I've been drinking green tea for many years. I get expensive fancy tea
at a local Japanese shop. Usually sencha and not infrequently "deep
steamed" tea. I note that in instructions with some of them, they
steep for only a minute. And though they generally steep 10 degress
cooler than me, I don't quibble.

The routine is that you remove the tea, shake all the additional
moisture out of the strainer so it won't get bitter and set the leaves
aside. You may then come back later and make a second cup. But these,
I'm told, I need only dunk it in the water for a second or two.

Recently I've been drinking black tea, Twinings English Breakfast.
This I steep for 2 minutes and get a pretty stout cup. If I come back
for 2 minutes it makes another pretty stout cup, but with a slightly
less tannic quality.

Anybody have any viewpoint regarding the "second dunk" and the tea at hand?

On Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:45:50 -0800, gtr > wrote:

>
>Recently I've been drinking black tea, Twinings English Breakfast.
>This I steep for 2 minutes and get a pretty stout cup. If I come back
>for 2 minutes it makes another pretty stout cup, but with a slightly
>less tannic quality.
>
>Anybody have any viewpoint regarding the "second dunk" and the tea at hand?

I don't like a second dunk at all. I just toss the leaves and make
fresh. I drink mostly Ceylon black teas and steep four minutes at
about 200 degrees. As soon as the water shows signs of boiling, I
turn off the heat.

Twinings is OK but you can get better at a specialty shop. I've been
buying from www.teatrader.com for about 10 years now. I always have
some orange pekoe on hand at work but usually buy a few other
varieties on each order. My all time favorite is Silver Needle, my
favorite on weekends at home.

"gtr" > wrote in message news:201211151545501222-xxx@yyyzzz...
> I've been drinking green tea for many years. I get expensive fancy tea at
> a local Japanese shop. Usually sencha and not infrequently "deep steamed"
> tea. I note that in instructions with some of them, they steep for only a
> minute. And though they generally steep 10 degress cooler than me, I
> don't quibble.
>
> The routine is that you remove the tea, shake all the additional moisture
> out of the strainer so it won't get bitter and set the leaves aside. You
> may then come back later and make a second cup. But these, I'm told, I
> need only dunk it in the water for a second or two.
>
> Recently I've been drinking black tea, Twinings English Breakfast. This I
> steep for 2 minutes and get a pretty stout cup. If I come back for 2
> minutes it makes another pretty stout cup, but with a slightly less tannic
> quality.
>
> Anybody have any viewpoint regarding the "second dunk" and the tea at
> hand?

:-)) I'd be gaggin if I tried to drink your tea steeped for 2 mins as it'd
be waaaay too strong for me.

In our house we can get 2 drinks out of one Twinings English Breakfast Tea
bag as follows: I put out my cup and saucer, he puts out his mug. I pour
just boiled water into my cup and dip the tea bag in and out twice and then
pass it over to him. He steeps it in his mug for maybe 15-20 seconds and
then chucks it. He has tried to use it one further time but says it's too
strong.

On 2012-11-16 03:48:45 +0000, Ed Pawlowski said:

> On Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:45:50 -0800, gtr > wrote:
>
>> Recently I've been drinking black tea, Twinings English Breakfast.
>> This I steep for 2 minutes and get a pretty stout cup. If I come back
>> for 2 minutes it makes another pretty stout cup, but with a slightly
>> less tannic quality.
>>
>> Anybody have any viewpoint regarding the "second dunk" and the tea at hand?
>
> I don't like a second dunk at all. I just toss the leaves and make
> fresh. I drink mostly Ceylon black teas and steep four minutes at
> about 200 degrees. As soon as the water shows signs of boiling, I
> turn off the heat.

Buying a one-gallon hot-water-dispenser was one of the greatest
time-savers of my appliance life.

> Twinings is OK but you can get better at a specialty shop.

Certainly, but it's good! I bought their darjeeling; not so good.

