Hi,

I find myself being forced more and more in the direction of getting a tea
scale.

First, many if not most serious tea people seem to use them.

Second, I drink a wide variety of teas of many different leaf styles, and
while one can accurately and consistently measure small-leaf teas like
broken Assams with measuring spoons, portioning out large-leaf teas like
Golden Yunnan tips, silver needle white, silver needle Puer, Phoenix
oolongs, large-leaf Puers, etc., is pretty dicey.

Now one could say "that's the nature of tea, and it doesn't have to be the
same every time." And people do say that. But that doesn't work for me,
because a) I'm a little (ok, maybe more than a little) obsessive-compulsive,
and I like some consistency in such things, but more importantly, b) at this
stage in my tea life, I'm still trying many new teas with a variety of leaf
styles, and I want to give them a fair chance; finally c) many tea people,
dealers and sites give steeping instructions in grams, and for the above
reasons it's practically impossible to convert that to measuring
tea/tablespoons.

With that long-winded prelude out of the way, I'm looking for information
about and recommendations for tea scales. Assume I know nothing about them
(or food scales in general); in fact, I've never even seen one in the flesh,
and have only seen little pictures at sites like
http://www.rightonscales.com/web/pocketscales. Presumably at least some of
these are quick, easy and convenient to use, as I've been told and have read
that they are as fast to use as a measuring spoon (though I confess I don't
believe this yet). I've also been told that a) all you really need for tea
is .1g accuracy, and b) that I shouldn't go for less than 200g capacity.

I've already had recommended to me the Jennings JS-500 and the Toyo 250 (at
the site above). Also, I know that Silk Road carries a tea scale, and David
Lee Hoffman told me something to the effect that (I'm sure I'm
misrepresenting this) it has some kind of "official" status in the tea
business in China - does anyone have any experience with that scale?

Is digital best? I would think so, as you presumably wouldn't have to mess
with weights. But they would need power - battery, cords? Etc.

Thanks very much.


Doug

Digital scales are reviewed at http://www.digitalscale.com/ .
I bought a "My Weigh 120-Z" digital scale at
http://www.saveonscales.com/120z.html . It is very easy to use.



"Doug Hazen, Jr." wrote in
:
Hi,

I find myself being forced more and more in the direction of getting a
tea scale.

First, many if not most serious tea people seem to use them.

Second, I drink a wide variety of teas of many different leaf styles,
and while one can accurately and consistently measure small-leaf teas
like broken Assams with measuring spoons, portioning out large-leaf
teas like Golden Yunnan tips, silver needle white, silver needle Puer,
Phoenix oolongs, large-leaf Puers, etc., is pretty dicey.
....

Digital scales are reviewed at http://www.digitalscale.com/ .
I bought a "My Weigh 120-Z" digital scale at
http://www.saveonscales.com/120z.html . It is very easy to use.



"Doug Hazen, Jr." wrote in
:
Hi,

I find myself being forced more and more in the direction of getting a
tea scale.

First, many if not most serious tea people seem to use them.

Second, I drink a wide variety of teas of many different leaf styles,
and while one can accurately and consistently measure small-leaf teas
like broken Assams with measuring spoons, portioning out large-leaf
teas like Golden Yunnan tips, silver needle white, silver needle Puer,
Phoenix oolongs, large-leaf Puers, etc., is pretty dicey.
....

I am not a newbie to loose leaf tea but have not had any of what I
would call premium tea. So I purchased a scale,thermometer and some
good glass tea pots for green tea. The scale is a Salter model
1250,digital, weighs by .1 gram to 250 g. I am happy with it but do
not really need it yet but it does help. I think the thermometer is a
good thing to have too. There is so much to learn about the basic tea
that I will stick to that for a long time. Also I smoke so a premium
tea would be a waste at this point.
Dan

"Doug Hazen, Jr." wrote in message ...
Hi,

I find myself being forced more and more in the direction of getting a tea
scale.

