Hello!

Can anyone recommend a website that references an approximate serving
size table per oz. for loose leaf tea - i.e. 4oz will make 50 servings
of tea etc. etc.

I realise that it differs by individual taste, but just wanted a
starting point.

Thanks!

"Pat" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> It depends on the type of tea and the size of the leaf. I always try
> to judge by how many tea bags a particular weight would translate to.
> For example, 125 grams or 4.4 oz would be about 40 British style tea
> bags, or 50 American-style tea bags. So, I would say 4 oz would be
> about 40 servings.
>
> Instructions often say to use one teaspoon per cup of water, but again,
> the size of the leaf can cause this measurement to vary. Upton's has a
> nice scale that lets you weigh the dry leaves, which is a better
> indicator of how much you should use. I have not bought one yet but
> have been thinking about it:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/9s7gb
>

Ths type and size of leaf would not affect whether there was one ounce or
four ounces, the weight would be the weight. I thought she was asking for a
weight amount converted to servings. The types and size of leaf would affect
the amount of space the serving size took up, that I agree on.

I find I have other problems in addition to the usual "one teaspoon a cup"
or even "4 grams a cup" since I have some quite different sized mugs in the
house and I brew by the mug right now. I should probably sit down with my
scale and do some experimenting. I bought a Moomin mug the other day, it's
smaller than I expected but it has a funny shape, narrower at the base and
flaring out slightly at the top. I have no idea yet how much liquid it
holds...


Melinda

Here I am giving my own opinion which may or may not help you out. This
is just my thought. I love darjeelings and I often do not agree to the
advice of one tea spoon for the cup and one extra for the pot. I have
read these in so many websites and on tea package tags.

Tea as I have found to be very complicating and as told by one of the
tea garden manager - "Neither you nor I can proclaim as tea gurus or
tea masters - You are a master for your own taste" and I find this to
be very true. So its very important what kind of tea you are trying to
brew, the amount used for Darjeelings differ greatly according to
different tea flushes. This is also the case with chinese teas. I
always have to experiment the quantities of tea to be brewed and once I
get the match to my taste, I do the approximation in my next brewing
session. When brewing black teas, its a different case and when brewing
whites, I normally put extra amount and steep for a longer time about
6-8 minutes.

Hope I am not off your topic.

Linda schrieb:

> Hello!
>
> Can anyone recommend a website that references an approximate serving
> size table per oz. for loose leaf tea - i.e. 4oz will make 50 servings
> of tea etc. etc.


Ideed, that just can't be done! Anyway, use a measure by weight, not
teaspoons!


> I realise that it differs by individual taste, but just wanted a
> starting point.


>From my personal experience:


* Very delicate first-flush darjeeling: 10g / litre, steep 2-3 min
(more 2)., use *not* completely boiling water (maybe about 90-95° C)

*Inbetweens: 11-12g, 2-3 min., 90-95°C

* Second flush darjeeling: about 12g, 3-4 min (more 3), boiling water

* Keemun: 12-13g, 2-4 min (depends on the quality), boiling water

* Assam broken: 13-15g, 4-5 min, boiling water -- here it depends on
the strength of the tea (hoeyish up to malty flavour) and your method
of serving (milk or cream)

* PG Tips ... well, a *lot* of tea (16g), 30 sec. to 1 min (while
stirring), boiling water ;-).


But you just have to try with the amount, steeping time and water
temperature. Every tea is different, every water is different, every
taste is different. In my opinion, also different cups and pots
generate different outcomes in taste. E.g. for Inbetweens I like very
thin Japanese porcelain cups, for a really strong malty Assam it's
definetely the good old mug.

It's a journey, just have fun to explore.


Dieter

Hi Dieter, that was a good suggestion, but one thing I agree with all
of your opinions including the cups and pots. I particularly go for the
thin chinas because the thinner the pot the better the quality of the
clay. Just one thing I need to ask you, I have been drinking
Darjeelings for a long time and have done a lot of expriments, I could
see that your quantity opinion was less for the first flush and 2 gram
more for the second flush. Shouldn't it be the other way round. Please
accept it as a friendly opinion. Its because, usually first flush teas
are very mild giving very light liqor color but abundance in aroma. So
if you put less tea, then I have noticed that it turns out to be like
hot water. While second flush are more prominent and full bodied and a
little more addition of these can make the tea bitter and the color can
also have a contrast.

Well I agree that tea is one's own taste and as I have mentioned
somewhere else in this group that "no one can proclaim to be a tea
master, you are a master of your own taste".