> I've been buying from www.teatrader.com for about 10 years now. I always have
> some orange pekoe on hand at work but usually buy a few other
> varieties on each order. My all time favorite is Silver Needle, my
> favorite on weekends at home.

Duly noted.

I'm really a green-tea drinker. I drink coffee in the mornings and am
migrating to black teas, so I'm still poking around.

gtr > wrote:
-snip-
>
>Buying a one-gallon hot-water-dispenser was one of the greatest
>time-savers of my appliance life.

I stuck one in my kitchen during the last remodel many years ago. I
was shocked that it only used $2-3 dollars worth of electricity a
month. My wife says it is the best thing I've ever added to the
house in 25 years.

I don't use it as often as she does-- but when you want 195 degree
water in an instant- it sure is handy.

Jim

On 11/15/12 10:48 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

>> Anybody have any viewpoint regarding the "second dunk" and the tea at hand?
>
> I don't like a second dunk at all. I just toss the leaves and make
> fresh. I drink mostly Ceylon black teas and steep four minutes at
> about 200 degrees. As soon as the water shows signs of boiling, I
> turn off the heat.
>
> Twinings is OK but you can get better at a specialty shop. I've been
> buying from www.teatrader.com for about 10 years now....

Agreed. There are very few teas whose flavor develops fully in only two
minutes. Most require 3-1/2 to 5.

But we usually brew in a teapot, ~one quart. Any extra goes into the
gallon refrigerator pitcher for iced tea.

We don't re-use the tea leaves at all (not even in the garden).

We drink mostly Ceylons, Assams, and Darjeelings, which we buy from
Teavana in Chicago (www.teavana.com) or from a local coffee and tea
specialty shop here in DC.

-- Larry

On Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:45:50 -0800, gtr > wrote:

> Recently I've been drinking black tea, Twinings English Breakfast.
> This I steep for 2 minutes and get a pretty stout cup. If I come back
> for 2 minutes it makes another pretty stout cup, but with a slightly
> less tannic quality.
>
> Anybody have any viewpoint regarding the "second dunk" and the tea at hand?

1. Why not?
2. It won't kill you.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On Fri, 16 Nov 2012 08:31:59 -0500, Jim Elbrecht >
wrote:

> gtr > wrote:
> -snip-
> >
> >Buying a one-gallon hot-water-dispenser was one of the greatest
> >time-savers of my appliance life.
>
> I stuck one in my kitchen during the last remodel many years ago. I
> was shocked that it only used $2-3 dollars worth of electricity a
> month. My wife says it is the best thing I've ever added to the
> house in 25 years.
>
> I don't use it as often as she does-- but when you want 195 degree
> water in an instant- it sure is handy.
>
If we had one of those gizmos, we'd lose 50% of the reason to use a
microwave and wonder why we're wasting the counter space on one.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 2012-11-16 15:03:03 +0000, sf said:

>>> Buying a one-gallon hot-water-dispenser was one of the greatest
>>> time-savers of my appliance life.
>>
>> I stuck one in my kitchen during the last remodel many years ago. I
>> was shocked that it only used $2-3 dollars worth of electricity a
>> month. My wife says it is the best thing I've ever added to the
>> house in 25 years.
>>
>> I don't use it as often as she does-- but when you want 195 degree
>> water in an instant- it sure is handy.
>>
> If we had one of those gizmos, we'd lose 50% of the reason to use a
> microwave and wonder why we're wasting the counter space on one.

It should come as no shock that we don't have a micro-wave. It's
slowly evolved (unrelated to the gizmo), that I have one or two cups of
maté or tea in the afternoon, and we both usually have an herbal tea in
the evenings. I don't think we would have evolved thataway if it
hadn't been so easy.

On 2012-11-16 14:44:56 +0000, pltrgyst said:

> On 11/15/12 10:48 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
>>> Anybody have any viewpoint regarding the "second dunk" and the tea at hand?
>>
>> I don't like a second dunk at all. I just toss the leaves and make
>> fresh. I drink mostly Ceylon black teas and steep four minutes at
>> about 200 degrees. As soon as the water shows signs of boiling, I
>> turn off the heat.
>>
>> Twinings is OK but you can get better at a specialty shop. I've been
>> buying from www.teatrader.com for about 10 years now....
>
> Agreed. There are very few teas whose flavor develops fully in only two
> minutes. Most require 3-1/2 to 5.

