Brewing Time vs. Amount of Tea

there are very few formulae (?) when it comes to tea. i have pondered the same question many times, and have come to the conclusion that every fine tea has it's own character, and it's own needs before it yields up that elusive 'perfect cup'. try this way, then that. then another.

the only drag about experimenting is that one is hesitant to do much of it when dealing with a tea that is exceedingly expensive. many a time i've gone thru an entire batch of a tea and never learned it's secrets. but i've come to love all the imponderables surrounding tea experience - keeps me interested, and all........................p*

I had an odd experience.

An assam breakfast tea brewed up way too tannic. Lowering temperature did nothing. Shorter brewing times did nothing.

I whined to the people i bought it from. They suggested i tried fewer leaves, hotter water, and a longer steeping time.

Worked. Go figure.

Thank you - I was afraid, but expecting, that there wouldn't be an "answer" ... :)

I've been experimenting a bit, and found another downside - you then hae to wait longer for your tea, as you keep playing!

Arrggggggggh... yet another variable. I'm beginning to think keeping a tea journal only touches the surface - charts, spreadsheets, and a WHOLE lot of tea is required.

Thanks!

First, I start with the minimum recommended time and increase up to the maximum recommended time. Then, because I use 8 oz instead of the tea standard of 6 oz, I'll decrease water/add more tea.

No, only guidelines because of the variables such as what type of tea: black, oolong, green, white; and the grade: dust, fannings, broken, whole; etc. Did you get a catalog with your order from Upton? There are a couple of tables on p. G3 that are reasonably consistent with others I've seen.

Enjoy the adventure!

what happened to the general rule of 1 tablespoon of tea for a 6 oz cup? after that, the variables to play with are water temperature and steeping time no? i find that the most important variable to play with is the steeping time and then water temperature. the combination of the two can help determine the number of infusions that set of tea leaves can go through as well as the taste.

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I'm coming in here quite late, so I might have missed something crucial to the discussion. Nonetheless, I'd say that one tablespoon of tea can mean many things depending on whether the tea is compact and heavy -- such as Sencha or most Keemuns -- or light and fluffy -- such as many white teas or Phoenix Oolongs. I know its a pain for many, but I use weight: one gram of tea for two ounces of water for greens, one gram of tea for one ounce of water for most Pu'erhs, and approximately two grams of tea for each ounce of water for gung-fu Oolongs. Water temperatures, as you say, vary. Weight works better than volume for me.

Michael

I believe you mean that the rule of thumb is one TEAspoon per 6 (or 8, depending on whom you ask) oz cup. That is still a good starting place.

I personally use 1/2 tablespoon (= 1.5 teaspoon) for a 9 oz cup, and it is either flat or rounded or heaping depending upon how "fluffy" the tea is (fluffy = my technical term for low density :-) ) .

I'm pretty sure it's TEAspoon, not table, but nothing has happened to the "rule", however I'm learning it's more of a variable, just as you say steep time and water temperature are. As I said in my original post, a friend never varies the temp or steep time, but always the amount of tea leaves. It works for him, and I've learned it doesn't, for me! :)

I don't mean any offense - I'm curious as to why he does that. Is he rich, naturally wasteful, did someone teach him that all teas should be brewed for only 30 secs? 'Cause if he could brew a good cup w/ 1 tsp for 2-5 min, or whatever - depending on the tea especially black, he would use less tea and spend less money than if he added enough tea to make a good brew in the aforementioned 30 secs.

LOL - doesn't offend *me* at all! :) I dunno - he started really drinking tea when he lived in Japan for several years, and mostly drinks green tea. He's found that more than 30 seconds makes things taste bitter for him, and so he taught himself his 30 second rule, and does the same with darjeeling, other blacks, etc.

It's too bad that he never learned that different teas have different brewing parameters, but as long as he's happy....

Thanks for the explanation.