First, many if not most serious tea people seem to use them.

I've also been told that a) all you really need for tea
is .1g accuracy, and b) that I shouldn't go for less than 200g capacity.
Etc.

Thanks very much.


Doug

On Sat, 23 Oct 2004 16:32:41 -0400, Doug Hazen, Jr. wrote:

Hi,

I find myself being forced more and more in the direction of getting a tea
scale.


I think that scales are a nice gadget but they are not necessary. A bit of
experimentation with quantities seems to be better. Thermometers, on the
other hand, can be most useful.

JB

"Doug Hazen, Jr." writes:

[...inching toward buying a scale...]

With that long-winded prelude out of the way, I'm looking for information
about and recommendations for tea scales. Assume I know nothing about them
(or food scales in general); in fact, I've never even seen one in the flesh,
and have only seen little pictures at sites like
http://www.rightonscales.com/web/pocketscales. Presumably at least some of
these are quick, easy and convenient to use, as I've been told and have read
that they are as fast to use as a measuring spoon (though I confess I don't
believe this yet). I've also been told that a) all you really need for tea
is .1g accuracy,

Agreed.

and b) that I shouldn't go for less than 200g capacity.

Maybe so, if you intend to be dividing up large batches with your friends.

I've already had recommended to me the Jennings JS-500 and the Toyo 250 (at
the site above). Also, I know that Silk Road carries a tea scale, and David
Lee Hoffman told me something to the effect that (I'm sure I'm
misrepresenting this) it has some kind of "official" status in the tea
business in China - does anyone have any experience with that scale?

Yes, it works great. I normally have it set up to balance at 4g,
which is the amount of leaf I usually brew when, uh, drinking alone,
and measuring out the right amount could hardly be quicker. I also
like the fact that the receptacle is fairly big, so (with the
auxiliary weights) it's possible to measure out big quantities when I
need to.

Is digital best? I would think so, as you presumably wouldn't have to mess
with weights. But they would need power - battery, cords? Etc.

I don't like the idea of adding more batteries to the world, so my
other scale is a pocket balance (Deering, but I think there are others
available as well.) It works fine, with the exception that with
fluffy teas it can be hard to measure even 4g in one go.

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

I bought a Salter 3001 at "Bed Bath and Beyond" for about $20 or so. I'm
sure there are lots of good options, but I would suggest buying a scale that
is sufficiently large to be used for other kitchen duties.

Tea isn't the only thing that needs to be weighed, but it is one of the
smallest items you'll ever need to weigh.

Warren


"Doug Hazen, Jr." wrote in message
...
Hi,

I find myself being forced more and more in the direction of getting a tea
scale.

First, many if not most serious tea people seem to use them.

Second, I drink a wide variety of teas of many different leaf styles, and
while one can accurately and consistently measure small-leaf teas like
broken Assams with measuring spoons, portioning out large-leaf teas like
Golden Yunnan tips, silver needle white, silver needle Puer, Phoenix
oolongs, large-leaf Puers, etc., is pretty dicey.

Now one could say "that's the nature of tea, and it doesn't have to be the
same every time." And people do say that. But that doesn't work for me,
because a) I'm a little (ok, maybe more than a little)
obsessive-compulsive,
and I like some consistency in such things, but more importantly, b) at
this
stage in my tea life, I'm still trying many new teas with a variety of
leaf
styles, and I want to give them a fair chance; finally c) many tea people,
dealers and sites give steeping instructions in grams, and for the above
reasons it's practically impossible to convert that to measuring
tea/tablespoons.

With that long-winded prelude out of the way, I'm looking for information
about and recommendations for tea scales. Assume I know nothing about them
(or food scales in general); in fact, I've never even seen one in the
flesh,
and have only seen little pictures at sites like
http://www.rightonscales.com/web/pocketscales. Presumably at least some of
these are quick, easy and convenient to use, as I've been told and have
read
that they are as fast to use as a measuring spoon (though I confess I
don't
believe this yet). I've also been told that a) all you really need for tea
is .1g accuracy, and b) that I shouldn't go for less than 200g capacity.

