Mydnight writes:


More often than not, I use a scale. I drink teas that vary widely in
density, as I think most readers of this newsgroup do, so this is the
way I find easy to know "how much" leaf gets brewed.

I'm just doing it this way to 'further my training,' as my friend a
feng says. he says to be a tea master in china, he's not but is on
his way, you must know amounts without any measuring device other than
the wooden spoon.

I'm just doing it this way because it's easy and I like the results.

immma gonna be a master one day. heh.

I'm going to be dead one day. Until then, all other things being
equal, I'd like to enjoy life.

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

On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 21:13:21 GMT, Mydnight wrote:


I've never had problems with repeated steeping.

Then again, I filter our water at the tap. I find that it has an
unpleasant "processed" flavor otherwise.

I think my contamination was with the tap water I was only rinsing
with. I only use spring water to make tea with, especially if it's
anything wulong related. Tap water doesn't have the mineral content
to give the wulongs justice....pu'er it can work, but still it
flattens the taste.

I've never made my tea with mineral water. I might give it a try just
to see what the end product is.

I have found, however, that after a while, the "patina" inside the
unit spoils the taste a bit. The best cleanser I've found is powdered
dishwasher detergent in the dishwasher. Unfortunately, my wife has
started buying the "pressed cake" version of the detergent, and it
doesn't clean as well. But the powdered stuff (Cascade, I think) did
wonders.

hm. good idea. I'm still wondering what's causing the Se taste
anyway...is it the tap water or are the leaves getting overbrewed.
you can't get every single drop of water out of it.

Maybe you've got Se rich mineral water.


I also find that baking soda and a used toothbrush do a lot to clean
off the "gunk" on the inside, and that this greatly improves the
flavor. I'm still looking for a good way to clean the infuser by hand,
though. Its wire mesh is really starting to look nasty.

my brother tried to do some assam tea using my tea1....he doesn't know
alot about tea, and thought it would be a good idea. what color do
you think my infuser basket is now? heh.

Same color as mine, probably.

My original unit was screwed together, so I could remove the mesh and
clean the "clapper ball." Our newer Tea-One is all fused together.

I have the newer version. Got it from 'tian fu' (tenren in the west).

Piao-I has a travel version I'd love to get ahold of, but I haven't
found any US vendors. I'm tempted to buy a case, take two, and sell
the rest on eBay.

--
Derek

For every winner, there are dozens of losers. Odds are you're one of
them.

how can you not like the pu





"Derek" wrote in message ...
Last night, as I was laying in bed trying to get to sleep, I realized
something. My friends and colleagues thing me somewhat of a tea
gourmet - or even a tea snob. But I don't think that's accurate.

I make almost all of my tea in either a single pot with an infuser or
in my Tea-one (A tall pitcher and top's got a filter basket. Push a
button and the tea drains out after steeping.) I never use two pots,
and I don't use different pots for different types of tea (although I
have thought about it).

I don't like puerh.

I don't measure out my tea by weight. I merely eyeball what I think is
the right amount on a teaspoon. And then I drink it out of a mug.

I don't like puerh.

I keep my teas stored in a drawer, in airtight plastic bottles because
its convenient. I know there are better methods, but I don't have the
gumption to switch. (At least I keep them "air tight" and "dark".)

I don't like puerh.

While I appreciate the intricacies of gungfu, I have no desire to
actually do it myself. Sure, it's a good cup of tea, but I don't think
its worth the effort. And for me to do it for the sake of doing it
would be pretentious. (I'm not saying that doing gungfu is
pretentious. I'm saying that it would be "for me" - it's a personal
thing.)

I don't like puerh.

I do appreciate good teas, however. And I know what "bad tea" is. I
was at a conference last week that had bagged tea at the snack table.
It wasn't too bad, but I missed my stash of teas at home. At the same
time, I often can't tell the difference between two grades of the same
tea - while I know others who can.

Did I mention that I don't like puerh?

And I have hardly any "tea memorabilia" around, except a few teacups I
bought when I was in Russia. Save for the absence of a coffee pot in
our house, no one would really know from visiting that I drink tea.