That's a curiousity: No commentary ib green tea supports that view.
Even these Twinings black tea recommend 2-4. Other teas can get pretty
close to "nasty" (my view) as they get to get near minutes (oolong and
the "Swan" brand that all the Arabs drink).

> But we usually brew in a teapot, ~one quart. Any extra goes into the
> gallon refrigerator pitcher for iced tea.

This gets into the other point of how much tea one "needs" for how much
water. My wife uses what I think is excessive and wasteful use of
jasmine tea when she makes it. When I make it for her I use much less
and she doesn't seem to notice. I would certainly guess the less you
use and the longer you brew, the lower the possibility of re-use.

> We don't re-use the tea leaves at all (not even in the garden).

It seems that you make it strong enough that re-use does seem an impossibility.

> We drink mostly Ceylons, Assams, and Darjeelings, which we buy from
> Teavana in Chicago (www.teavana.com) or from a local coffee and tea
> specialty shop here in DC.

Just for my tedious brain: Anyway you can loosely calculate the
tea-to-water ratio? I'm assuming you're using loose tea.

On 2012-11-16 14:47:22 +0000, sf said:

> On Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:45:50 -0800, gtr > wrote:
>
>> Recently I've been drinking black tea, Twinings English Breakfast.
>> This I steep for 2 minutes and get a pretty stout cup. If I come back
>> for 2 minutes it makes another pretty stout cup, but with a slightly
>> less tannic quality.
>>
>> Anybody have any viewpoint regarding the "second dunk" and the tea at hand?
>
> 1. Why not?
> 2. It won't kill you.

As I see above:

1. Because they brew it so strong in the first pass, there's nothing left.

I gave timings in the hopes that it might evidence some distinctions.
It seems to have.

2. That's a relief!

On 11/16/2012 9:44 AM, pltrgyst wrote:
> On 11/15/12 10:48 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
>>> Anybody have any viewpoint regarding the "second dunk" and the tea
>>> at hand?
>>
>> I don't like a second dunk at all. I just toss the leaves and make
>> fresh. I drink mostly Ceylon black teas and steep four minutes at
>> about 200 degrees. As soon as the water shows signs of boiling, I
>> turn off the heat.
>>
>> Twinings is OK but you can get better at a specialty shop. I've been
>> buying from www.teatrader.com for about 10 years now....
>
> Agreed. There are very few teas whose flavor develops fully in only
> two minutes. Most require 3-1/2 to 5.
>
> But we usually brew in a teapot, ~one quart. Any extra goes into the
> gallon refrigerator pitcher for iced tea.
>
> We don't re-use the tea leaves at all (not even in the garden).
>
> We drink mostly Ceylons, Assams, and Darjeelings, which we buy from
> Teavana in Chicago (www.teavana.com) or from a local coffee and tea
> specialty shop here in DC.
>
> -- Larry
>
Just FYI, there is a Teavana store in the Montgomery Mall, Democracy
Bvd, Bethesda, MD. I'm not really a tea drinker but they offer
intriguing samples.

--
Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)

Extraneous "not" in Reply To.

On 11/16/12 1:55 PM, James Silverton wrote:

>> We drink mostly Ceylons, Assams, and Darjeelings, which we buy from
>> Teavana in Chicago (www.teavana.com) or from a local coffee and tea
>> specialty shop here in DC.
>
> Just FYI, there is a Teavana store in the Montgomery Mall, Democracy
> Bvd, Bethesda, MD. I'm not really a tea drinker but they offer
> intriguing samples.

Thanks -- I didn't know that.

You just made me realize that I haven't been in Montgomery Mall since I
moved to Virginia 22 years ago!

