good stuff in tea

Many notes have been written about the caffeine levels in different brews but I would like to ask if the good stuff in tea remains in subsequent brews? I was just thinking that I had brewed a very nice little cup of Gyokuro last night and then to sleep. This am saw the little gaiwan with the pretty green leaves and and rebrewed it. It was mighty fine in taste. I was wondering if all the good poly.. catche..etc things are still there in the brew? Jenn

Reply to
Jenn
Loading thread data ...

Shen, I appreciate your poetic relationship with the tea you drink. My interest was more mundane. I was simply wondering about the style; that is, the vehicle you use for your meditations, so to speak. There is a common feeling out there that if you use a little pot, fill it with leaf, use real hot water, and steep quickly, you've done Gung Fu. For all I know, that's quite right. Michael

Reply to
Michael Plant

Michael, I use a pretty standard gong fu method: I use my rosewood tools to clear out the spout of the pot and then take my leaves from the canister using tongs and put them into the leaf display dish and pass that to my friends or if I'm alone I peruse them myself. I wash out my cups and rinse the tray, using the water bowl and the wood tongs and wash out the pot, the aroma cups etc. I then put the leaves into the pot and wash them. Dump through the tray and steep the leaves. I wait the necessary amount of time and then pour into the aroma cups which I sniff and the turn that cup into my small drinking cup (not a gaiwan). This does take time. It is contemplative for me and meditative as well. I usually do this in silence. Roy Fong taught me to do it this way and it's the way I like to do it. Truthfully, it is a poetic experience for me. I really don't know if this is conventional. I've seen gong fu done this way and other ways. I like it this way. Shen

Reply to
Shen

I di for get two things: I do use a fair cup, a small pitcher to which I pour the tea from the pot and then pour the tea from the fair cup into the smaller tea cups. And, I do ask all my guests, or just myself, to look at the wet leaves the first go round, as they dance and unfurl. As I said, I don't know how "real" this all is or if I'm doing it exactly right, but wabi-sabi.......... Shen

Reply to
Shen

I think the kung fu is in the knowledge, skill, patience, and practice, not the exact method, tools used, or the amount of leaf used. I don't know that I have any of these things, but they're at least the things that I would like to strive for.

My understanding (and I've only been doing this for a year or two, and I think I can continue to learn no matter how long I keep doing it) is that the point is not "small pot, lots of leaves", but rather to try and develop an appreciation for the nuances of the differences between brews, and to understand how to bring out the best in a particular tea in a particular situation. Even if I'm brewing tea in an airport terminal with limited or no equipment, there's still an opportunity to learn something.

w
Reply to
invalid unparseable

Shen, I appreciate reading about your method (it helps me to learn too)...do you use a glass pot to steep in or how do you watch the leaves unfurl? (I ask because I associate the unfurling leaves with greens in a glass which is where I have had the most experience of that) Thank you.

Melinda

Reply to
Melinda

Hi w,

Kung fu is in the knowledge, & also about knowing what you are doing. There are 2 broadlines of kung fu, which I define as Traditional & Contemporary. Traditional kung fu enthusiasts claim the style stemmed from Teochew style, it is all about leisure - the time you can spare, economy, speed, & strength of tea. Contemporary kung fu is more about performing art, grace, & appreciation of tea. I must also stress that these styles are not separated, only that they focus on different aspects of style.

Whichever style you adopt, or variate on your own, the centre piece is the tea. The tea, its history, your understanding of it, determines which vessel is the best 2 draw out the essence of the tea. & from there, the rest of the set-up, the cups 2 use, the setting, some would go as far as music & lighting - more contemporary styles. Aroma cups are part of the contemporary style, but not all tea beg the use of it, there are teas which do not require aroma cups. A pitcher ensures all parties get an even strength of the tea, especially so if you are brewing for parties above 4 persons. The traditional style on the other hand demands time. The kettle 2 boil the water is small, just enough for 1 pot. The pot is small, usually enough for 4 cups, the cups small & just enough for a slurp, the leaves packed in between

50-70% of the pot. The water has 2 be boiling hot, in goes the water out comes the tea in2 4 cups, fast & furious, unceremonious. If there are more than 6 persons, the elder ones get 2 drink 1st - the younger in statues get 2 drink the 2nd round, if it is all friends, those closer 2 the table gets 2 drink the 1st round...once a round of tea is done, drinkers kick back & relax, chat or read, letting the strong flavors of the tea & the nuances play out in the mouth. It might not be until an hour or so later that it is decided 2 brew another round...