All of that has brought me to one rather startling conclusion. I am
not a tea gourmet (a connoisseur of tea). I am, in fact, simply a
gourmand (one who is heartily interested in good tea).

Maybe, one day, I'll move myself up the tea drinkers hierarchy. But in
the mean time, I'm just going to enjoy my tea.

The "gourmet" is dead. Long live the "gourmand"!

--
Derek

Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation, are
men who want crops without plowing the ground. -- Frederick Douglass,
abolitionist, editor and orator (1817-1895)

how can you not like the pu





"Derek" wrote in message ...
Last night, as I was laying in bed trying to get to sleep, I realized
something. My friends and colleagues thing me somewhat of a tea
gourmet - or even a tea snob. But I don't think that's accurate.

I make almost all of my tea in either a single pot with an infuser or
in my Tea-one (A tall pitcher and top's got a filter basket. Push a
button and the tea drains out after steeping.) I never use two pots,
and I don't use different pots for different types of tea (although I
have thought about it).

I don't like puerh.

I don't measure out my tea by weight. I merely eyeball what I think is
the right amount on a teaspoon. And then I drink it out of a mug.

I don't like puerh.

I keep my teas stored in a drawer, in airtight plastic bottles because
its convenient. I know there are better methods, but I don't have the
gumption to switch. (At least I keep them "air tight" and "dark".)

I don't like puerh.

While I appreciate the intricacies of gungfu, I have no desire to
actually do it myself. Sure, it's a good cup of tea, but I don't think
its worth the effort. And for me to do it for the sake of doing it
would be pretentious. (I'm not saying that doing gungfu is
pretentious. I'm saying that it would be "for me" - it's a personal
thing.)

I don't like puerh.

I do appreciate good teas, however. And I know what "bad tea" is. I
was at a conference last week that had bagged tea at the snack table.
It wasn't too bad, but I missed my stash of teas at home. At the same
time, I often can't tell the difference between two grades of the same
tea - while I know others who can.

Did I mention that I don't like puerh?

And I have hardly any "tea memorabilia" around, except a few teacups I
bought when I was in Russia. Save for the absence of a coffee pot in
our house, no one would really know from visiting that I drink tea.

All of that has brought me to one rather startling conclusion. I am
not a tea gourmet (a connoisseur of tea). I am, in fact, simply a
gourmand (one who is heartily interested in good tea).

Maybe, one day, I'll move myself up the tea drinkers hierarchy. But in
the mean time, I'm just going to enjoy my tea.

The "gourmet" is dead. Long live the "gourmand"!

--
Derek

Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation, are
men who want crops without plowing the ground. -- Frederick Douglass,
abolitionist, editor and orator (1817-1895)

On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 23:20:51 GMT, Falky foo wrote:

how can you not like the pu

Oh, I am so not going to go through that again...

--
Derek

It hurts to admit when you make mistakes.
But when they're big enough, the pain only lasts a second.

puuuuuuuuu, beloved puuuuuuuuuuuu



"Derek" wrote in message ...
On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 23:20:51 GMT, Falky foo wrote:

how can you not like the pu

Oh, I am so not going to go through that again...

--
Derek

It hurts to admit when you make mistakes.
But when they're big enough, the pain only lasts a second.

I've never made my tea with mineral water. I might give it a try just
to see what the end product is.

Chances are you've been missing out on a lot. Water quality can have
huge influence on the taste of tea!


Maybe you've got Se rich mineral water.

I think it's the tap water, all the same. heh.




I also find that baking soda and a used toothbrush do a lot to clean
off the "gunk" on the inside, and that this greatly improves the
flavor. I'm still looking for a good way to clean the infuser by hand,
though. Its wire mesh is really starting to look nasty.

my brother tried to do some assam tea using my tea1....he doesn't know
alot about tea, and thought it would be a good idea. what color do
you think my infuser basket is now? heh.

Same color as mine, probably.

I think I'm going to toss mine out if it doesn't work out for me after
I get back to China. For some reason, it never failed until I got
back to the US. They are only 10 bucks, anyway.



Piao-I has a travel version I'd love to get ahold of, but I haven't
found any US vendors. I'm tempted to buy a case, take two, and sell
the rest on eBay.


