I got 1/8 lbs of Silver Needles for Christmas (among other things)...I've never had white tea before and I've been experimenting trying to find the right steeping conditions. The package it came in said to steep at 165 degrees for 3-4 minutes. I've read online that some people steep much hotter and for much longer. I find that when I double the steeping time, to about 7 minutes, the tea is smoother (almost milky) and less complex. I prefer it with a rawer edge. Sorry I'm not very good at explaining what I'm tasting, I'm relatively new to tea.
Anyone have any advice on how best to steep Silver Needles?
As a rule of thumb, shorter times go with higher temperatures. Other than that you have free reign of experimentation. For something as delicate as Silver Needle, I wouldn't go above 180F. Personally, I like my Silver Needle at the 160F you mentioned. I'll do a 2-3 minute steep and then increase the length for subsequent steeping a bit. Sometimes I'll boost the temperature 5-10F as well for the later steepings.
What seems to work best for me is what Joe Kubera has called "wrongfu": lots of leaf but not gongfu proportions, fairly hot water, lots of short steeps. Specifically, about 1g of leaf per fluid ounce of water, temperature off-boil (somewhere in the 190s F), and steeps starting with maybe 20 seconds after an initial rinse. It's the same method I find myself using virtually all the time for Pu'er.
I'd use this (wrongfu) for white teas that are all or mostly unopened buds. And while I'm recommending things, may I recommend quoting the context you're responding to? Not everyone reads news via the Google Groups website.
Many teas can do multiple steepings. I think the only exception I've run into is Darjeeling. There are probably others as well.. But any White/Green/Oolong is fair game.
Because Kitty omitted the context, I think you assumed that this was merely about multiple steeps. It was a bit more specific: multiple short steeps with a lot of leaf at high temperatures. I wouldn't try that with a delicate, fresh green.
I'm with you on this one, man. I've read and heard from a ton of people, all different times for the same teas. Some people are of the
5-7 minute camp, some of the 2-3 minute camp, some are of the less-than-a-minute camp.
It's a matter of personal taste, I think. I rarely steep any tea longer than a minute. Whites and Greens especially. I use gaiwan preparation, and make sure everything is preheated, rinse the leaves with about a 15 second "1st infusion", discard that, and then add more water, brew for about 30 seconds, pour off to a mug or retaining pot, brew again, for about the same amount of time, etc.. I add about half of the previous cycle's length to each successive brewing.. So.. 30sec, 45 sec, 1min
10sec, 1min 45sec, etc.. This changes depending on the variety and grade of the tea, since certain teas have different needs for steeping. I find shorter brewing times for the white/yellow/green teas during the first 2-3 infusions is good, but then increasing the later brewing times by a lot to get a consistent brew. Longer brew times (more than a minute or two) for those teas will make them taste very bitter and astringent and destroy thier flavour, IMO.
If I'm unsure about how long should brew it, I just sample it regularly to check it's progress. A little sip.. too weak? wait longer.. too strong? pour into the retaining pot, and make the next brew cycle shorter until I figure it out.
Don't ever follow a blanket method, as you're guaranteed to get medicore results most of the time, bed results some of the time, and maybe, just maybe, a good cup of tea some of the time.
Much better to think about it and follow your own tongue's desires.
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