Hi all,

A friend asked me recently why resteeping black tea doesn't generally
result in good flavor, yet one can resteep most greens, oolongs, and whites
3 or more times and still get a good cup. I didn't really have a good
answer to give him, so I thought I'd throw it out to you guys. Any ideas?

--Ty

"Ty" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

A friend asked me recently why resteeping black tea doesn't generally
result in good flavor, yet one can resteep most greens, oolongs, and
whites
3 or more times and still get a good cup. I didn't really have a good
answer to give him, so I thought I'd throw it out to you guys. Any ideas?

--Ty

It depends on the specific black tea, doesn't it?

I routinely get more than decent second steepings from BOP or larger leaf
black teas.

Warren

It depends on the specific black tea, doesn't it?

I routinely get more than decent second steepings from BOP or larger leaf
black teas.

Warren

Black teas are deliberately "bruised" so that cellular contents can react
with each other and with air. Then roasting destroys enzymes and removes
water to stop the process. Depending on the degree of cell disruption, there
may be more or less "sap" on the leaf surfaces. This dissolves almost
instantly, which is why some black teas "color" on first contact with water.
The rest of the flavor/color has to be leached out of the woody dried leaf,
which takes longer - kind of like brewed vs. instant coffee.

A key point is that the fast-dissolving surface goo are not the same as
what's inside, so the flavors will be different. There are several broad
classes of bitter substances in tea, most notably alkaloids (mainly
theophylline, analogous to caffeine in coffee and theobromine in chocolate)
which dissolve very rapidly, and tannins (basically smaller chunks of the
lignin that holds all plants together) with a wide range of solubility
rates.

Green teas actually exhibit the same behavior. The most bitter (and not, to
my taste, pleasant) notes come off immediately. So the first brew of green
tea is strong but bitter; later extractions are much "smoother" in taste.
Many brewing traditions give a fast rinse before the main brew - little of
value is lost, but all the harsh stuff goes away.

-DM

"Warren C. Liebold" wrote in
ink.net:

It depends on the specific black tea, doesn't it?

I routinely get more than decent second steepings from BOP or larger
leaf black teas.

Warren





Ever had any luck with Darjeelings? I really don't drink much black tea
besides them, and I've never been able to get a good second steeping out of
them. Am I doing anything wrong (boiling water and 30 seconds additional
steep time)?

On 2003-12-06, Ty wrote:
Hi all,

A friend asked me recently why resteeping black tea doesn't generally
result in good flavor, yet one can resteep most greens, oolongs, and whites
3 or more times and still get a good cup. I didn't really have a good
answer to give him, so I thought I'd throw it out to you guys. Any ideas?

I'm new to tea, but I've discovered a hearty Assam that takes a second
steeping very well, as long as I use less water and steep it a bit
longer. It's not quite as good as the first steeping, however, and the
color of the first is brilliant.

--
fD

"Ty" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

A friend asked me recently why resteeping black tea doesn't generally
result in good flavor, yet one can resteep most greens, oolongs, and
whites
3 or more times and still get a good cup. I didn't really have a good
answer to give him, so I thought I'd throw it out to you guys. Any ideas?

--Ty

I can usually get a decent second steeping out of a good Keemun. It will be
milder and less intense than the first, but still has plenty of flavor.

Agalena

"John" asked:

Ever had any luck with Darjeelings? I really don't drink much black tea
besides them, and I've never been able to get a good second steeping out
of
them. Am I doing anything wrong (boiling water and 30 seconds additional
steep time)?

I often get a second steeping out of Darjeelings, but it's not the same as
the first. Although it may still be quite good.

I think Dog Ma covered the basic issue well. There are certain compounds
that steep out of tea quickly and will appear in much greater concentrations
in a first steep than a second, and other compounds that will diffuse during
both.

Just don't expect to get the same results from both steepings.

Warren

On 05 Dec 2003, Ty posted the following to rec.food.drink.tea:

Hi all,

A friend asked me recently why resteeping black tea doesn't
generally result in good flavor, yet one can resteep most greens,
oolongs, and whites 3 or more times and still get a good cup. I
didn't really have a good answer to give him, so I thought I'd
throw it out to you guys. Any ideas?

Maybe it's our water, but I can get a second steeping out of just
about anything I've tried.

For black teas, the first steeping is 3 minutes and just below the
recommended temperature. The second steeping is 4.5 to 5 minutes at
the same temperature as the first. The time differential increases
for oolongs and greens.

Certainly, the later steepings are not quite as good as the first,
and by the third (if I push it) are usually pretty bad. But if I
don't overcook or oversteep the first round, a second one is usually
easy to get and pretty tasty.

Although, I did have a Keemun recently that didn't like the second
steep - but the, the first steep was almost marginal to begin with.

--
Derek

Not all pain is gain.

I was recently in Japan for a week on a business trip.
At the plant I found myself drinking vending machine cold green tea
and rather liked it. Especially the ITO-EN product & above all
the Coca-cola product "The Tea for Dining". On the other hand I didn't
much care for the "Super Love Body" tea.

So Coca-cola & ITO-EN, bring on the green tea & give us a break from
the infinite permutations of soda pop.

