurants).

I drink alone though, and it seems almost disruptive to have to go warm up 100ml for each brew (I just finished some tea and had 5 brews, 100ml each from 4gms of sencha superior). I would like to buy a larger cup so I can consume more in one sitting without having to go into the kitchen in between brews to heat up more water. It seems disruptive. One of the joys of drinking green tea was sitting down in the evening with a good book or my journal, or surfing the internet on my tablet, and sipping from my large 12oz mug of tea. It would take a while to finish, and drinking the tea was very relaxing. But now I feel like it's becoming a task. I have to go into the kitchen in between brews, heat up more tea, get out my thermometer, test the water temperature, set my timer. I suppose this will eventually fade as I get accustomed to the water temperature and the amount of leaves I should be using, and I will return to my tried and true method of eyeballing the amount of leaves and water.

How do you some of you enjoy tea when you are drinking alone? Do you use larger cups? Do you keep a kettle on your tea table for ease of access? Do you brew small amounts, or one large amount?
Slurp
Posts: 35
Joined: Mon Nov 11, 2019 12:20 pm

Sat Dec 21, 2019 2:10 pm

An electric kettle that will heat to a programmable temp would save you quite a bit of effort. Heat the water once, and it will keep it at temp for you. The trick is to find one without plastic - most of them seem to have plastic windows, washers or lids.
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debunix
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Location: Los Angeles, CA

Sat Dec 21, 2019 2:44 pm

My tea station includes a place to work on my computer nearby; programmable temp electric tea kettle, tea tray, brew vessel(s), bowl/cup(s), tea scoops, tea whisk, and a scale is nearby if needed (mostly for comparative tastings or reviewing a new tea for TeaForum these days).

I fill up the kettle, fire it up to the first infusion temp, scoop or pour tea into scoop and transfer to vessel (eyeballing against the size of the scoop), add hot water, count out infusion time in my head, pour and enjoy. I keep the kettle at temp for short/continuous infusions, and let it cool down then reheat for less frequent/longer infusions.

Or add tea to a thermos (most greens and many other teas won't tolerate the prolonged steeps) and take it on the go; or add leaves to a large bowl/chawan, fill it up, and take it to another room or outside to enjoy away from the station for a longer time before returning to the station (again, not for sencha but great for gaoshan or some other oolongs).

Everything is variable depending on whims, thirst, desire to 'visit' a favorite vessel, prompts from TeaForum posts, need to finish off a delicate tea before it 'spoils', etc.

Just checked and this morning's O-Cha Yame gyokuro leaves still smell like they have another infusion in them (I'm at 6 or 8 already, from 150 degree start to 205 last one). I just refilled the kettle and set it to 205 degrees, and will cover the gyokuro in my Petr Novak kyusu with hot water and let it sit at the back of the tea tray while using the hotter water to start an oolong session (Norbu's spring Ali Shan from 2015, vacuum sealed and just opened last week), grandpa style in the same larger Bill Perrine Splitfire Pottery scallop yunomi--a ridiculously large vessel for the gyokuro, but it was the one that called out to my hand this morning.

Remember: you're always doing it 'right' if it makes you happy to drink the result!
Vanenbw
Posts: 176
Joined: Mon Dec 16, 2019 10:14 pm
Location: NJ, USA

Sat Dec 21, 2019 5:44 pm

@Slurp Thanks for the recommendation. I'm just learning about the kettle that can maintain the water temperature. That would be perfect. One of my gripes with drinking from smaller cups is having to boil up water in between each brew. It's not like I'm lazy or anything, but when I sit down to relax and drink a cup of tea, I don't want to have to interrupt my moment of relaxation by going into the kitchen and having to boil some more water for a second or third cup.

@debunix I saw one of the photos you posted of your serving tray (very interesting design) and cup. I'm love to see a pic of your tea station. I saw someone had posted some reviews on kettles (I think it was this forum). Was that you? I'll have to check that out. Do you have a kettle you can recommend? I found this one online that looked pretty good. It's stainless steel and the plastic parts are BPA free: https://www.amazon.com/Electric-VAVA-St ... 4483&psc=1.

I know my nature, and I'm sure I'm a little obsessed with all the measurements and water temperature now because brewing sencha--at the the way it should be brewed--is new to me. I'm sure I will eyeball it most of the time, but for now I've even gone so far as to keep a tea journal with notes of how I prepare each brew, the measurements, comments, etc.
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bentz98125
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Location: Seattle

Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:37 pm

Great question. Having to brew tea wherever you find yourself rather than in you own kitchen is a big challenge. I see the virtue of an electric kettle with preset temperature settings. But not having one, I have relied on small, light, portable thermoses for preheated water. But even with that problem solved there is the one of maybe breaking your favorite brewing vessel while fumbling around in an unfamiliar situation. So small thermos, inexpensive (Banko) houhin, and handmade but heavy duty ceramic cups are my arsenal for mortal combat with the scourge of adverse brewing conditions.
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debunix
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Location: Los Angeles, CA

Sat Dec 21, 2019 7:58 pm

You will find considerable discussion on variable-temp kettles in several topics here such as this one about electric kettles. To be flexible in different settings, I stick with electric kettles where I can adjust the temperature easily. I currently use Gourmia and Bonavita gooseneck kettles plus one still-kicking Pino Digital Kettle Pro. Models and features change so I won't detail mine. The goosenecks have presets in addition to the ability to adjust between the presets. Stagg has some models getting a lot of raves but I haven't needed to replace a kettle since those came out.