Keep up with me. I'm going to go back to China on the 5th of FEB, and
I know many shops that have them. I'll toss you one.


Mydnight

--------------------
thus then i turn me from my countries light, to dwell in the solemn shades of an endless night.

On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 23:58:24 GMT, Mydnight wrote:

Piao-I has a travel version I'd love to get ahold of, but I haven't
found any US vendors. I'm tempted to buy a case, take two, and sell
the rest on eBay.


Keep up with me. I'm going to go back to China on the 5th of FEB, and
I know many shops that have them. I'll toss you one.

Sweet Mother McCree! Talk about service!

--
Derek

If a pretty poster and a cute saying are that it takes to motivate
you, you probably have a very easy job.

The kind robots will be doing soon.

On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 00:21:27 GMT, Rebecca Ore
wrote:

In article ,
Mydnight wrote:

you must know amounts without any measuring device other than
the wooden spoon.

Fingers used to a wooden spoon can figure out the weight of the tea, I
betcha.


oh ya. totally.

it's rough though.


Mydnight

--------------------
thus then i turn me from my countries light, to dwell in the solemn shades of an endless night.

On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 00:21:27 GMT, Rebecca Ore
wrote:

In article ,
Mydnight wrote:

you must know amounts without any measuring device other than
the wooden spoon.

Fingers used to a wooden spoon can figure out the weight of the tea, I
betcha.


oh ya. totally.

it's rough though.


Mydnight

--------------------
thus then i turn me from my countries light, to dwell in the solemn shades of an endless night.

Lewis Perin wrote:

I'm going to be dead one day. Until then, all other things
being equal, I'd like to enjoy life.

Then stop consuming decades old puerh. Drink from the cup of
life: Japanese greens!

--crymad

Lewis Perin wrote:

I'm going to be dead one day. Until then, all other things
being equal, I'd like to enjoy life.

Then stop consuming decades old puerh. Drink from the cup of
life: Japanese greens!

--crymad

So you're tossing and turning in bed wondering if you're gourmet or
gourmand. That is Benny Hillesque. You're also gourmand if you don't
own a scale,thermometer,timer. I'd also throw in filter but I see you
got one. I've got some iron oxide bacteria living in my well system
that would be perfectly at home on a beengcha. If I ever have to drill
a new one I'll use the old casing to make puerh. I'll string together
some compressed tea, lower into casing, cap, wait 20 years. You don't
need a cave only an old well casing.

Jim

Derek wrote:
Here we have a fine example of Jim at his very creative best. There
are some descriptions that only Jim could come up with.

(Seriously, that's intended as a compliment, not a jab.)

Locally it is easier for me to get good puerh than a Japanese green.
We have a well established Japanese community with commercial
enterprise. As I stated before you have to be in a store when matcha
arrives because it will unstock that quickly. So my question for those
who should know is there any commercial shelf brand you would recommend
as being much better than average. I might be able to find it here but
I gave up because I was disappointed at what was available
commercially. AFAIK the really good stuff doesn't leave the country.
My local tea shoppe has a limited selection of Japanese tea
bancha,sencha,matcha but I don't think they are benchmarks.

Jim

crymad wrote:
Lewis Perin wrote:

I'm going to be dead one day. Until then, all other things
being equal, I'd like to enjoy life.

Then stop consuming decades old puerh. Drink from the cup of
life: Japanese greens!

--crymad

Locally it is easier for me to get good puerh than a Japanese green.
We have a well established Japanese community with commercial
enterprise. As I stated before you have to be in a store when matcha
arrives because it will unstock that quickly. So my question for those
who should know is there any commercial shelf brand you would recommend
as being much better than average. I might be able to find it here but
I gave up because I was disappointed at what was available
commercially. AFAIK the really good stuff doesn't leave the country.
My local tea shoppe has a limited selection of Japanese tea
bancha,sencha,matcha but I don't think they are benchmarks.

Jim

crymad wrote:
Lewis Perin wrote:

I'm going to be dead one day. Until then, all other things
being equal, I'd like to enjoy life.

Then stop consuming decades old puerh. Drink from the cup of
life: Japanese greens!

--crymad