Having said that, my question is: has anyone here had "the Tea for
Dining", & if so can you recommend a variety of green tea that would
give a similar flavor when iced?

Thanks,

--
Bob Mounger

Bob Mounger wrote:


Having said that, my question is: has anyone here had "the Tea for
Dining", & if so can you recommend a variety of green tea that would
give a similar flavor when iced?

A tough request indeed, as this Coca-Cola product is actually a blend of
black teas containing Darjeeling and Ceylon, according to this
description:

http://www.tokyo.ccbc.co.jp/products/003.html

--crymad

Tried 2nd steep of Chamong SFTGFOP 1 SF. 1st steep - 2 mins., 2nd - 7 mins.
Much less flavoury, but much more sweet, smooth. Very pleasant steep, worth
trying. Brake down the limits and rules! Enjoy twice as much tea as before
for the same money ;-)

Pavel


"John" pí¹e v diskusním pøíspìvku
...
"Warren C. Liebold" wrote in
ink.net:

It depends on the specific black tea, doesn't it?

I routinely get more than decent second steepings from BOP or larger
leaf black teas.

Warren





Ever had any luck with Darjeelings? I really don't drink much black tea
besides them, and I've never been able to get a good second steeping out
of
them. Am I doing anything wrong (boiling water and 30 seconds additional
steep time)?

that'll teach me to to use google & babel fish before I ask a stupid
question. Thanks,

--
Bob Mounger


crymad wrote:

Bob Mounger wrote:


Having said that, my question is: has anyone here had "the Tea for
Dining", & if so can you recommend a variety of green tea that would
give a similar flavor when iced?


A tough request indeed, as this Coca-Cola product is actually a blend of
black teas containing Darjeeling and Ceylon, according to this
description:

http://www.tokyo.ccbc.co.jp/products/003.html

--crymad

Bob Mounger wrote:

that'll teach me to to use google & babel fish before I ask a stupid
question. Thanks,

Well, from a tea-drinker's perspective, the greater sin is your thinking
was green tea after having drunk it. We can give you the benefit of the
doubt and assume you had it only in cans and not clear PET bottles. But
still, did you really think it tasted like green tea? Honestly, I'm
curious.

--crymad


crymad wrote:

Bob Mounger wrote:


Having said that, my question is: has anyone here had "the Tea for
Dining", & if so can you recommend a variety of green tea that would
give a similar flavor when iced?


A tough request indeed, as this Coca-Cola product is actually a blend of
black teas containing Darjeeling and Ceylon, according to this
description:

http://www.tokyo.ccbc.co.jp/products/003.html

--crymad

I was getting it in the small clear bottles out of a vending machine
with ito-en and a bunch of other bottles of tea with bright green
labels. It certainly didn't look as anywhere near as dark as the kirin
apple tea that I could tell was a black, (or any of the pictures on the
web page you pointed to or the others I googled or certainly any black
iced tea I ever drank in the USA) & I have never tasted anything quite
like it. It makes me wonder now how many of these bottled teas with
green labels I had were actually green.

If you look at this pictu
http://www.beverageworld.com/beverag...or-teastea.pdf

I don't know, maybe jet lag affected my vision, but I think it was the
same color as the stuff in the green bottle in this picture.

--
Bob Mounger

crymad wrote:

Bob Mounger wrote:

that'll teach me to to use google & babel fish before I ask a stupid
question. Thanks,


Well, from a tea-drinker's perspective, the greater sin is your thinking
was green tea after having drunk it. We can give you the benefit of the
doubt and assume you had it only in cans and not clear PET bottles. But
still, did you really think it tasted like green tea? Honestly, I'm
curious.

--crymad


crymad wrote:

Bob Mounger wrote:


Having said that, my question is: has anyone here had "the Tea for
Dining", & if so can you recommend a variety of green tea that would
give a similar flavor when iced?


A tough request indeed, as this Coca-Cola product is actually a blend of
black teas containing Darjeeling and Ceylon, according to this
description:

http://www.tokyo.ccbc.co.jp/products/003.html

--crymad

Bob Mounger wrote:

I was getting it in the small clear bottles out of a vending machine
with ito-en and a bunch of other bottles of tea with bright green
labels. It certainly didn't look as anywhere near as dark as the kirin
apple tea that I could tell was a black,

I lived in Japan for some years. A good rule of thumb for canned and
bottled teas is that those with English names are usually black teas.
Green teas have Japanese names with Japanese characters. And naturally,
Oolongs sport traditional Chinese typefaces.

(or any of the pictures on the
web page you pointed to or the others I googled or certainly any black
iced tea I ever drank in the USA) & I have never tasted anything quite
like it. It makes me wonder now how many of these bottled teas with
green labels I had were actually green.

If you look at this pictu
http://www.beverageworld.com/beverag...or-teastea.pdf

I don't know, maybe jet lag affected my vision, but I think it was the
same color as the stuff in the green bottle in this picture.

This is a good time to clear up an online mystery for me. Why can I
never, ever load a page with a .pdf extension? Attempting to open these
results in an endless series of content-less windows, regardless of the
browser used. Any suggestions?

--crymad