Your day in tea
While I have often weighed in in favor of use of scales, timers, and thermometers as something like training wheels for the new tea drinker who does not have an experienced person at their elbow guiding them, this is exactly the situation where I would encourage you to go ahead with whichever teas you like, scale or no.
As long as you have a rough idea of proportions of leaf to brewing vessel, time, and temperature, did not go too far awry without the training wheels, especially when the missing precision is for the quantity of leaf.
Just make sure that you have extra hot and cold water readily at hand and use a larger than usual cup for your brew, and you can easily dilute the tea liquor if you get it too strong, or make the next Infusion much longer to help make up for getting it too weak.
As long as you have a rough idea of proportions of leaf to brewing vessel, time, and temperature, did not go too far awry without the training wheels, especially when the missing precision is for the quantity of leaf.
Just make sure that you have extra hot and cold water readily at hand and use a larger than usual cup for your brew, and you can easily dilute the tea liquor if you get it too strong, or make the next Infusion much longer to help make up for getting it too weak.
Thanks! I stopped using my timer for gongfu brewing long ago, though I still rely on my thermometer and (usually) my scale. It could be interesting to see if I could achieve good results just by estimating the quantity of leaf. It's frustrating because I have a few Daxue Jiadao hongcha samples waiting to go... I'm better at estimating the amount of green oolong than black tea.debunix wrote: ↑Wed Dec 06, 2023 5:23 pmWhile I have often weighed in in favor of use of scales, timers, and thermometers as something like training wheels for the new tea drinker who does not have an experienced person at their elbow guiding them, this is exactly the situation where I would encourage you to go ahead with whichever teas you like, scale or no.
As long as you have a rough idea of proportions of leaf to brewing vessel, time, and temperature, did not go too far awry without the training wheels, especially when the missing precision is for the quantity of leaf.
Just make sure that you have extra hot and cold water readily at hand and use a larger than usual cup for your brew, and you can easily dilute the tea liquor if you get it too strong, or make the next Infusion much longer to help make up for getting it too weak.
@Vinski, a replacement scale is already on its way!
Green oolong is also a lot more forgiving than black tea. But still, starting with a little bit and adjusting either your infusion volume or infusion time may still give you a pleasant session..... but having just ordered some teas from Daxue Jiadao myself recently, I can understand that these samples are very precious and you would not want to waste them on a bad session. if I were desperate enough, however, this would be the time to bring out the teeny tiny almost toy pots.... so that I could have a session with 1 g of sample.
Agreed, green oolong is more forgiving. I also have two 30 ml pots that don't get a lot of use but are fun to play with occasionally. I'll probably hold on to those DXJD samples until my scale arrives.debunix wrote: ↑Wed Dec 06, 2023 8:31 pmGreen oolong is also a lot more forgiving than black tea. But still, starting with a little bit and adjusting either your infusion volume or infusion time may still give you a pleasant session..... but having just ordered some teas from Daxue Jiadao myself recently, I can understand that these samples are very precious and you would not want to waste them on a bad session. if I were desperate enough, however, this would be the time to bring out the teeny tiny almost toy pots.... so that I could have a session with 1 g of sample.
Merry Christmas to anyone who's celebrating! I was going to drink a fancy Dancong that I got in a swap, but opted for something simple and indulgent instead: a Shan Lin Xi oolong that tastes like pineapple pound cake. It also has nice florals, cream, and some coconut and lasts for eight or so short steeps. The vendor freezes his oolongs in his shop but doesn't have the equipment to vacuum seal them, so they need to be consumed quickly, which is just fine with me.
What are you guys drinking during the holidays?
What are you guys drinking during the holidays?
Nothing extraordinary down here, other than a 1970s (or earlier) Liu An shared with a friend recently, which created a mood of strong relaxation during a rainy and uneventful day. I've got to be careful about who I share that tea with - it once immobilised another friend a few years ago...
Today started with some nice fresh high mountain tea, then some straightforward but pleasant yancha that I bought perhaps a year ago, and now this week's consistently unpredictable weather is turning from hot and humid to a thunderstorm, so who knows what tea will come next.
As I've mentioned in the past, I'm usually trying to 'brew to the day', in the sense of brewing what feels right for the weather and for how I feel at any given time, and not picking rare, expensive or new teas just for the sake of it or just because I have some time. Sometimes it just feels right to brew something special as well, though. I think that if you want to brew something special, then you should just go ahead and do it, and don't think or worry too much. Just don't force it if you don't really feel like it.
That might explain why there's an awful lot of little samples and things around here that I need to work through (I've somehow made that sound much less enjoyable than it actually is).
There's also the temptation of playing with some new teapots to see what they like, instead of really focussing on the tea...
Andrew
Is this related to Chinese tea vs. Indian tea? I haven't had very many Assamica oolongs, but Indian black teas are definitely unforgiving if you ignore the 5-minute steep warning, while a Keemun is happy to wait around (although because of this it will never take milk well).