-- Larry

On 11/16/12 12:28 PM, gtr wrote:>
> Just for my tedious brain: Anyway you can loosely calculate the
> tea-to-water ratio? I'm assuming you're using loose tea.

I use ~10g of tea to a quart of water, usually in a Toby barrel infuser.

-- Larry

On 2012-11-16 20:15:07 +0000, pltrgyst said:

> I use ~10g of tea to a quart of water

And steep black tea for, say 4-ish minutes?

In article >,
says...
>
> gtr > wrote:
> -snip-
> >
> >Buying a one-gallon hot-water-dispenser was one of the greatest
> >time-savers of my appliance life.
>
> I stuck one in my kitchen during the last remodel many years ago. I
> was shocked that it only used $2-3 dollars worth of electricity a
> month. My wife says it is the best thing I've ever added to the
> house in 25 years.
>
> I don't use it as often as she does-- but when you want 195 degree
> water in an instant- it sure is handy.
>
> Jim

The only issue is, get a high quality unit. We had one in an apartment
we lived in once that was the cheapest model they could install. It
started rusting out in about 2 years and then it started seriously
leaking.

In article >, says...
>
> On 11/15/12 10:48 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
> >> Anybody have any viewpoint regarding the "second dunk" and the tea at hand?
> >
> > I don't like a second dunk at all. I just toss the leaves and make
> > fresh. I drink mostly Ceylon black teas and steep four minutes at
> > about 200 degrees. As soon as the water shows signs of boiling, I
> > turn off the heat.
> >
> > Twinings is OK but you can get better at a specialty shop. I've been
> > buying from www.teatrader.com for about 10 years now....
>
> Agreed. There are very few teas whose flavor develops fully in only two
> minutes. Most require 3-1/2 to 5.
>
> But we usually brew in a teapot, ~one quart. Any extra goes into the
> gallon refrigerator pitcher for iced tea.
>
> We don't re-use the tea leaves at all (not even in the garden).
>
> We drink mostly Ceylons, Assams, and Darjeelings, which we buy from
> Teavana in Chicago (www.teavana.com) or from a local coffee and tea
> specialty shop here in DC.
>
> -- Larry

We've got more tea paraphenalia here in this house than I can count. We
buy our teas mostly in NYC when we go down there.

On 2012-11-16 23:11:37 +0000, T said:

> The only issue is, get a high quality unit. We had one in an apartment
> we lived in once that was the cheapest model they could install. It
> started rusting out in about 2 years and then it started seriously
> leaking.

The local Marukai and Mitsuwa supermarkets have all kinds of hot-water
and rice makers. Their Japanese manufactured hot-water units run from
$59 likely past $200.

We got a really cheap one at a Vietnamese super market, Chinese-made
for about $30. It lasted about 7 years I guess, and then the rubber
around the seals started tearing off. We got another cheapo, and we're
about 3 years into it.

I like the Japanese units because you can two from 2 to 3 different
temperatures. It likely keeps more heat in and costs less to operate,
but the cost is prohibitive.

On Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:28:37 -0800, gtr > wrote:



>
>> We drink mostly Ceylons, Assams, and Darjeelings, which we buy from
>> Teavana in Chicago (www.teavana.com) or from a local coffee and tea
>> specialty shop here in DC.
>
>Just for my tedious brain: Anyway you can loosely calculate the
>tea-to-water ratio? I'm assuming you're using loose tea.

I drink black teas. The volume depends on the cut of the leaf. If
very leafy, a heaping teaspoon to a 10 to 12 ounce cup is plenty. Some
teas are more granular and a level teaspoon is plenty.

If you want to adjust the strength, fiddle with the volume, not the
time. I use 4 minutes for best results. Too long gets bitter, too
short does not develop the flavor. 30 seconds either way is minimal,
but much more downgrades the results.

Experiment to get exactly what you want. Tea should be warm to hot
and very smooth. If you use a kettle on the stove to bring the water
to a boil, remove it and wait 5 seconds to pour over the tea. Never
put the bags or infuser into water that is boiling and leave it there
as it will get bitter.

