Multiple infusions - how to do

Olá Joao,

Well, I think multiple infusions may be tough to do with your current setup. Not that there is anything wrong with it, just that it isn't optimal for multiple infusions beyond maybe two. I'm not sure what kind of tea you are drinking either, so maybe let us know that bit of info too if you would.

Basically multiple infusions are done with smaller vessels and a decent amount of leaves. Small as in a gaiwan, brew-in mug, or smaller Yixing teapots. They should all be done in a fairly short time frame and at most a couple hours, personally in a covered vessel I'd say 6-8 hours max before the air is going to react with the tea and affect the flavor, but 2-4 is normally as long as I personally would go. Some types of tea stand up better than others as well, Puerhs being tops and other higher fermented/fired teas blacks, oolongs, etc. White teas are hit or miss and might be good for 2-3 infusions and the same with most greens... again depending on the individual tea.

In a large teapot and with only one person drinking it, one or two infusions is about all you could ask for. Hope that helps!

- Dominic

I would say not more than about half an hour, but it may be because I'm overly sensitive to metallic taste that old leaves acquire. Even half an hour may be too long. It also depends on tea and type of preparation, with large amount of pu-erh in a gaiwan, it can last longer because area of contact with air vs. volume of all leaves is smaller. If you don't want to drink more tea right away, don't bother with repeat infusions. I think, aside from gong-fu style brewing, which is a special case, multiple infusions are not all that economical because you need to use a lot of leaves. If you do just one infusion, you can use very little amount of leaves and brew them a little longer. Multiple infusions maybe more convenient for making a very large amount of tea for many people, because then it saves you the trouble of refilling with fresh leaves, cleaning the spent leaves out, etc. So you'd fill the pot with tons of leaf and do a quick first infusion, then give half a cup to everyone, then do 5-7 more infusions through the next hour or two. -ak

i infuse the tea until i dont like its taste anymore/ or until taste fades beyond my ability to enjoy it. most of the time 3-4 infusions

the teas i have i already know about how much tea, water and how many times i can re-infuse. for new teas one has to experiment.

What tools to use? whatever i put my hands on: any sort of cup/mug, (usually 10oz cup, or a little 4oz gaiwan) throw leaf in it, pour water, let infuse, strain into different cup / or if already used the egg-mesh infuser no need to strain

How long between infusions? depends on the tea, and derived from experimenting: green, oolong, black(china) i wait less than 10 minutes, for black the most i done is 1 day. :P (remember, the wet leaf kind of continues brewing after taken out of the water).

after 1-2 infusions i adjust time(increase) or water(decrease)

(i usually also let the wet leaf wait around for 1-2 days - to see if it grows anything :) ,in 3 years only 1 time it grew fungus - so i suspect it was probably not from the tea.)

I got rid of my automatic coffee maker, which might be useful for brewing a pot of tea if you sacrifice multiple infusions and just go for a ratio of water and leaves. Don't know if there are automatic tea makers out there.

But I get along just using the basket from the coffee maker sitting on top of a large mug, with a paper filter I fill to the top with water over the leaves. Basket doesn't drain until you depress the lever that normally inserts under the coffee maker head, so after steeping when I back it into my mug with the lever depressed, it drains filtered tea. Leaning the basket against something as it drains into your mug keeps it straight so you don't have to stand there holding it.

I mention this as a simple way to do multiple infusions, even do a quick 30 second blanch first. I've been doing okay with the blanch, then 1 minute, 3 minute, and 6 minute infusions, using about 2 tbs. tea and distilled water at about 130 degrees.

By the way, I use the coffee maker basket and filter alone to make coffee, too. It's by far the quickest decent cup of coffee, using 1/2 minute to steep 1/3 cup of grounds. A second infusion is okay to my taste. bookburn

Sorry, but he's using a mug, not a big pot, with the infuser basket. With a decent green tea, I would expect three infusions, more if it's a really good tea. Brewed this way, oolongs and Pu'ers should support more than three infusions.

I do agree, though, that you increase the scope for lots of infusions by increasing the ratio of amount of leaf to size of brewing vessel. I habitually use a gaiwan of approximately 100 ml because I love the way the taste and aroma change in the course of many steeps.

/Lew

For my greens, I brew one mug, then put the infusor in the refrigerator (in an empty mug) for the next day. I get one mug a day for a week this way. For my Assam fannings, I brew the first cup one minute, then brew the second cup a couple of hours, then throw the grounds away. I do only one mug for my Ceylon. Toci

Oops, sorry, I saw Chatsford and my mind skipped over the mug bit... I assumed it was a Chatsford teapot/infuser. Good catch Lew.

- Dominic

Howdy - I am a lurker learning from the various discussions. I have a

Any suggestions for another assam or a chinese tea with the body to hold up to milk like Assam has. Or I could make another mix from a tea I bought a pound of and need to doctor it in order to use it up. That Lapsong souchong will put hair on anyone's chest.

For multiple steepings it is really convenient to use a "magic steeper" or what we call a simple steep. I hate to be commercial here but there is a picture on the front page of our online store

Personally, I find the greens, oolongs and pu'rehs work the best for multiple steeping. For me, black tea loses too much flavor for a second go 'round. In a prior post, someone was not as positive about multiple green steeping. That might be that the water is too hot or the step time too long on the first steep.

