Red Rose Green Tea

While intrepidly exploring rec.food.drink.tea, Jaime rolled initiative and posted the following:

Loose leaf green teas typically steep for twice the time of blacks, e.g. 3 minutes is typical for a black tea, while 6 to 7 minutes is typical of greens. Green tea is also steeped at a lower temperature.

I steep greens in a teapot frequently for my wife and I to consume. The thing is, blacks and oolongs leave behind a little in your teapot unless you are really scrubbing it out after each use. So I have a second teapot that I use just for green and white teas.

DerekXns94CC5E30DD77Adagwinn@130.133.1.44/15/04 10: snipped-for-privacy@gwinn.us

Derek, I steep greens seldom more than 2 minutes, even at temperatures as low as 130 degrees (in the case of best Long Jins and Gyokuros). Once the leaves open, even less time is required. Perhaps I'm putting in far more leaf than you. My formula is simple enough and usually works: Half the number of grams of dry tea as there will be ounces of wet water. More often I brew at between 160 and 175. Most good green teas seem happy at this range. Six or seven minutes sounds like a pretty long steep to me.

Me too. It's amazing how quickly that residue begins to become noticable. Many people would even advise a separate Oolong pot.

I'm drinking a beautiful Wu Long I got from the Big Apple Tea House in New York City on Howard Street just north of Canal between Broadway and Lafayette Street. This tea is slightly astringent, very floral, very delicate, offers a persistent and pleasing complementary aftertaste, and is just all 'round lovely. Worth every cent. I'm a happy camper. I don't think this tea is any more oxidized than a Bao Zhong, which makes it almost green.

Michael Gungfuing through the morning

Michael

While intrepidly exploring rec.food.drink.tea, Michael Plant rolled initiative and posted the following:

You're using much more green tea than I am. I use about 1/3 or even

I could be doing it "wrong", but it's always worked for me and produced quite tasty results.

DerekXns94CC64636341Cdagwinn@130.133.1.44/15/04 10: snipped-for-privacy@gwinn.us

Hey. You ain't doin' it wrong. You're doin' it right. The proof is the tasty results. Enjoy your tea.

Michael

I'm with Michael.

If you're steeping a small amount of leaf for a long time, then maybe you're brewing a cup akin to the average of the multiple shorter steeps some of us get from green leaves.

/Lew

While intrepidly exploring rec.food.drink.tea, Lewis Perin rolled initiative and posted the following:

I'm with they guy at my local tea shop. He hasn't steered me wrong yet.

Probably. It's still tasty and since I don't normally go for multiple steeps of green in the same evening, it's a better use of my tea than using a lot that I only steep once.

Is this a versatile beverage or what?

Actually I shouldn't have been so, uh, short. I do sometimes brew tea with very little leaf for a long time, but only if I'm not going to have the time to drink multiple steeps. Usually the first couple of (short) steeps from a "normal" amount of leaf will please me more than the single long steep.

/Lew

Here's my suggestion, and final word:

Try it Lew's way, try it my way, if you haven't already. It isn't better or worse. It's just different. You might be surprised. Put the tea through it's paces. Make it do all the tricks it's capable of. That's my policy.

BTW, what tea exactly are we talkiing about here. Is it RRGT from teabags ripped? In that case, maybe just ignore me.

Michael

DerekXns94CCABED5E6CBdagwinn@130.133.1.44/15/04 17: snipped-for-privacy@gwinn.us

While intrepidly exploring rec.food.drink.tea, Michael Plant rolled initiative and posted the following:

Actually, I've tried it both ways. But I find that since I only drink green tea on occassion, and rarely more than a cup at a time, it's a waste of tea to use a lot figuring that I'll get multiple infusions out of it.

Ew. Now that's just sick.

Yes I was considering getting a second pot for the green tea. I'm not a fanatic on scrubbing out teapots. Generally a thorough rinse with hot water suits me and I only clean out a teapot when it looks like it *really* needs it.

Well I am using Red Rose green tea from teabags. The tea was bought at the supermarket. I figured it was a start to enjoying green tea. I did not want to buy anything loose at first in case I did not like it but I most likely will now or just get a higher quality brand from somewhere.

Jaime: I am an aficionado of Red Rose green tea in bags! My method may be at odds with other's, but maybe you will wish to modify it. I plunk a one pint ceramic mug (purchased from Starbuck's) filled with tap water (unfiltered) in my microwave, insert into the mug a RR teabag after carefully removing the tag from the string. Some folks like to leave the tag on for the extra smoky taste from the heated tiny staple, but I prefer not to mask the delicate flavor of the tea. I then set the microwave for 2 minutes and 20 seconds, precisely. After that I continue to make my breakfast omelet (about 8 minutes). When that is done, I remove the cup from the microwave, vigorously dunk the bag up and down in the previously described Brit method, squeeze the bag with my fingers (burns, so watch this step) to drain the teabag and then add some Stevia for natural sweetening. Ah, the quaintness of the tea ceremony.*G*

Leif

P. S. You don't have to make an omelet to achieve this cup of tea, as crumpets, scones or Cheerios goes well with it.

My teabags do not have a tag, string or a staple so I am quite safe there. :-)

You won't mind if I use a cup, a spoon and freshly boiled water from my whistling kettle will you?

I *will* still dunk in the previously described Brit method though. Some things you just *have to* do. :-)

I'd prefer the omelet. Crumpets, scones and cheerios are not a part of my paleolithic-style of eating.

Jaime (who is enjoying a cup of green tea now)

Leif snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com4/18/04

Coincidentally, while my methods may differ from Leif's, the spirits match. I take my one pint ceramic mug, stolen from Starbucks, to the cafe across the street where tea costs half as much, have them place a teabag into my mug with hot water, and then I return to Starbucks to relax in one of their big cozy armchairs, studying, reading, and drinking for about five hours. About 17-18 minutes in I remove the teabag from the mug, pressing it between my right forefinger and the upper edge of the inner wall of the mug two or three times. I also add approximately 1/3 of a yellow packet of Stevia from my stash, likewise lifted from Starbucks, stirring with a wooden stick, likewise from my stash lifted from Starbucks, eight times counterclockwise. (I am left handed; right handed persons might choose to stir clockwise. Do not, under any circumstances, change direction.)

As Leif implies by his failure to mention the aroma or taste of the tea, style is everything, and it is best to disgard the resultant brew into the Starbucks garbage pail upon leaving. It's cold at that point anyway. Use the Starbucks rest room to thoroughly wash the mug.

(I'm only joking here, of course. I would NEVER perpetrate such dastardly deeds. I think you all know me well enough to understand that, right?)

Truth be told, I do not know you *that* well at all.

It was an interesting story btw. I enjoyed it greatly.

I wonder how many varieties of tea go back to the Paleolithic.

/Lew

That is something I have been wondering myself off and on because tea has a long history.

I know in the book Neanderthin (which is the diet I follow) that green tea is allowed. I have not noticed the author (Ray Audette) mentioning any other type of tea but I do have a couple more chapters of the book to finish reading and there are several recipes in the book which I have not thoroughly looked through yet.

I am sure that any herbal/fruit tea would be considerred paleolithic as there are many recipes for them on the paleofood recipe sites I read.

Yeah, but he doesn't mention what he had for breakfast! *G*

Michael is on quite a tear lately.

Joe