A cup of tea is pretty cheap so don't be afraid to experiment to get
what you like best.

"gtr" > wrote in message news:2012111609283789941-xxx@yyyzzz...
> On 2012-11-16 14:44:56 +0000, pltrgyst said:
>
>> On 11/15/12 10:48 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>>
>>>> Anybody have any viewpoint regarding the "second dunk" and the tea at
>>>> hand?
>>>
>>> I don't like a second dunk at all. I just toss the leaves and make
>>> fresh. I drink mostly Ceylon black teas and steep four minutes at
>>> about 200 degrees. As soon as the water shows signs of boiling, I
>>> turn off the heat.
>>>
>>> Twinings is OK but you can get better at a specialty shop. I've been
>>> buying from www.teatrader.com for about 10 years now....
>>
>> Agreed. There are very few teas whose flavor develops fully in only two
>> minutes. Most require 3-1/2 to 5.
>
> That's a curiousity: No commentary ib green tea supports that view. Even
> these Twinings black tea recommend 2-4. Other teas can get pretty close
> to "nasty" (my view)

LOL. My thoughts on tea being 'nasty' involves far less time than yours. I
loath tannin and any longer that 2 dunks (maybe all of 5 seconds) and it's
got that tooth enamel stripping flavour IMO.

"Jim Elbrecht" > wrote in message
...
> gtr > wrote:
> -snip-
>>
>>Buying a one-gallon hot-water-dispenser was one of the greatest
>>time-savers of my appliance life.
>
> I stuck one in my kitchen during the last remodel many years ago. I
> was shocked that it only used $2-3 dollars worth of electricity a
> month. My wife says it is the best thing I've ever added to the
> house in 25 years.
>
> I don't use it as often as she does-- but when you want 195 degree
> water in an instant- it sure is handy.

What is the advantage over an electric kettle which is portable and takes up
very little bench space?

On 2012-11-17 04:24:02 +0000, Ed Pawlowski said:

> On Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:28:37 -0800, gtr > wrote:
>
>>> We drink mostly Ceylons, Assams, and Darjeelings, which we buy from
>>> Teavana in Chicago (www.teavana.com) or from a local coffee and tea
>>> specialty shop here in DC.
>>
>> Just for my tedious brain: Anyway you can loosely calculate the
>> tea-to-water ratio? I'm assuming you're using loose tea.
>
> I drink black teas. The volume depends on the cut of the leaf. If
> very leafy, a heaping teaspoon to a 10 to 12 ounce cup is plenty. Some
> teas are more granular and a level teaspoon is plenty.
>
> If you want to adjust the strength, fiddle with the volume, not the
> time. I use 4 minutes for best results. Too long gets bitter, too
> short does not develop the flavor. 30 seconds either way is minimal,
> but much more downgrades the results.
>
> Experiment to get exactly what you want. Tea should be warm to hot
> and very smooth. If you use a kettle on the stove to bring the water
> to a boil, remove it and wait 5 seconds to pour over the tea. Never
> put the bags or infuser into water that is boiling and leave it there
> as it will get bitter.
>
> A cup of tea is pretty cheap so don't be afraid to experiment to get
> what you like best.

Thanks for the input.

On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 16:05:13 +1100, "Farm1" >
wrote:

> What is the advantage over an electric kettle which is portable and takes up
> very little bench space?

It's even smaller and instant vs larger and almost instant for the
teakettle. Electric tea kettles aren't very popular in the States, I
don't know why because some of them are amazing. If we drank more tea
and didn't have a microwave, I would definitely buy a glass electric
teakettle.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On Fri, 16 Nov 2012 21:08:56 -0800, gtr > wrote:

> On 2012-11-17 04:24:02 +0000, Ed Pawlowski said:
>
> >
> > If you want to adjust the strength, fiddle with the volume, not the
> > time. I use 4 minutes for best results. Too long gets bitter, too
> > short does not develop the flavor. 30 seconds either way is minimal,
> > but much more downgrades the results.
> >
> > Experiment to get exactly what you want. Tea should be warm to hot
> > and very smooth. If you use a kettle on the stove to bring the water
> > to a boil, remove it and wait 5 seconds to pour over the tea. Never
> > put the bags or infuser into water that is boiling and leave it there
> > as it will get bitter.
> >
> > A cup of tea is pretty cheap so don't be afraid to experiment to get
> > what you like best.
>
> Thanks for the input.

