On Mon, 24 Nov 2003 12:39:39 -0600, Sara Hawk wrote:

> Hi all,
> I don't want to open yet another debate on tea. Please, if you feel the
> need to flame, select another topic. I just need answers to a couple of
> questions.
>
> As a long time black tea / tisane drinker, tea to me meant boiling some
> water, pouring it over tea leaves / herbs and decanting after some time.
> Only within the last 5 years have I been introduced to other kinds of
> tea and other methods of preparation. And even though I've done it for
> some time now, I don't feel that I've mastered those techniques either.
> I still use a thermometer and I often start over. I have several
> questions about this:
>
> 1. What happens to tea if the water isn't hot enough? I understand that
> if the water is too hot, it 'burns off' some of the compounds so they
> evaporate quickly and the taste changes. So, by this logic, wouldn't a
> longer brew time in cooler water result in similar brew? I tried this
> with some greens that I have, and it was about the same. I've really
> not got any expensive greens yet (waiting for my order) so I can't tell
> whether it's like that with them too. What is your view?
>
> 2. Several of the greens that I've tried have a sort of a spinach taste to
> them. Is this a desirable taste in greens? If not, what am I doing wrong to
> produce this kind of a taste?
>
> 3. Do you prefer to heat the water to the desired temperature or to boil it
> and let it cool to that temperature? If you have a preference, why?

I've experimented with both methods and have found that I prefer to heat
to the desired temperature and then steep. To my palate, the taste is
slightly better than with the other method. I watch the bubbles to guage
temperature and don't use a thermometer.

> 4. Do you like your tea strong or weak? I seem to prefer weak, I usually
> disagree with amounts of tea recommended. This has also changed once I
> started to get some better quality leaves - they don't brew the same way
> that grocery store loose leaf tea brews. With those I used to brew only
> about 1/4 of recommended amount but with whole leaves I tend to brew about
> 1/2 amt recommended. I've also heard of people using a scale to weight the
> leaves so they get an exact amount. Where does one find such a scale?
> (It'd have to be able to weigh grams accurately, right?)

Strength is a purely subjective matter. What one person finds strong,
another may find weak etc. etc. On the matter of scales, I'd never tell
anyone not to use one but for me, the variation between one brew of a
particular tea and another can be interesting. 'Mistakes' can be a
source of knowledge.

> Thanks for all your help,
>
> ~sara

J