I've already had recommended to me the Jennings JS-500 and the Toyo 250
(at
the site above). Also, I know that Silk Road carries a tea scale, and
David
Lee Hoffman told me something to the effect that (I'm sure I'm
misrepresenting this) it has some kind of "official" status in the tea
business in China - does anyone have any experience with that scale?

Is digital best? I would think so, as you presumably wouldn't have to mess
with weights. But they would need power - battery, cords? Etc.

Thanks very much.


Doug

I bought a Salter 3001 at "Bed Bath and Beyond" for about $20 or so. I'm
sure there are lots of good options, but I would suggest buying a scale that
is sufficiently large to be used for other kitchen duties.

Tea isn't the only thing that needs to be weighed, but it is one of the
smallest items you'll ever need to weigh.

Warren


"Doug Hazen, Jr." wrote in message
...
Hi,

I find myself being forced more and more in the direction of getting a tea
scale.

First, many if not most serious tea people seem to use them.

Second, I drink a wide variety of teas of many different leaf styles, and
while one can accurately and consistently measure small-leaf teas like
broken Assams with measuring spoons, portioning out large-leaf teas like
Golden Yunnan tips, silver needle white, silver needle Puer, Phoenix
oolongs, large-leaf Puers, etc., is pretty dicey.

Now one could say "that's the nature of tea, and it doesn't have to be the
same every time." And people do say that. But that doesn't work for me,
because a) I'm a little (ok, maybe more than a little)
obsessive-compulsive,
and I like some consistency in such things, but more importantly, b) at
this
stage in my tea life, I'm still trying many new teas with a variety of
leaf
styles, and I want to give them a fair chance; finally c) many tea people,
dealers and sites give steeping instructions in grams, and for the above
reasons it's practically impossible to convert that to measuring
tea/tablespoons.

With that long-winded prelude out of the way, I'm looking for information
about and recommendations for tea scales. Assume I know nothing about them
(or food scales in general); in fact, I've never even seen one in the
flesh,
and have only seen little pictures at sites like
http://www.rightonscales.com/web/pocketscales. Presumably at least some of
these are quick, easy and convenient to use, as I've been told and have
read
that they are as fast to use as a measuring spoon (though I confess I
don't
believe this yet). I've also been told that a) all you really need for tea
is .1g accuracy, and b) that I shouldn't go for less than 200g capacity.

I've already had recommended to me the Jennings JS-500 and the Toyo 250
(at
the site above). Also, I know that Silk Road carries a tea scale, and
David
Lee Hoffman told me something to the effect that (I'm sure I'm
misrepresenting this) it has some kind of "official" status in the tea
business in China - does anyone have any experience with that scale?

Is digital best? I would think so, as you presumably wouldn't have to mess
with weights. But they would need power - battery, cords? Etc.

Thanks very much.


Doug

Scales are important if you're paying $16/g. You'll never see a scale
on a cook show. However if by-the-book makes sense also consider
barometer,altimeter,stopwatch,hydrometer,litmus
strips,physical-dental-psychological exam. Experimenting and
discovery will add more to the taste than scales. I've been playing
with swooshing tea in a cylindrical pot to cut down on infusion time
(experimenting). My uncooked caked Puer bubbles no matter what kind
of pieces I use so it can't be trapped air (discovery). If I was
using scales I'd use the old fashion brass fulcrum with weight sets.
Making tea is as much show as taste. I'll agree
weight,temperature,time are necessary evils for making tea but don't
let them get in the way of making a good cuppa. You don't need a
chemistry set to make tea.

Jim

"Doug Hazen, Jr." wrote in message ...
Hi,

I find myself being forced more and more in the direction of getting a tea
scale.