Don't you just do it by sight? I can't imagine timing tea.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

"Farm1" > wrote:

>"Jim Elbrecht" > wrote in message
.. .
>> gtr > wrote:
>> -snip-
>>>
>>>Buying a one-gallon hot-water-dispenser was one of the greatest
>>>time-savers of my appliance life.
>>
>> I stuck one in my kitchen during the last remodel many years ago. I
>> was shocked that it only used $2-3 dollars worth of electricity a
>> month. My wife says it is the best thing I've ever added to the
>> house in 25 years.
>>
>> I don't use it as often as she does-- but when you want 195 degree
>> water in an instant- it sure is handy.
>
>What is the advantage over an electric kettle which is portable and takes up
>very little bench space?
>

Instant Hot Water takes up *no* usable counter space- it is just a
gooseneck coming up in the back of the sink. The 2-3liter reservoir
is under the sink. And it is *always* hot.

I'm never in a hurry-- but sometimes it is handy to already have the
scalding water, scalding-- To remove a stubborn sticker.

And it is always 'full'- I could leave a kettle plugged in, but every
time I went to use it, it would have 1/2 cup of water in it.
http://www.insinkerator.com/en-us/Ho...s/default.aspx

Jim

On Fri, 16 Nov 2012 23:36:39 -0800, sf > wrote:

>On Fri, 16 Nov 2012 21:08:56 -0800, gtr > wrote:
>
>> On 2012-11-17 04:24:02 +0000, Ed Pawlowski said:
>>
>> >
>> > If you want to adjust the strength, fiddle with the volume, not the
>> > time. I use 4 minutes for best results. Too long gets bitter, too
>> > short does not develop the flavor. 30 seconds either way is minimal,
>> > but much more downgrades the results.
>> >
>> > Experiment to get exactly what you want. Tea should be warm to hot
>> > and very smooth. If you use a kettle on the stove to bring the water
>> > to a boil, remove it and wait 5 seconds to pour over the tea. Never
>> > put the bags or infuser into water that is boiling and leave it there
>> > as it will get bitter.
>> >
>> > A cup of tea is pretty cheap so don't be afraid to experiment to get
>> > what you like best.
>>
>> Thanks for the input.
>
>Don't you just do it by sight? I can't imagine timing tea.

Certainly not rocket science. At work, the kettle I use has a timer
and I set it to four minutes when I put the infuser in and it beeps.
At home, I just glance at the microwave clock. It is not down to the
second by any means.

Farm1 wrote:
>
> "gtr" wrote:
> > That's a curiousity: No commentary ib green tea supports that view. Even
> > these Twinings black tea recommend 2-4. Other teas can get pretty close
> > to "nasty" (my view)
>
> LOL. My thoughts on tea being 'nasty' involves far less time than yours. I
> loath tannin and any longer that 2 dunks (maybe all of 5 seconds) and it's
> got that tooth enamel stripping flavour IMO.

Are you serious? Dunking tea into hot water for 5 seconds? Or 10 seconds if
you are saying 5 seconds per dunk. WTH? NO WAY! ;-0

Honestly, I can't imagine why you even bother with the tea. Just drink hot
water. The essence of tea would be so minimal.

And I'm not criticizing your method. I'm asking you to explain this. You are
a tea drinker and I rarely do. I'm always open to learn new ideas/methods.
Your method just sounds pretty much worthless to me.

G.

On 11/17/12 2:36 AM, sf wrote:

> Don't you just do it by sight? I can't imagine timing tea.

That sounds unlike your normal precision...

