There is a slightly unpleasant taste that I get from time to time when brewing a tea that I am struggling to describe. The only work that comes to mind is "hollow".
It is usually when brewing on the light side and usually with shorter steep times and if I brew the tea stronger, it almost always goes away.
For that reason, I have assumed that it was an indication that the liquor is too weak. But it also causes slight reaction in the back of my mouth that is not quite astringent and not quite sour, but a little like both.
Can anyone help me identify what this is and whether it is related to brew strength or something else.
It could be a combination of things. If it only happens on the first brewing of the leaf you might just be getting a very superficial flavor from the processing/roasting and the subsequent brews start to show the actual character of the tea. This often happens for me with some of the heavier roasted teas, but I really like that first "hollow" brew where I'm really just getting the fired flavor and very little of the actual tea. It's like drinking the essence of charcoal roasting, but not so much about the tea. Many would pour this "rinse" off but on a few select teas I love the first brew more than the rest. Like TGY that is really roasted. The floral notes don't come through yet and I really like it, by the second it's flowery and I'm out. Basically that means I don't actually like the tea at hand. That is why a lot of teas benefit from a quick steep/rinse that is discarded.
Is "first brewing" the same as "first steep"? That is, using the same leaves as opposed to the "first pot" from a new package?
I think you are saying that if I reuse the same leaves, I may get less of that hollow taste -- at least if it's caused by what you describe.
I'll test that.
Is there are special (unpleasant) taste that results from a pot that is somewhat too weak?
The "hollow" taste that I am trying to describe usually occurs when I am experimenting with less leaf and shorter steep times. I don't think I have ever experienced with stronger parameters.
I think we are actually saying the same thing... basically the short steep and less tea will always produce a less strong cup. That is assured almost every time and every tea. But short time and first brew/ steep you will be getting more of just that superficial processing/ roasting flavor since it is the "flavor" on the outermost of the leaf. A longer first steep allows the leaf to begin to also give up some of it's characteristics and that will bolster the flavor and move away from that "hollow" taste.
With tea everything is so subjective that it's hard to say what is unpleasant to you may be enjoyed by others, and other way round. Many would probably want to discard that first rinse of TGY to get to the flowery/perfumy real flavor... I'm the exact opposite. Really it means that I'm just not a fan of that tea, but I really like that first steep sometimes and will brew it just for that reason.
Here's a good example. I have a bag of Keemun Mao Feng from Upton,
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I had tried a couple of pots at 2.5 g/cup and did not like the results. After I read your suggestion of less is more, I tried a pot at 1.0 and 1.5 g/cup. The results were much better.
The best pot was at 1.5 g/cup, 212°, 30 seconds.My comments were, "Middle of very good range. A bit of a smoky character, but not unpleasant. This is a hearty tea that would be a great pick-me-up."
This morning I tried another pot increasing the time to 45 seconds. Big disappointment. The "hollow" taste was very strong. What's puzzling is that a few days ago, I brewed this same tea exactly the same way, but for just 30 seconds and is was very good. Can an extra
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