On Mon, 18 Feb 2008 18:01:17 -0800 (PST), wrote:

I've been drinking tea for some years, but never managed to
understando how to do multiple infusions of the same leaves. So, I
have the the impression that I am wasting the leaves, not withdrawing
all their potential.
As I am the only tea drinker at home, I use a mug with a Chatsford
mesh infuser.
My questions are these:
Multiple infusions must be made one immediately after another? If not,
how long can I wait before infusing the same leaves again? One hour?
12 hour? One day? a couple of days? That's an important issue, because
normally I only drink tea at night and not always like to drink
several mugs, specially if they are of the same type of tea.
If I can store used leaves for one day, I should I do it? Keep them in
the infuser?

Thanks in advance!

Joao Baptista
Lisbon - Portugal

I got rid of my automatic coffee maker, which might be useful for
brewing a pot of tea if you sacrifice multiple infusions and just go
for a ratio of water and leaves. Don't know if there are automatic
tea makers out there.

But I get along just using the basket from the coffee maker sitting on
top of a large mug, with a paper filter I fill to the top with water
over the leaves. Basket doesn't drain until you depress the lever
that normally inserts under the coffee maker head, so after steeping
when I back it into my mug with the lever depressed, it drains
filtered tea. Leaning the basket against something as it drains into
your mug keeps it straight so you don't have to stand there holding
it.

I mention this as a simple way to do multiple infusions, even do a
quick 30 second blanch first. I've been doing okay with the blanch,
then 1 minute, 3 minute, and 6 minute infusions, using about 2 tbs.
tea and distilled water at about 130 degrees.

By the way, I use the coffee maker basket and filter alone to make
coffee, too. It's by far the quickest decent cup of coffee, using 1/2
minute to steep 1/3 cup of grounds. A second infusion is okay to my
taste. bookburn