Some offer temps as low as 104 degrees (you might want very low for some gyokuro, depending on how you like it; I like that gentle warm for my saline rinses also but that has nothing to do with tea).

My tea station as a whole is not very photogenic as mess tends to accumulate around it, so you will see a lot of shallow-focus and very carefully framed images in my tea shots!

Image
Vanenbw
Posts: 176
Joined: Mon Dec 16, 2019 10:14 pm
Location: NJ, USA

Sat Dec 21, 2019 8:14 pm

Thanks, I will check out the links and read up on some of the variable-temp kettles. I have a basic glass kettle I've used for many years. The lid gets stuck and I have to bang the button to get it to pop open, but other than that it does what it needs to do. It would be nice to have a kettle where I can set the temperature and keep the water warmed up at a given setting in between brews.

That's a nice shot. I like it. Is that a chawan? I don't know much about it, I have never had true matcha before (only store-bought tea bags from Rishi). Perhaps the most delightful part of your tea station is the kawaii neko (cute cat). I'm crazy about cats. Any tea stations is lifted to new heights when a cat is nearby. Thanks for sharing.
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Victoria
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Sat Dec 21, 2019 8:29 pm

For electric kettles there are quite a few different threads I recommend you look through Kettles forum. I recently bought an extra 1 liter Stagg variable temp kettle, it looks really nice on my table and is very quiet. I also have a larger louder 1.7 liter Bonavita variable temp kettle. I use to stack 1st and 2nd steeps so I wouldn’t have to get up so often early in morning, but now with a kettle right at my table I notice I’ve stopped doing this. For tastings it’s nice to have a few kettles as well, each with different waters. I drink alone often and enjoy using 150-250ml for sencha, 80-100ml for gyokuro, 80-230ml for oolong depending on time of day and tea, and 60-120ml for Sheng, and 100-350ml for Darjeeling.
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debunix
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Sat Dec 21, 2019 8:30 pm

Cats definitely lift the tea setting....

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Vanenbw
Posts: 176
Joined: Mon Dec 16, 2019 10:14 pm
Location: NJ, USA

Sat Dec 21, 2019 9:46 pm

@Victoria Thank you for the link. I will be sure to check it out. And thanks for the information. It's really helpful to learn how other tea drinkers vary "techniques" depending on the tea they are drinking. My first and only kyusu pot is 360ml. I'm already eyeing some of the smaller pots on Artistic Nippon. Let me ask you something. Since the leaves need space to expand, when drinking sencha, around 250ml or less, what size kyusu would you recommend? I feel like 360 is a little overkill since I am now brewing smaller quantities than I was when I first started using the pot (and filled it to the top, not really knowing I shouldn't be steeping an entire 360ml serving for one for several minutes like I was doing). It's a perfect time for me to replace my kettle since the lid has been broken for a while, and kettle has got to be about 12 or more years old. I will review the links provided here before I make my purchase. Thanks again.

@debunix So cute. Cats lift up every setting. :D
Vanenbw
Posts: 176
Joined: Mon Dec 16, 2019 10:14 pm
Location: NJ, USA

Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:12 pm

@bentz98125 Thanks for the suggestion. I had thought about using a thermos as well. I found a ceramic thermos at Bed Bath & Beyond, but I decided not to purchase it after all for fear of the possibility the taste of the tea would be comprised by the ceramic. Not sure if it would or not, but the thought alone was enough to deter me.

If I purchased a kettle with a temperature hold feature, I think I would be fine with that. And if I truly don't want to move from my spot, I can bring the kettle over to my table, or drink from a larger cup, which sometimes I do prefer.

There is also the option of brewing in one teapot and then pouring the tea into another, and drinking several cups from the second teapot.
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debunix
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Sun Dec 22, 2019 11:08 am

Vanenbw wrote:
Sat Dec 21, 2019 9:46 pm
Since the leaves need space to expand, when drinking sencha, around 250ml or less, what size kyusu would you recommend?
I make my morning sencha--with enough leaf/pot for me to enjoy at least 3, if not 4, infusions before I leave for work--in this 150 mL kyusu from Petr Novak
191222 Morning sencha _DSF9952 ppd IG.jpg
191222 Morning sencha _DSF9952 ppd IG.jpg (219.15 KiB) Viewed 5294 times
Vanenbw wrote:
Sat Dec 21, 2019 11:12 pm
There is also the option of brewing in one teapot and then pouring the tea into another, and drinking several cups from the second teapot.
You need to consider 'holding' capacity of the tea when planning sessions away from your brewing station. Most greens will start to go off quite soon after being poured from the pot; oxidation flattens some things and can start to generate bitterness as well even. I rarely infuse more green than I will drink in a few minutes unless I am chilling it or cool brewing. Many oolongs and puerhs do much better with this than senchas. That's a good part of why sencha and gyokuro are mostly morning teas for me, because I stay by the tea station having breakfast and tea.
Vanenbw
Posts: 176
Joined: Mon Dec 16, 2019 10:14 pm
Location: NJ, USA

Sun Dec 22, 2019 11:30 am

Thank you for the advice, @debunix. I was thinking about purchasing a smaller kyusu. I think 150ml would be a good size. I just purchased a pair of 100ml yunomi. That would pair nicely with a 150ml kyusu pot. I was browsing some of Peter's kyusu's earlier. Nice stuff.

I'm curious, for your 150ml kyusu, how much water would you put in, and how many grams (approximately) of leaves?
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