On 13 Oct 2003, Warren C. Liebold posted the following to
rec.food.drink.tea:

My experience with teaballs and the like is ....

I think Derek's explanation is basically the argument for "elbow
room...."

Yep. That's pretty much it. I used to use a tea ball, and unless I
stood their dunking it up and down during the steep, I got really
bad teas. I didn't know much at the time, but I knew this.

Unless there is room for difusion, you just don't get good tea.

I think many of the issues we discuss here are more closely
related to subjective tastes than anything else. For example, I
personally find that the flavor of a good darjeeling improves
somewhat if the poured tea sits in the cup or mug for 10-15
minutes before drinking. That may due to the fact that some
substances develop as the tea cools. It could also be that my
taste buds are better with slightly cooler rather than hotter
liquids. Some of you may think this observation is nuts.

Nah. I think it shows that you pay attention and know what you
like. I happen to prefer my 3-minute teas steeped for 2.5 minutes.
I dont' know if it's because I use more leaf than I should or what,
but there is a distinct drinkability difference in that extra 30
seconds.

For me, all of these issues are interesting, but they pale
against my realization, a few years ago, that there is an entire
delicious world beyond grocery store tea bags. I own two
different pots, two different infusers, a thermometer and a
digital timer. I pay some attention to preparation issues, but
they seem less important than issues of personal taste and my
original foray into loose teas and the realization that "I ain't
in Kansas anymore."

I SO very much agree with this paragraph. My enjoyment went up when
I discovered that one could buy loose leaf tea instead of bags, and
that one didn't have to get this from a shop where the tea was
infused with the aroma of a certain bean.

What's really scarry is that I got my wife hooked just as badly as
I am.

Derek

--

Does it seem strange to anyone else that grass roots promotion of
"Take Back Your Time Day" encourages people to give up more of that
precious 'time' to which the day supposedly is dedicated?