Richard

If you ever get to the mainland, Spring Cottage Tea House in Richmond has a very good Dian Hong (tippy Yunnan.) You might even like it without milk, since it has very little astringency. (No connection with the shop except for being a happy customer.)

/Lew

The "magic steeper" or as it is better known here and in our archives is Adagio's ingenuiTEA, it is decent for the purpose but with some research in the archives meets with mixed reviews. They are neat and do work for the intended purpose but just a bit clumsy and overkill. A simple gaiwan and a tea cup/mug to pour off into once steeped serves the same purpose and is a much more elegant solution.

If it was my comments as to greens and multiple infusions that is being referenced I still firmly stand by my comment in that many greens do not stand up well to multiple infusions, some do though as I stated. I can make some really good Bi Lo Chun last for 3 maybe 4 infusions, I can also get one solid infusion from some gyokuro or certain senchas or a number of Chinese greens. Same thing goes for black teas, many die off after one infusion but there are numerous exceptions.

- Dominic

I agree that most CTC black teas are good for only a single infusion. However, I find that many whole-leaf (or as whole as possible) Chinese black/red teas are good for at least two or three infusions. I am currently finishing up some black rosettes I bought from Yunnan Sourcing on ebay and they have staying power, most likely due to being large/whole leaf and also due to being tied. Both aspects allow the leaf to release its goodness slowly over several steepings. Plus, the later steepings are often smoother and/or not as bitter as the first.

Alan

I have been thinking about this lately, I have about five gaiwans and they are nothing but a pain for me to do gung fu in, as far as pouring off the liquid. I'll brew and drink from them (with pleasure) but using them as brewing vessels for me is really difficult, partially because I have really tiny hands but also because of the water temp. They don't have a spout so my tea tends to go all over. If I do multiple steeps and decant them, they're in a yixing pot or a piao pot anymore. (I don't do the greens in a yixing obviously). Or I use a small glass pitcher/fair cup that I bought for brewing greens specifically. But I've pretty much given up on gaiwans as a purely brewing vessel, talk about making a mess...(in my case that is)

Oh and also, regarding greens, I do usually go for 3-7 steeps on a green but I definitely go to the, er, not-bitter end with them, lol. I get about two steeps that will stand up to milk and sugar with a red dian hong or other chinese red tea. Oolongs vary by the tea itself, shui xians I can get about

Melinda

Maybe you know this, but there are gaiwans available in many sizes, including ones small enough for a child's hand.

In my experience, the difference between a gaiwan that's very hot to the touch and one that's comfortable is a matter of how much the lip flares. (More is better.)

Maybe your trouble controlling the pour is related to the size and heat?

/Lew

More than likely you're right Lew, when I steep greens for two it's usually in a bigger quantity than, say, 100 ml or so, so I try to use the larger size. Also with greens, the leaves are smaller than oolongs, so I hold on tighter to keep them from slipping out of the gaiwan and the tight hold causes problems. I do have a shallower gaiwan with a wider lip, I don't know that I've tried it yet but that will work well for an experiment

I suppose that if I were to want to actually work on this I'd start by learning to pour water out of a gaiwan into another container without the lid slipping and without any liquid dribbling down the side of the gaiwan. It just seems easier (and also less disruptive to the whole gong fu-ing experience) to use a glassware accoutrement for steeping greens though. My trouble gongfu-ing wth the gaiwan though doesn't apply to everyone of course, those who have a mastery of pouring out of a gaiwan have my admiration.

-Melinda

Practice makes perfect, and a good gaiwan makes it all a hell of a lot easier. The biggest problems I see are people using the wrong tea and water temps. Gong Fu does mean skilled and it does take time and effort. Make sure you are using lower temps and greens to get the hang of it all... or for that matter just practice with cool water and no tea.

As Lew mentioned a gaiwan with larger flaring around the rim helps. Don't overfill the gaiwan either, less water makes it easier and less heat at the rim and lid where your fingers are.

I darn near burnt my fingerprints off trying to do Puerh with too little skill and too much/hot water in some of my first attempts. That says a lot too since I can flip things I'm pan searing with bare hands with no problem. Now I can do any tea and any water temp no matter how full with ease, it just takes time.

Check Youtube or other video sites for video of people using their gaiwans with proper technique and you should be on your way. Best of luck.

- Dominic

Ah, the gaiwan experience! You love it or you hate it, right? Well, I believe that most people can enjoy it once they figured out how to best pour the tea. If you have a problem with burning your fingers on the cup itself, try the following method I've adopted and never had a problem with heat since: A gaiwan usually consists of 3 parts: cup, lid and saucer. From what I gather, you pick up the cup and lid when you pour your tea and leave the saucer behind. I pick up the saucer with my thumb and middle finger while holding the lid into place with my index finger (I slant the lid before picking up the gaiwan). That way, you're grabbing the cold saucer and are holding onto the (usually quite touchable) knob on the lid. Most lids have an indentation in the knob that make it quite easy to keep it in place with the index finger. I agree that the trickiest bit is to judge the right gap for the lid to allow free pouring while holding back the leaves effectively. But this, as everything, is a judgement that you'll master with practice. Just my 2 cents...

Another gaiwan option (cheating?) is to hold your hand palm up and place the gaiwan (with or without saucer) on it, near your fingertips. Hold the lid with your thumb and pour by rotating your wrist/forearm. I find that the rim on the bottom of the gaiwan is cool enough to do this even without a saucer and with boiling water.

Alan