I always time it. Color can be inconsistent, depending on the vessel
color, lighting, etc.

-- Larry

Farm1 wrote:

>> LOL. My thoughts on tea being 'nasty' involves far less time than yours. I
>> loath tannin and any longer that 2 dunks (maybe all of 5 seconds) and it's
>> got that tooth enamel stripping flavour IMO.

News flash: Tannins are mostly extracted in the first few seconds in hot
water.

-- Larry

On 2012-11-17 07:36:39 +0000, sf said:

> On Fri, 16 Nov 2012 21:08:56 -0800, gtr > wrote:
>
>> On 2012-11-17 04:24:02 +0000, Ed Pawlowski said:
>>
>>>
>>> If you want to adjust the strength, fiddle with the volume, not the
>>> time. I use 4 minutes for best results. Too long gets bitter, too
>>> short does not develop the flavor. 30 seconds either way is minimal,
>>> but much more downgrades the results.
>>>
>>> Experiment to get exactly what you want. Tea should be warm to hot
>>> and very smooth. If you use a kettle on the stove to bring the water
>>> to a boil, remove it and wait 5 seconds to pour over the tea. Never
>>> put the bags or infuser into water that is boiling and leave it there
>>> as it will get bitter.
>>>
>>> A cup of tea is pretty cheap so don't be afraid to experiment to get
>>> what you like best.
>>
>> Thanks for the input.
>
> Don't you just do it by sight? I can't imagine timing tea.

No. I set a timer and when the timer beeps I pull the tea.

On 2012-11-17 13:58:57 +0000, Gary responded:

> Are you serious? Dunking tea into hot water for 5 seconds? Or 10 seconds if
> you are saying 5 seconds per dunk. WTH? NO WAY! ;-0

I don't know what farm1 is talking about. Ever.

When I was talking about brief infusions it was the 2nd pass only, and
green tea only. The tea is already wet and has been sitting there an
hour or so. Under these circumstances (alone) the Japanese
instructions on Green tea say a second or two.

Using black tea, for example, a 2nd pass for 2 seconds accomplishes nothing.

gtr wrote:

> Anybody have any viewpoint regarding the "second dunk" and the tea at hand?

I can always taste the difference, so I brew as much as I need all at
once. That way it's all the same strength and acidity.

This reminds me of brewing coffee by the pot in the office. Sometimes
a dork tries to fill up before the brewing cycle is finished. If he
gets away with it, the rest of the pot will be weaker.

On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 11:27:36 -0500, George M. Middius
> wrote:

>gtr wrote:
>
>> Anybody have any viewpoint regarding the "second dunk" and the tea at hand?
>
>I can always taste the difference, so I brew as much as I need all at
>once. That way it's all the same strength and acidity.
>
>This reminds me of brewing coffee by the pot in the office. Sometimes
>a dork tries to fill up before the brewing cycle is finished. If he
>gets away with it, the rest of the pot will be weaker.
>
>
The idea of it is more gimmick for the impatient, not for a real
coffee drinker. Our pot takes six minutes. If in a rush, start the
pot, then put your socks on or bush your hair (assuming you have hair)
and the coffee is ready, fresh and properly brewed.

On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 08:06:01 -0800, gtr > wrote:

> On 2012-11-17 07:36:39 +0000, sf said:
>
> > On Fri, 16 Nov 2012 21:08:56 -0800, gtr > wrote:
> >
> >> On 2012-11-17 04:24:02 +0000, Ed Pawlowski said:
> >>
> >>>
> >>> If you want to adjust the strength, fiddle with the volume, not the
> >>> time. I use 4 minutes for best results. Too long gets bitter, too
> >>> short does not develop the flavor. 30 seconds either way is minimal,
> >>> but much more downgrades the results.
> >>>
> >>> Experiment to get exactly what you want. Tea should be warm to hot
> >>> and very smooth. If you use a kettle on the stove to bring the water
> >>> to a boil, remove it and wait 5 seconds to pour over the tea. Never
> >>> put the bags or infuser into water that is boiling and leave it there
> >>> as it will get bitter.
> >>>
> >>> A cup of tea is pretty cheap so don't be afraid to experiment to get
> >>> what you like best.
> >>
> >> Thanks for the input.
> >
> > Don't you just do it by sight? I can't imagine timing tea.
>
> No. I set a timer and when the timer beeps I pull the tea.

