The ones I have which is a good cross section are made from bud
(round). They're actually nipped when they open up. These are
essentially green tea bud concentrate. I drink mine off the top in a
thermal glass cup with 50% displacement. It reminds you of a liquor.
They remind me of coral fauna. Delicate not course. I've never
finished one off because my tastebuds gave out first. I will be the
first to suggest the perfect complement for the never ending gongfu
session. It's better if you judge one by the total of
sight,smell,taste. They don't look appetizing when they dry out. I
use boiling water for mine. It doesn't seem to hurt the interior. It
cools down much faster than corresponding loose leaf.

Jim

PS I've mentioned Fairy Peach blossom which is common in my stores as
one of my favorite green teas from China. There is no flower, no
scent. They look like fuzzy strips on the surface from the wrapped
bud. I have several called Fairy which has the hairy look. I think
you can key on the word Fairy when looking under your pillow.

Lewis Perin wrote:
Jim writes:

Lewis Perin wrote:

Jim writes:

[...]
I'm reading this from alt.coffee. When I drink tea, it's usually a
green tea, and I've been told it's best NOT to use boiling water, but
something at around 185 degrees or so (if my memory serves me).
Actually, I like most greens brewed cooler than that, some as cool as
140F.

I thought 185 might be on the high side, but I know I used hotter than
140. I'll have to try some both ways. I still have a couple of the
"flower ball" things I need to try out.

Not to discourage you from using a cooler temperature, but those
display teas probably need it less than most greens simply because
display teas tend to be made from big, mature leaves. You'd get
dramatic results from cool brewing with green teas manufactured from
tiny, early spring buds and leaves.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

On Jun 25, 4:05 pm, Lewis Perin wrote:
"Rostyslaw J. Lewyckyj" writes:

Here in the USA, due to occupational health and safety concerns,
almost all the cafe establishments operate with the restriction
of NO BOILING WATER!.

Can this be true? I can think of lots of things that go on in a
restaurant that would be impossible without boiling water.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /

I was just thinking the same thing. I think the reason we don't get
black tea made with boiling water in restaurants is due to a lack of
understanding on the part of the restaurant staff, as well as an
unwillingness to wait until the water reaches a full boil.

Non-hot tea drinkers (of which there are many in the USA) just don't
understand. I honestly think that they believe we are being too fussy
when we demand boiling water and don't realize what a huge difference
it really makes. Add to that the number of people in this country who
have become accustomed to having tea made with less than boiling water
-- or have never known anything else. People in my office can't
understand why I use a Hot Shot to make my tea instead of just using
the hot water tap on the water cooler. I try to explain and
inevitably, I am met with just blank stares.

Brent wrote:
A certain lawsuit arising from a McDonald's coffee spill is coming to
mind. You can, in part, thank stupid people like that for the
hesitance to allow piping hot water.

She's even had an award named after her. The "Stella" Awards.

http://www.stellaawards.com/

I assume this regulation doesn't apply to restaurants... no boiling
water would screw up a lot of recipes, I imagine.

The deal, as I understand it, is that they can't bring boiling water _to
the table_. They can, and in some cases are required to, use it in the
kitchen.

But there are devices to get around this law.

One of them is called a "romulizer", and it securely clamps a lid onto
the pot so that it can't spill even if dropped. I'm sure tea shops
could do something similar with teapots.


AP

Fran wrote:
On Jun 25, 4:05 pm, Lewis Perin wrote:
"Rostyslaw J. Lewyckyj" writes:

Here in the USA, due to occupational health and safety concerns,
almost all the cafe establishments operate with the restriction
of NO BOILING WATER!.
Can this be true? I can think of lots of things that go on in a
restaurant that would be impossible without boiling water.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /

I was just thinking the same thing. I think the reason we don't get
black tea made with boiling water in restaurants is due to a lack of
understanding on the part of the restaurant staff, as well as an
unwillingness to wait until the water reaches a full boil.

Non-hot tea drinkers (of which there are many in the USA) just don't
understand. I honestly think that they believe we are being too fussy
when we demand boiling water and don't realize what a huge difference
it really makes. Add to that the number of people in this country who
have become accustomed to having tea made with less than boiling water
-- or have never known anything else. People in my office can't
understand why I use a Hot Shot to make my tea instead of just using
the hot water tap on the water cooler. I try to explain and
inevitably, I am met with just blank stares.

What you write is quite true. But it doesn't apply to what I wrote.
First. I am not writing about a general restaurant. I am writing about
the specialized cafe bars in various establishments, specifically
in the Barnes & Noble and Borders bookstores, but it applies to cafe
bars in other locales. The bookstore bars make a point of offering
various teas and even sell tins of tea and tea brewing equipment.
So one might expect, or have expected, them to be willing and able
to brew a decent pot of black tea. However they all _refuse_ to bring
their water to a boil. All cite employer policy, work rules.
By the way, they brew the teas in glass press pots and serve with
a ceramic mug, or fancy glasses, _not_ paper (of foam) cups.
--
Rostyk

What about Oolong tea, what temperature would you recommend? My local
tea shop suggested using a near-boiling temperature (90 degrees C, about
200 degrees F). Also, is it better to have the water boiling or not for
herbal tea, or does it depend what sort of herbal tea?

Lewis Perin wrote:
Jim writes:

[...]
I'm reading this from alt.coffee. When I drink tea, it's usually a
green tea, and I've been told it's best NOT to use boiling water, but
something at around 185 degrees or so (if my memory serves me).

Actually, I like most greens brewed cooler than that, some as cool as
140F.

Is black tea different?

Yes. Most people like fully-oxidized teas brewed with water at a full
boil.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

On Nov 15, 2:13*pm, eisenherz wrote:
What about Oolong tea, what temperature would you recommend? My local
tea shop suggested using a near-boiling temperature (90 degrees C, about
200 degrees F). Also, is it better to have the water boiling or not for
herbal tea, or does it depend what sort of herbal tea?


Wow this was an old thread you dredged up but to answer yes their
guidance on oolongs would be a good starting point, obviously it can
be as strict or relaxed as you want and depending on the exact tea in
question. As for herbal/tisanes you want full boiling water and as
long as a steep as you'd like (I generally do like 3-5 minutes) to
extract all you can from them. They are generally not suited to
multiple steeps so you want to get it all the first time, and unlike
tea there is really no reason for it to turn bitter or off with a long
steep... it may get too strongly flavored for your taste but not
bitter and the stronger it tastes the more successful you were
extracting whatever it was you were trying for. HTH.

- Dominic

I was given the following guidelines for steeping times and I've found
they work pretty well.

Green teas -2 to 3 mins
Black tea - Up to 3 mins
White tea - Up to 4 mins
Herbal teas - At least 5 mins

If your like me though you'll have trouble waiting the 5 minutes
before you can drink your tea. Ahh patience is a virtue.