boil and cool down <-> not boil ..

Dear all,

there was recently a discussion about the two methods of making tea with let's say 80 centigrade water.

1) let the water boil and then let it cool down

2) heat the water up to 80 centigrade only

Unfortunately I was cut off the news group for a while, and now the discussion has disappeared.

Could anybody give me the result of this discussion? Or wasn't there any definite conclusion?

Thanks in advance,

Bernd

Reply to
Bernd Pollermann
Loading thread data ...

there was recently a discussion about the two methods of making tea with

Bernd, there is *never* a definitive conclusion for these issues. Some go one way, some go the other. That was the gist of the end of the discussion. Rationale behind the boil and let the water cool down solution is thought to derive from areas and times where and when water was bad and needed to be boiled. Some people said that in China "fish eye" water is considered bad water and full roiling water is considered good -- whatever that means. Personally, I often boil the water and let it cool, although our water here in New York City is just fine and quite healthy -- whatever that means. This is all from memory, so it might be less than perfect, as am I. Michael

Reply to
Michael Plant

And the rationale behind bringing the water up to the desired temp without letting it boil (assuming the water is from a safe source) is that this retains more of the dissolved oxygen. Of course, it requires a bit of attention to stop the heating at the right time. Some people feel it is easier to allow the water to boil, especially if one has a kettle which automagically cuts off once the water boils, and then keep an eye on it as it cools.

Alan

way, some go the other. That was the gist of the end of the discussion. Rationale behind the boil and let the water cool down solution is thought to derive from areas and times where and when water was bad and needed to be boiled. Some people said that in China "fish eye" water is considered bad water and full roiling water is considered good -- whatever that means. Personally, I often boil the water and let it cool, although our water here in New York City is just fine and quite healthy -- whatever that means. This is all from memory, so it might be less than perfect, as am I.

Reply to
Alan

My krups kettle is currently shutting off after the old man is dead and buried. ;-)

Alan

8>< snip >

at

formatting link

Reply to
Alan

My krups kettle is currently shutting off after the old man is dead and buried. ;-)

Alan

8>< snip >

at

formatting link

Reply to
Alan

Thanks to you Michael and the others who responded to my question.

I nevertheless came to some conclusion, in the sense that one should try to keep as much oxygen in the water as possible. But, as also was pointed out, this is not so easy because the automatic heaters switch off only when the water has been boiling for a while.

For practical reasons it is difficult to stop the heater just before the water starts boiling violently (I have been trying now for a few days) but, after all, preparing tea carefully (not just drinking it afterwards) is part of the deal ...

Btw.: I found very interesting this idea that the rule 1) first boil 2) let it cool might have come from areas where the water wasn't safe. Gives us a hint how prejudices may have emerged.

Bernd

>
Reply to
Bernd Pollermann

I have a wonderful Kamjove kettle from China (Dragon Tea House on eBay- $29.00). I learned a trick that works well for me from Roy Fong just recently: rather than checking for "animal eyed-bubbles", watch the stream - a lazy, nearly-horizontal, soft cloudy dance of slow moving steam = "stop for greens". A more sturdy coming to vertical shoot of steam= "stop for oolongs". Strong, robust, steady steam "stop for "eds/blacks". This seems to work pretty well. Remember to keep the lid up. Shen

Reply to
Shen

BTW, you can even make a very good green by using room temp water and letting it steep a bit longer. We did this with a bunch of 2007 greens at Imperial Tea Court recently and I must say, "mighty tasty!'. Shen

Reply to
Shen

Shen, what was the "room temperature" you used for the green teas at ITC? Interesting!

Phyll

Reply to
Phyll

I've been using electric kettles for about a year. Still like any stove kettle they make the sounds indicating water temperature. My favorite sound absolute silence before the boil and shutoff. My previous Kamjove had a colored fill level so it was hard to see the bubbles. My current SS Cooks from JCP has a prominent clear level chamber protruding from the pot so I can see the size of the bubbles. A couple of weeks ago I started to notice the steam coming from the spout little,more,lot over the last minute and half till shutoff.

1500W doesn't waste time making water holy.

Jim

Shen wrote:

Reply to
Space Cowboy

That's called "sun tea" in Texas. There's usually less tannin taste than in a heat-brewed tea. Toi

Reply to
toci

I do that with pu'er from time to time. I put a couple grams in maybe

8 oz of room temperature water and leave it overnight. Some interesting flavors that are normally in the background come out in a more pronounced fashion. Not bitter, very tasty, a good thing to have around if you are exercising or need to focus. Lew has also been known to advocate drinking green tea that way.
Reply to
Alex

DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.