Wow! I think this issue could be the poster child for making a
mountain out of a molehill.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 15/11/2012 6:45 PM, gtr wrote:
> I've been drinking green tea for many years. I get expensive fancy tea
> at a local Japanese shop. Usually sencha and not infrequently "deep
> steamed" tea. I note that in instructions with some of them, they steep
> for only a minute. And though they generally steep 10 degress cooler
> than me, I don't quibble.
>
> The routine is that you remove the tea, shake all the additional
> moisture out of the strainer so it won't get bitter and set the leaves
> aside. You may then come back later and make a second cup. But these,
> I'm told, I need only dunk it in the water for a second or two.
>
> Recently I've been drinking black tea, Twinings English Breakfast. This
> I steep for 2 minutes and get a pretty stout cup. If I come back for 2
> minutes it makes another pretty stout cup, but with a slightly less
> tannic quality.
>
> Anybody have any viewpoint regarding the "second dunk" and the tea at hand?


I am getting the impression that you are talking about making tea in a
cup. IMO, that is an unacceptable way to make tea. It has to be made in
a proper tea pot. I have never had a decent cup of tea made by dunking a
tea bag into a cup or mug.

On 2012-11-17 16:58:28 +0000, sf said:

>>> Don't you just do it by sight? I can't imagine timing tea.
>>
>> No. I set a timer and when the timer beeps I pull the tea.
>
> Wow! I think this issue could be the poster child for making a
> mountain out of a molehill.

I can't imagine where either the molehill or the mountain is.

Do you operate a toaster without a timer? Or sit and stare at the
bread, or tea, until the perception of "done" occurs?

On 2012-11-17 19:18:05 +0000, Dave Smith said:

> I am getting the impression that you are talking about making tea in a cup.

Correct.

> IMO, that is an unacceptable way to make tea. It has to be made in a
> proper tea pot. I have never had a decent cup of tea made by dunking a
> tea bag into a cup or mug.

What would provide any difference between tea in a bag in a small
vessel of tea, not in a bag, in a larger vessel?

In article <2012111811390342098-xxx@yyyzzz>, gtr > wrote:

>On 2012-11-17 19:18:05 +0000, Dave Smith said:

>> IMO, that is an unacceptable way to make tea. It has to be made in a
>> proper tea pot. I have never had a decent cup of tea made by dunking a
>> tea bag into a cup or mug.

>What would provide any difference between tea in a bag in a small
>vessel of tea, not in a bag, in a larger vessel?

A constant temperature brewed for an exact time?


S.

On Sat, 17 Nov 2012 14:18:05 -0500, Dave Smith
> wrote:

>


True with a bag, but with a proper strainer style infuser you can. The
tea leaf has to have some room around it.

http://www.teavana.com/tea-products/...h-tea-strainer

http://www.amazon.com/Finum-Tea-Glas...on+tea+infuser

The best tea in a bag as not as good as a loose tea.

On 2012-11-18 19:41:21 +0000, Steve Pope said:

> In article <2012111811390342098-xxx@yyyzzz>, gtr > wrote:
>
>> On 2012-11-17 19:18:05 +0000, Dave Smith said:
>
>>> IMO, that is an unacceptable way to make tea. It has to be made in a
>>> proper tea pot. I have never had a decent cup of tea made by dunking a
>>> tea bag into a cup or mug.
>
>> What would provide any difference between tea in a bag in a small
>> vessel of tea, not in a bag, in a larger vessel?
>
> A constant temperature brewed for an exact time?

Yes; assuming a consistency in temperature and time, what would provide
a difference in tastee between tea in a bag in a small vessel, and
loose tea in a larger vessel?