On Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:29:53 +0200, Peter Roozemaal
> wrote:

>Prof Wonmug wrote:
>> Fairly often when I am trying to figure out the right brewing
>> parameters for a tea, I get a cup that is too much of something, but I
>> can't always tell whether it's too strong or bitter.
>>
>> Is there some way I can learn how to tell the difference?
>>
>> I think I can recognize when it's gotten very bitter, because of the
>> "bite". But when it's only slightly bitter, I have difficult
>> distinguishing that from just too strong.
>
>One thing to try is diluting the brewed tea with hot water. If the tea
>is too strong you'll make two cups of good tea from one strong one.
>The Russians make tea by diluting a concentrate (lots of leaves in a bit
>of water) with hot water from a samovar.

I've experimented with that a bit, but I need to try it again. The
problem that I found was that diluting the liquor amkes it weaker, but
it also diminishes the bitterness. I think I need to educate my palate
to be able to tell the difference between bitter (the kind that occirs
from steeping too long) and too strong.

>> Also, some of the strong blacks, like Assams, have a taste that is (to
>> me) a lot like bitter even when brewed for very short times.
>>
>> Is it true that bitterness only occurs from steeping too long? I would
>> think that no tea would be bitter in a 30 second steep no matter how
>> much leaf is used. Is that right?
>
>Some teas have a natural bitterness, because some tea-drinkers prefer a
>somewhat bitter cup. If you don't like it, pick another tea.

Some teas have more of a bite than others, to be sure. I was about to
discard that Assam, but I tried Dominic's suggestion of going all the
way down to a 15 second steep and I was able to find a set of
parameters that are not bad at all.

Of course, it's also possible that my tastes are changing. There are a
lot of food that I like know that I didn't 20 years ago and
vice-versa.