Basic information about tea

Hi Theriel, much of what you ask is answered in the Group FAQ which can be found at

I highly recommend that you read that first then come back and ask any questions that remain unanswered.

That differs depending on what type of tea you are talking about. Some sensitive greens go stale in a few days upon being exposed to air, red teas can lkast for a year or more, and some puerh teas arent considered to be any good until they are at least thirty years old. To read up on your favorite types of tea, you can start here:

I use a pot similar to yours only without any basket at all. That type of pot is called a Yixing pot and is a favorite for use with many Chinese teas. Be careful though as that type of pot should only be used for one type of tea as it asorbs the flavor of the tea. See

......

I often use this type of Kyusu teapot for my Japanese green teas

and , also see for some good pictures of this type of pot.

Notice that almost every question was answered in the FAQ, please start there, then come to us for clarification as needed.

Enjoy the journey.....

Mike

First of all, thank you for response. OK, here we go... ;-]

That was theory. I know it but the true life is usually different. I would like to get to know your opinion, what you think about metal tins, if they are usually tight enough etc...

Yeah, sure, that's the point. But I would like to know what does "stale" mean. How can I know if tea, I am looking at, touching it etc. is stale or not? If it is brand new or lies there for a few years, because nobody wants to buy it?

Unfortunately, this is very undetailed information. I know the basic types of tea but it isn't the point. Though I have read a few books about teas, authors usually write the same I still can't find out some things...

Hmm, those fotos explained me a few things but I still do not know -> The long pipe/handle using which the man is keeping the pot, is just a handle or it's empty inside? If so, what for?

In theory, what should the pot be made from and what shouldn't? I know that glass and porcelain are good, because they do not change the taste of tea. Metal is quite a bad choice - many chemical compounds precipitate into the infusion. How about ceramic?

It was more than theory, for example it clearly said that "metal tins that close tightly, which seems optimal" However if the tin does not close tightly then it is a bad choice and there are a lot of cheap bad tins out there. I use tins that have two lids, an inner lid and an outer lid. They work fine.

It depends on the tea, the question is too general. There is no "one size fits all" answer. That's why I said to study the individual teas. Or ask about a *specific* tea. Without knowing the tea we are talking about all I can say is that you have to know your tea. If you have never tasted a fresh one then it is hard to know when one is stale. You have to go by the memory of how a fresh tea looked, smelled, tasted, etc.

It is just a handle, nothing more.

Again the question is very general. There are different pots suited for different teas. The kyusu you mention above is usually only used for Japanese greens, the Yixing in your photo is frequently used for oolongs and puerh. A porcelain gaiwan is probably my favorite generic all-purpose vessel.

My Great Grandparents (Karpinski) were from Poland.

-- Mike Petro

Once again, thank you. Yeah, that's true that taking tea into consideration it is impossible to talk about everything at once. By the way, have any of you tasted:

Japan Fukuyu China Lichee Jasmin Dragon Phoenix Pear Formosa Pouchong Nepal SFTGFOP1 Fikkal Illam Keemum

I have these names written on a small piece of paper, I don't know where and when I came across them but some time ago I wanted probably to buy them. Have you ever tasted them?

P.S. I was sending this e-mail also by mistake, directly to you, Mike Petro, but canceled when noticed - sorry if I posted twice. Greetings, Theriel

Theriel,

I did some research, and it seems like the climate in Poland would probably be sufficiently warm to grow your own fresh mint, at least in summer. Peppermint in particular is pretty hardy. I live in a cool, temperate area of North America, and I have more peppermint growing in my garden than I can possibly use. It starts growing in March/April, and doesn't stop until October/November, and I've never done anything for it other than to plant it. This is in contrast to rosemary, which I've never managed to preserve over winter. Of course I'm not sure what difficulties you may face in obtaining mint plants, if they aren't indigenous. Here is a link on cultivating mint:

Best of luck!

Theriel wrote:

Theriel,

After writing that last message, it occured to me that you may not have garden space. No worries! I have peppermint as a potted plant in my office at work, and it's growing like, well, peppermint, even with daily picking off of leaves to put in my green tea.

The smell is lost. It doesn't smell fresh and green any more. Once you smell a fresh tea, you'll know what a stale one smells like, but the smell is the basic key.

If it's being sold in tins where you can't take it out and smell it, the tins should have date codes on the box.

Can you plant it? Mint here is a sort of weed that people have to kill to keep it from overrunning their lawns.

--scott

Your post inspired me to make Moroccan mint green tea last night, and it is great stuff. I wouldn't drink it every day; the sugar required is more likely to turn the drinker into a sumo wrestler than a kung fu master.:) Actually, it might be a good home made "energy drink" to have before working out, playing sports, etc. Something about the combination of mint, tea, and sugar gave me a pleasant buzz. My wife thought it was too sweet, however.

In the interests of moving our spam further down the page, I'm going to reply to this. I bought a bunch of tins on ebay. Not all were tight enough to protect my tea and some were to large, since they hold eight ounces of tea, but I'm using all but one.

Most of them I leave the tea in the bags I got it in, and stuff the whole thing into a tin. then when the bag gets partially empty, The bag can be smashed flatter so there is not much air around the tea. This also lets me preserve the original label. It also lets me use the tins whose lids aren't quite tight enough since the tin blocks out light and the bag blocks out oxygen exchange. The hardest part is blocking out little boys. Only a few tins can do that.

Kitty