Re: Full-bodied teas

ndrei writes:

[...] Do you see any connection between full-bodiedness and ability to
brew a tea for a very long time (20-30min) without it getting bitter
or astringent? I find that very appealing because you're not racing
against time when drinking that kind of tea..

Sorry, but I don't understand why this would be important to you. The
problem goes away if you can separate the liquor from the leaves when
the liquor reaches the flavor and texture you want.

You're right, it's party because my glass infuser broke and I did not
replace it and that I find it more practical and easier to use less
leaves, let them infuse longer and not bother with an infuser. I also
find that teas that don't require an infuser also have better taste; and
it appeals to me to use as few parts as possible in tea-making (I have a
minimalistic streak).

Also I must note that most infusers limit leaves to a tight area which
is bad for tea taste, there are a few infusers that occupy all of the
area of a pot, but that limits your choices of a pot, they're expensive
and the ones I've seen are metallic and that means they will impart
metallic taste to white and mild green teas.

Why not use a gaiwan? It's minimalistic and lets the leaves swim
wherever the water will take them.

I don't know maybe it's just my failure as a tea brewer but I could never
manage a good tasting cup with a gaiwan. I have three of them and I like
to use them as simple cups. It may be because of the size.. I have a
smaller tea pot and the tea also doesn't taste as good out of it. My
largest glass pot makes the best tea. I eventually interpolated all of
this to mean that good tea needs large volume, possibly because it then
keeps itself at good temperature for long enough to be brewed properly.
My two smaller gaiwans are about 5oz, larger one is about 7, largest pot
is ~3 cups, 2nd is 2.5 cups and 3rd is 1.5 cups. I did preheat the
gaiwans when i tried using them..

Incidentally I like to drink coffee out of gaiwans, especially the one
that is untreated clay on the outside, it seems to fit coffee very well.


I respect and appreciate your preferences, but l join Lew in encouraging you to revisit your gaiwan. Finding the right amount of tea that allows relatively short steeping times is, I think, the secret you're yet to uncover. I don't want to bore you with all kinds of details, but I believe it will be worth your effort to have a go again. Perhaps though there are other issues. Perhaps you want several cups of "normal" size for your efforts. If that's so, a gaiwan is usually associated with little cups or single -- let's say 5 ounce -- cups, so in that case I see your point better. In any event, please don't encase the leaves in a metal jail; it's cruel and deprives you of their beauty.
Michael
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Relevant Pages

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