First, many if not most serious tea people seem to use them.
compost for the slag pile

"Doug Hazen, Jr." wrote in message

Assume I know nothing about them
(or food scales in general); in fact, I've never even seen one in the
flesh,
and have only seen little pictures at sites like

You should go to a store and try.
Nowadays, you get for cheap excellent digital kitchen scales 1g to 2 or 5
kg, with a precision of 1g for the first 500g. The little battery lasts 2
years at least (it's still the original one for me). You have a button to
reset at zero after you place the saucer or piece of paper on which you put
the tea and imediatly read the weight. For cooking, you can place a bowl and
add successively each ingredient, just resetting zero each time.
My scale weights food, mail, tea, etc. Take the 5 kg model if you have a big
family (may have to weight whole chicken, etc).
..
"official" status in the tea
business in China

You are not in the tea business, are you ? They spend the day weighting tons
of tea. They need scales much more resistant, but not really more precise
than the home kitchen equipment.

Kuri

"Doug Hazen, Jr." wrote in message

Assume I know nothing about them
(or food scales in general); in fact, I've never even seen one in the
flesh,
and have only seen little pictures at sites like

You should go to a store and try.
Nowadays, you get for cheap excellent digital kitchen scales 1g to 2 or 5
kg, with a precision of 1g for the first 500g. The little battery lasts 2
years at least (it's still the original one for me). You have a button to
reset at zero after you place the saucer or piece of paper on which you put
the tea and imediatly read the weight. For cooking, you can place a bowl and
add successively each ingredient, just resetting zero each time.
My scale weights food, mail, tea, etc. Take the 5 kg model if you have a big
family (may have to weight whole chicken, etc).
..
"official" status in the tea
business in China

You are not in the tea business, are you ? They spend the day weighting tons
of tea. They need scales much more resistant, but not really more precise
than the home kitchen equipment.

Kuri

On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 06:54:29 -0700, Space Cowboy wrote:

Scales are important if you're paying $16/g. You'll never see a scale on
a cook show. However if by-the-book makes sense also consider
barometer,altimeter,stopwatch,hydrometer,litmus
strips,physical-dental-psychological exam. Experimenting and discovery
will add more to the taste than scales.

You have forgotten water! I agree fully with you, experimenting is much
more successful and rewarding than fulfilling miniscule details. By
trying, the Greeks got into Troy!
JB

On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 06:54:29 -0700, Space Cowboy wrote:

Scales are important if you're paying $16/g. You'll never see a scale on
a cook show. However if by-the-book makes sense also consider
barometer,altimeter,stopwatch,hydrometer,litmus
strips,physical-dental-psychological exam. Experimenting and discovery
will add more to the taste than scales.

You have forgotten water! I agree fully with you, experimenting is much
more successful and rewarding than fulfilling miniscule details. By
trying, the Greeks got into Troy!
JB

J 10/25/04


On Mon, 25 Oct 2004 06:54:29 -0700, Space Cowboy wrote:

Scales are important if you're paying $16/g. You'll never see a scale on
a cook show. However if by-the-book makes sense also consider
barometer,altimeter,stopwatch,hydrometer,litmus
strips,physical-dental-psychological exam. Experimenting and discovery
will add more to the taste than scales.

You have forgotten water! I agree fully with you, experimenting is much
more successful and rewarding than fulfilling miniscule details. By
trying, the Greeks got into Troy!

And if they had stayed the hell out of Troy a lot of misery could have been
averted. Maybe if they had stayed home making proper tea, they wouldn't have
felt the need to engage in hostile acts. Had they used scales, they could
have compensated nicely for the fluffiness factor instead of
overcompensating for their failure by attacking their neighbors.

And now you know the true story.

Michael


JB

Had they used
scales, they could have compensated nicely for the fluffiness factor
instead of overcompensating for their failure by attacking their
neighbors.

And now you know the true story.

Michael


They scaled the ladders ;-)