Tea ceremony in whichever style, strictly adheres 2 several points - in inadequate translation: Harmony (Appropriateness), Tranquility (Mindfulness), Truth (Essence), & Transcendence (Knowing), which is not understanding, but knowing from the heart, from the soul.

kevo

Reply to
Kevo

On Apr 11, 7:35 am, Kevo snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote: The water has 2 be boiling hot, in goes the water

kevo This daft use of ## in ur txt abt T is 2 much 4 me, I h8 it - so off putting that of10 I never actually get 2 read your 1derful mails - which rather neg8s the point of communicating. Perhaps I could persevere with translation if I understood the actual point of it?

Nigel at Teacraft, seeking appropriateness and transcendence, at least

Reply to
Nigel

I'm intrigued by your use of the word "economy". What do you mean here?

That brings up an issue that gets ventilated here from time to time. If Teochew (Chaozhou) style lets the pot lie around for extended periods between steeps, and if the pot is crammed with a heavy, wet mass of previously steeped leaves, the temperature inside the pot will be far below boiling from the second steep onward.

/Lew

Reply to
Lewis Perin

I thought that was the point of pouring the boiling water over the outside of the pot once the steep had started. I guess it would be exactly as if the pot has stayed very hot but it would be close wouldn't it? The pot doesn't heat up instantly of course. but if I'm doing tea outside I have to do this because it's in the 50's F, if that, where I am during the day.

Melinda

Reply to
Melinda

I know that's the theory of pouring hot water over the pot, but I'm skeptical of its effectiveness. For one thing - as I believe DogMa once noted here - the evaporation of that water on the pot's skin will

*subtract* heat. Also, probably more importantly, during a short steep how much heat could the poured-over water really add?

/Lew

Reply to
Lewis Perin

Hi Lew

I read what Dogma wrote some time back. The approach is scientific, but back in rural Chao Zhou, I dont think they have Dogma theory 2 test upon...

Kevo

Reply to
Kevo

As others have noted, yes, they remain but amounts diminish with subsequent brewings. I also would not be comfortable with brewing leaf left over from the previous day, but I drink Sencha daily and I always make a second infusion about 90 minutes after the first. The first two steepings are both excellent, but a little different in flavor. Occasionally I make a third an hour or two after that, but this third steeping is clearly not as good as the first two.

I'm surprised that if you drink Gyokuro, you aren't normally steeping the same leaf at least twice. If not, you're missing some good tea.

Reply to
RJP

I certainly didn't want to suggest that a seventy-year-old guy, for example, who's been brewing Chaozhou tea Chaozhou style in Chaozhou all his life doesn't know what he's doing. I was saying that, if he brews it with as relaxed a steep schedule as you describe, then keeping the brewing temperature high must not be that important to him.

/Lew

Reply to
Lewis Perin

Actually, I do steep almost all my teas at least 2x. More if I can. Gyokuro is a special very nice tea that I love to drink late cause it lulls me into a nice calm state. But the question was about how many good things in the tea like theanine, and such on subsequent brewings. I know youall are obviously concerned for my health and I thank you for that. Just to let you guys know at the end of the day I ususally put all the spent leaves into my potted plants outside. Gee, My plants love it. I dont usually save from day to day but this was an example that made me think of the things that may flush away with each brewing. I guess fungus doesnt, thank you. Oh BTW what teas do you like to drink at night??? Which tea helps you to relax late at night? Jenn

Reply to
Jenn

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.