STJones schrieb:

> ... Just one thing I need to ask you, I have been drinking
> Darjeelings for a long time and have done a lot of expriments, I could
> see that your quantity opinion was less for the first flush and 2 gram
> more for the second flush. Shouldn't it be the other way round. Please
> accept it as a friendly opinion. Its because, usually first flush teas
> are very mild giving very light liqor color but abundance in aroma. So
> if you put less tea, then I have noticed that it turns out to be like
> hot water.

Yes and no. In my opinion, it differs. Of course, the ff has much less
colour than other flushs, but that hasn't neccesarily something to do
with the strengh of the aroma or intensity of flavour. If you have a
very delicate ff form a high qualitiy estate and then a very early
invoice (like this one for example:
<https://www.betty-darling.de/fs.php?j=https%3A//www.betty-darling.de/xtcommerce/product_info.php%3Fproducts_id%3D149%26cPath%3D1_6 _9>),
in my opinion the fruitiness and the taste is so intense, that an
overdose would harm the flavour. For my taste, it is like a (slightly
bitter) cup of tea with a hint of fruitiness instead of a mild tea with
a broad cascade of fruity complexities during each sip. The same if too
hot water temperature was used. Of course, this isn't a typical
*strong* tea in a sense of second flush or assam (so not full bodied in
this kind of way). It is more like a as *intense* descibed aroma of a
high-class oolong or even gree tea.

On the other hand, there are lots and lots of ff darjeeling out there
(I would say the majority of the market), which haven't got such
complexities (like the ff of the German teekampagne, which is a *real*
cheap ff darjeeling but mostly the standard quality and taste you can
expect from mid-priced dajeeling teas in tea shops). Here you
definetely need more tea to get any aroma and flavour out of it. My
problem with it is, that for me it gets too edgy and a dash too bitter
for my taste, so I don't drink these kind of darjeeling ff (took me
quite a while to notice that differences in darjeeling teas). To get a
quite mild and slightly fruity tea which isn't that edgy or bitter (and
even though payable for an every day use) I prefer darjeeling
inbetweens.



> While second flush are more prominent and full bodied and a
> little more addition of these can make the tea bitter and the color can
> also have a contrast.



Yeah, I had some bitter second flushs. It also depends on the tea and
it's quality. There are sf with dark colour which taste like dishwater
(doensn't matter how much tea you use), there are lots of sf out there
which taste like normal tea with a hint of darjeeling-like flavour and
are *quite* bitter (also quite independent from the amount of tea), and
there are sf out there which are incredebly soft, mild and sweet and
delicate, but in my experience, even with the really delicate ones you
have to use a bit more tea than with the delicate ffs to get to the
right point of maximum flavour.

> Well I agree that tea is one's own taste and as I have mentioned
> somewhere else in this group that "no one can proclaim to be a tea
> master, you are a master of your own taste".

That's the whole point of it. And as you said, also the china is
important and also maybe not only the water you use but also the
climate (esp. relative humidity).


Dieter

Linda > wrote:
>
>Can anyone recommend a website that references an approximate serving
>size table per oz. for loose leaf tea - i.e. 4oz will make 50 servings
>of tea etc. etc.
>
>I realise that it differs by individual taste, but just wanted a
>starting point.

It also depends a lot on the tea.

The general rule for British-style black teas is that you use one
teaspoon per teacup, plus one more for the pot.

This falls down completely with some finely-cut CTC teas, and falls
about completely on the other end with feathery teas like the Oriental
Beauty. But it's a good first start.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Linda wrote:
> Hello!
>
> Can anyone recommend a website that references an approximate serving
> size table per oz. for loose leaf tea - i.e. 4oz will make 50 servings
> of tea etc. etc.
>
> I realise that it differs by individual taste, but just wanted a
> starting point.

Linda, while I certainly don't disagree with anyone here, the best I
can say is to try for yourself. Tea is a very personal thing and I can
disagree with a Japanese tea master just as much as the person in the
next cubicle and in all of those situations, no one is "right."

The one teaspoon per cup is just a jumping off point. Use it as the
most basic of guidelines. It is basically just so someone isn't trying
to brew only two leaves per cup or 1lb. per cup. One teaspoon
(regardless of leaf size) is a good starting reference and adjust from
there. Another good rule of thumb is to look at a box of teabags of a
similar tea: say a 1.2oz. box of Sencha green teabags contains 20
teabags... then 1.2oz. of green tea should yield about 20 cups.

I can stretch 1oz. of tea out to be easily 20 or more cups. It is all
personal taste, funds, and trial and error. No hard and fast rules.

- Dominic
Drinking: Shirakiku Brand Sencha teabags(hence the above reference

Thanks everyone! Great perspectives! When I brew, I like to heap the
leaves on, so my cups are always rather hearty : )

Linda

Dieter, that was my reasoning and you have explained beautifully - yes,
we are the judge according to our taste buds

> It is all personal taste, funds, and trial and error. No hard and fast rules.

