Sara HawkLfswb.295275$Fm2.311652@attbi_s0411/24/03


Sara,

snip

> 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?

It's been my experience that erring on the side of caution -- too cool
rather than too hot -- yields a more pleasant cup of green tea. Generally,
I've found that extremely fresh and young buds/leaves require a cooler
temperature. Less fresh or larger leaves, higher. For greens, for me, lower
means 135-145. Higher means 160-175; occasionally higher. And points in
between. It calls for experimentation, which is what you'll want to do.

> 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?

You're doing nothing wrong, I'll bet. Some greens just taste that way. If
they *all* taste like spinach, I dunno. Long jing and Lin yun decided taste
most unspinach-like. Among others.

> 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 bring the water up to just over the desired temperature and then pour. I
do not bring the water to a boil and let it cool. Why? Habit, and the
mythological oxygen depletion theory, I guess.

> 4. Do you like your tea strong or weak?

I can live with "too weak" quite nicely. I don't like the taste when green
tea becomes "too strong."

>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?)

Quite right. I use a three beam gram scale accurate to the tenth of a gram.
I also use a gram balance scale. Generally, I use half the number of grams
of dry tea as ounces of water: 5 grams tea to 10 ounces water, for example.
This usually works, and I adjust steep times around it. Remember you can
expect multiple steeps from the same leaves. Therefore, use enough leaf, and
cut the steep time down. Stinting on leaf amount compromises quality, I've
found. David Hoffman of Silk Road Tea charges somewhere around $50 USC for a
Chinese balance scale that works just fine.
>
I happily and unabashedly use a thermometer to guide me whenever I feel like
I want its guidance, which is usually when I'm brewing a delicate green.

Best,
Michael