I was talking about Taiwanese and Chinese teas, primarily. Black tea can get astringent if you use too much of it, while you don't need to be as precise with Taiwanese green oolongs. Fortunately, my scale arrived a while ago so I don't need to worry about guestimating.mbanu wrote: ↑Tue Dec 26, 2023 6:10 amIs this related to Chinese tea vs. Indian tea? I haven't had very many Assamica oolongs, but Indian black teas are definitely unforgiving if you ignore the 5-minute steep warning, while a Keemun is happy to wait around (although because of this it will never take milk well).
That Liu An sounds like quite a tea!Andrew S wrote: ↑Mon Dec 25, 2023 7:50 pmNothing extraordinary down here, other than a 1970s (or earlier) Liu An shared with a friend recently, which created a mood of strong relaxation during a rainy and uneventful day. I've got to be careful about who I share that tea with - it once immobilised another friend a few years ago...
Today started with some nice fresh high mountain tea, then some straightforward but pleasant yancha that I bought perhaps a year ago, and now this week's consistently unpredictable weather is turning from hot and humid to a thunderstorm, so who knows what tea will come next.
As I've mentioned in the past, I'm usually trying to 'brew to the day', in the sense of brewing what feels right for the weather and for how I feel at any given time, and not picking rare, expensive or new teas just for the sake of it or just because I have some time. Sometimes it just feels right to brew something special as well, though. I think that if you want to brew something special, then you should just go ahead and do it, and don't think or worry too much. Just don't force it if you don't really feel like it.
That might explain why there's an awful lot of little samples and things around here that I need to work through (I've somehow made that sound much less enjoyable than it actually is).
There's also the temptation of playing with some new teapots to see what they like, instead of really focussing on the tea...
Andrew
Brewing according to the day or to your mood is a good idea, and I do that to some extent. I've been drinking more roasted teas lately, possibly due to the change of seasons. However, I seem to always be in the mood for gaoshan, and only a little less so for lapsang and Taiwanese hongcha.
I also have some samples to work through, often of special teas or things from swaps. I want to really focus my attention on them, which means I procrastinate on drinking them.
Enjoy your teapot experimentation!
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teacreacha7
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Happy holidays! My "gift to myself" was a bit of 1998 Liu Bao, and some Qi Dan Yencha from my local teashop. This is the first Liu Bao I've tried! I love how it has familiar Shou Puher flavors, but it's different in a way I can't yet place. I am excited to explore the realm of older aged teas (that I can afford
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I'm glad you're getting the chance to explore some aged teas! Several years ago, I had a 1984 Wuyi oolong that I didn't like at all (it reminded me of seafood that had gone off and musty basements), and I haven't explored many aged teas since then. What-Cha had a nice aged Qing Xin oolong a while ago that was much better.teacreacha7 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 26, 2023 8:28 amHappy holidays! My "gift to myself" was a bit of 1998 Liu Bao, and some Qi Dan Yencha from my local teashop. This is the first Liu Bao I've tried! I love how it has familiar Shou Puher flavors, but it's different in a way I can't yet place. I am excited to explore the realm of older aged teas (that I can afford
Taking a vacation from the holidays at the home office, enjoying some of BSX's 2022 "Junzeyuan" QLC.
Hadn't purchases any Anhua heicha for a good 18 months when I bought this, it's a scene in disarray right now. With BSX at least you know the processing is going to be handled well, and I've been wanting to try something from the Junzeyuan line, so I jumped on the opportunity. Still gonna need a couple years to reveal it's true self, but with QLCs you're able to get a general, broad strokes idea early on. I've had a couple of sessions with it already. It's enjoyable, sweet and slightly tart, with a non-domineering pine-presence. A big step up from the BSX QLC general line imo.
In the background of the below pic there's a tiny (230 ml) pot of some 90s 7581 shu too. I rarely reach for shu, but this brick definitely has it's place on a mellow winter's day like this.
Hadn't purchases any Anhua heicha for a good 18 months when I bought this, it's a scene in disarray right now. With BSX at least you know the processing is going to be handled well, and I've been wanting to try something from the Junzeyuan line, so I jumped on the opportunity. Still gonna need a couple years to reveal it's true self, but with QLCs you're able to get a general, broad strokes idea early on. I've had a couple of sessions with it already. It's enjoyable, sweet and slightly tart, with a non-domineering pine-presence. A big step up from the BSX QLC general line imo.
In the background of the below pic there's a tiny (230 ml) pot of some 90s 7581 shu too. I rarely reach for shu, but this brick definitely has it's place on a mellow winter's day like this.
Feeding a 'new' medium-sized (140mL) pot by continuing to brew last night's 2001 SunSing FuHai on a cloudy Sydney day (which might affect people's enjoyment of the fireworks...). Nice, smooth, relaxing.
I've been working over the break as well, which has meant that I haven't been able to brew teas which demand a lot of attention, or teas which might disable me with too much relaxation, so to say.
Andrew
I've been working over the break as well, which has meant that I haven't been able to brew teas which demand a lot of attention, or teas which might disable me with too much relaxation, so to say.
Andrew
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