Let's not forget the fun of messing around with those leaves.
Whenever I get a new sample I get pretty picky using a digi-scale and
thermometer (and my trusty titanium spoon <g>), taking a ton of notes
and I truly enjoy the whole affair. But being a really messy individual
90% of the tea I drink (~4 liters daily) is more of a casual affair. I
just boil some water. depending on the tea allow it to cool for a
while, pour it over a pinch of leaves and after "some time" strain the
brew into my dragon cup. Usually this results in a pretty enjoyable
brew.
Now it's back to the hotel for some studies and more cups of that
lovely Marg.Hope Autumn, aah ...

BTW: at 9.20 this morning it started to RAIN ! After more than 3 dry
months in the hills of Darjeeling the rain is back. People went out on
the streets joyfully singing and shouting "Paani paryo !" (water
falls=it rains). Ever seen that happening anywhere in the "west" ?
I just can't get enough of this place and its people.

Karsten / Darjeeling

Ah! there you are Karsten, I had mailed you with a personal enquiry.
Had been to Darjeeling and it was an invigorating journey. One thing I
noticed Karsten is that people in Darjeeling drink a lot of tea with
milk - about 90% of them. I had visited one chai shop while I was
shopping for some tibetan goodies (for my wife, 'Thankas') with my
guide and he had taken me to a Tibetan shop where I was served with
Tibetan tea - it was a different salty tea accompained with butter. I
forgot the shop's name - it was a long time ago. But that taste, I will
never forget. Oh along with the tea I was also served two round thick
Tibetan breads which had patches of burnt marks on it. Always wanted to
visit the place again. I will if things go as planned.

Are you a local? Well nice to know that we have a member from
Darjeeling. By the way, I love Darjeeling teas.

STJones wrote:
> One thing I noticed Karsten is that people in Darjeeling drink a lot of tea with
> milk - about 90% of them.

Maybe even more than those 90%, I'm just back from the chaiwallah and
had some cups of that stuff. Some of the first words I learned some
years ago - Hindi: bi na cini / Nepali: cini nahaleko / NO sugar fer
christ' s sake.

The sad thing (IMO) is that most of the people who work in the gardens
and the locals never had a chance to drink the better grades not to
mention the "jewels". Even here in DJ they're WAY to expensive. Most of
those guys and gals earn around 1000/1500 IRP/month, around 22-33 US $
(sic !). 100g of an average - say Castleton 2nd retail for 400-450 IRP,
so a mere 100g of a tea they possibly plucked with their own hands cost
them almost a third or even half of their monthly income. Very sad
indeed.
A couple weeks ago I invited a local to some high-grade Darjeeling into
my room. I won't forget that session too soon. Just imagine that you
spent some years in those gardens and never get a chance to sample what
the fuss is all about. Did he like it ? You bet !
Yo chyaa, kasto chha ? Ahh, dheeeerai mitho chha ! (How about that tea
? Veeery delicious !)

> Are you a local?
Nope, just a lost traveller who spent some years in the Himalayas
(Nepal, India, Tibet).

> I had mailed you with a personal enquiry
I sent you a reply, but dunno if it made it, we got terrible
connections up here.
PS: I'll try to check out your friends phone number and addy. Just
check your mail.

Greetings from the "queen of hills" <g>,
Karsten / Darjeeling




STJones wrote:
> Ah! there you are Karsten, I had mailed you with a personal enquiry.
> Had been to Darjeeling and it was an invigorating journey. One thing I
> noticed Karsten is that people in Darjeeling drink a lot of tea with
> milk - about 90% of them. I had visited one chai shop while I was
> shopping for some tibetan goodies (for my wife, 'Thankas') with my
> guide and he had taken me to a Tibetan shop where I was served with
> Tibetan tea - it was a different salty tea accompained with butter. I
> forgot the shop's name - it was a long time ago. But that taste, I will
> never forget. Oh along with the tea I was also served two round thick
> Tibetan breads which had patches of burnt marks on it. Always wanted to
> visit the place again. I will if things go as planned.
>
> Are you a local? Well nice to know that we have a member from
> Darjeeling. By the way, I love Darjeeling teas.

Karsten, its rather sad to know of such a story. I still have a friend
there in Darjeeling who sends me teas. He's got some manager friends
and he gets it for me. Nice guy. Anyways, I had enquired about my lost
friend, but he too doesn't have a clue. He told me that she might have
gone some place else to work. Maybe this is true.

Anyway, thanks for the message, but haven't got it.

Yes, I am aware of the pricing of Darjeeling teas. Sometimes, I ponder
upon my expensive venture into the world of tea, but I don't regret it.
Its a wonderful experience.

Stanley