hi,
in my trips to china, i remarked that many workers have a portable teapot, usually made of plastic. they are cylindrical, and have a filter on top so that leaves do not get into the mouth.
ok, for that it is ok, a very useful teaware. but what shocks me is that tea is not supposed to overbrew, and people using that may leave the tea there for many minutes, maybe more than 1 hour (so it gets cold). can anybody explain about that?
I just bought a version of one of these tea jars at Teaism in Wash DC. I find it addictive, really, but I think the green tea taste does suffer. I wouldn't recommend drinking any really expensive teas this way, but it is a nice way to sip green tea all day. When it gets near the bottom, you fill it up again (and again, and again, until the flavor disappears). In my opinion, I get a lot more of the bitterness of green tea than the other flavors. But it is a great way to drink tea because you see the leaves and always have something in the cup. It is a great way to drink tea at work. I also don't mind cool or even cold green tea.
-Charles
If you control the amount of leaves you put in there, you won't even get a lot of bitterness. It's simply the most convenient way to drink tea throughout the day in the office or on the go... you can do this to any kind of tea, not just green.
I actually blogged about this before
MarshalN
I use one of these almost daily, but only for puerh, oolongs, blacks, and greens, as I do not find them useful for red teas. Two things, 1st as MarshallN pointed out you must control the amount of leaf you use,
2nd I gradually increase the temperature of the water throughout the day. I use a fair amount of leaf but initially I will use water a bit colder than that tea would normally require, then throughout the day I use hotter and progressively hotter water. This has provided the best results, for me at least, especially for green puerh.Yes, the plastic ones dont keep the water hot like other methods, but that also helps to serve the purpose of not over extracting the leaf.
Once adapted I fell in love with mine. Yellow Mountain Imports, on eBay, caries several varieties of these.
Mike
thanks for all the replies. so, i see, seems a matter of controlling temperature. i have drank tea many times from the cup, as you mention on your blog, and i don't quite enjoy it. bitterness increases with time, and i can't drink very very hot drinks (like most oriental people seem to enjoy, including tea and soup).
so i will try to use a teapot if it is possible. actually, at work i use one of these jars as a teapot. a nice one, metallic.
MarshalN ha escrit:
I just got back from China, where you can get hot water to fill your tea jar *anywhere*. I carried around one of these things incessantly, generally using a moderate amount of merely-OK young sheng Pu'er. I had good results generally, but on the 14-hour flight back home, when I refilled the jar the brew was really disgusting: like rotting fish.
/Lew
It really isn't so much about high quality tea or brewing as it is easy and ready to go. I bought one and use it every now and then for much less serious brewings and low-mid quality tea.
Occasionally I will get a disposable cup and pull the center filter out after brewing and set it in there until I'm ready to brew again. I'll also use it for artistic teas, I'll remove the filter and then it is easy to see it unfurl and makes a pretty centerpiece.
- Dominic
Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
Ask the community — no account required