I'm not sure how or where it started (most likely I read it in a book) but I have always done everything in my power to keep metal from touching my tea in both storage and brewing. Such as boiling the water in either an all glass whistler teakettle or in a ceramic coated metal one. Not using a metal spoon to stir, no metal teaballs, glass tea canisters... etc.
But a recent need to find storage containers for my tea (my other thread from today) keeps coming up with tea tins, and canisters made of metal primarily. Also many tea vendor's keep their tea in metal canisters, or ship in a foil pouch.
Am I just crazy, or is there some logic to the "no metal" theory? If metal is OK, which are the best? Stainless, Tin, Copper, Silver, Aluminum?
Some metals will react with some combinations of water, air, salts and acids. (Also other metals; dissimilar metals plus water with anything dissolved in it that makes it electrically conductive are a recipe for rapid electrolytic corrosion.) Others don't.
It's formulated to be non-reactive.
A thin plating of tin on steel to prevent it reacting with the contents used to be the basis of "tin" cans. You only get problems if the tin wears away, exposing the base metal and facilitating electrolytic corrosion. I'd guess most "tin" tea containers are this kind of tinplate.
Quite reactive.
Reacts with sulphur (don't use silver spoons on S-rich eggs.) Apart from that, it's probably not very reactive.
Paradoxically, so reactive that it's not a problem. Pure Al on exposure to air almost instantly forms a layer of oxide. That's the same substance we meet in other forms as ruby and sapphire, so it's practically inert. It's a similar process which makes stainless steel unreactive, though in that case the component which oxidises is chromium.
I think I'd apply a simple subjective chemical test: rub a wet thumb over the metal and then taste it. That would certainly rule out copper, but not the others.
Thanks Richard, I appreciate it! I remember reading (I believe in a few places) about the bad stigma around letting metal touch the water or tea during brewing, but most likely it was an ancient Japanese or Chinese text about tea and it may have been more time specific (no stainless back then) than still applies today. I think I may go for stainless or tin if it is sure to not react. It's going to be hard to break my habits though and I'm sure it will make me wince when I pour my tea into their new metal homes. It's been 10 years or so of no metal.
If you don't mind me asking, how do you store your teas? I woul dlike to hear how everyone else does it to get some ideas.
Nothing special. Some are in the bags they came in (mostly Ronnefeldt plasticised paper, a couple of Thai oolongs and Japanese senchas in metallised plastic), some I decant into in ancient Jacksons of Piccadilly 125-gram cans and some into cardboard drums that formerly held Clipper green tea.
you should talk to the woman who doesn't want any plastic coming into contact with the water she boils for her tea. Maybe together you can design a teapot made of wood.
I really wish I could think of where the no metal thing came from, it has been at least 10 years I've stuck to it religiously. It seems silly, but like I said before stainless and such it may have been true.
I tend to heat the water in my glass tea kettle and then brew in my Yixing, or in my chinese ceramic infuser mug. So no wooden teapots for me... yet.
Mee too for some years until all that titanium stuff for ultralight hiking turned up. So some years
ago I took the plunge and aquired all sorts of TI gear for my hikes and travels and even back
"home" use them for my teas. Ti is absolutely taste neutral and compared to glass transducts heat from the stove far better. As
I use this stuff on a daily basis and it's supposed to last a lifetime I don't care about the price too
much.
I keep my teas in those aluminized foil bags I get here in Darjeeling. The outer and inner layers
are PE with a thin layer of aluminum foil sandwiched in between that keeps the flavour inside the
bag. Compared to storing teas in the standard tins you can get rid of most of the air in those bags
- reduce oxidation of your teas to some extent. I store those bags inside all kinds of cheap
no-name indian stainless steel tins.
My (limited) personal experiences when it comes to brewing: Stainless steel : no good, depending on the specific alloy SS can considerably change the taste
Tin, Copper: yuck, fuggedaboutem
Silver (plated): interesting effects, I always travel with my old 8oz silver pot and use it a lot for my Darjeelings. Compared to ceramics/porcellain (neutral) IMO it slightly enhances the sweeter notes of DJ teas, in a direct comparison I also found - as always YMMV
- that my beloved 2nd flush Muscatels get a bit of a flavour boost, like the spectrum gets a bit spread or deepened or whatever.
Aluminum: terrible offtaste in the pots (hiking gear) I tried
When it comes to storage I'd be more concerned about all that superfluous air/oxygen in those tins than the metal they're made of, as long as the don't smell, are really airtight and the tea inside them is reasonably dry (3-5% H2O). I can't recommend those sandwiched aluminum foil bags highly enough, nothing but good experiences with them, stored in a tin they'll keep your leaves relatively fresh for a long time.
I use a stainless steel teapot and a stainless steel kettle and have never had any problem with a metallic taste in my tea. I have had that problem when using one of those perforated tea eggs. I'd be willing to bet that a lot depends on the quality of the vessel being used; i.e., a cheap metal pot probably will affect the taste, whereas a better quality one will not.
Most metal in contact with brewed tea will passivate quickly due to buildup of a polymer film. I use metal screens in several of my pots, and let the brown scum build up.
It's usually not foil, but a metallized polymer film and unlikely to react - for one thing, the metal is often encapsulated.
Not crazy, but probably over-reacting. I agree about the copper, and iron alloys that rust can make horrible tastes. Others should be fine. The suggested rub-test is wise. Try it on a pocketful of keys or a few tools or pieces of flatware - most won't smell much at all; copper alloys tend to stink. Having said that, dry tea won't react with anything, so it's only a problem on storage if there's steady outgassing. Unless your water is far off neutral pH, it's not likely to extract much metal from normal vessels.
They haven't used tin for a long time - it's zinc. Not very inert, but not much taste either.
I use an open stainless steel pan for heating water. I don't think it adds any taste to the water or tea, I brew in china, other ceramic, or glass, but very occasionally I use an aluminum infusor. I'm a bit skeptical of the aluminum. Toci
It makes perfect sense in a world where bronze and cast iron are the typical metals.
Stainless should be fine (although I'll say that stainless steel is not one thing, but actually three different families of metal alloys, some of which are more nonreactive than others).
Of course, the water has come to you through pipes of iron, copper, PVC, asbestos-tar, and maybe even clay. It's too late now to avoid all contact with metals.
Yeah, although I had never taken into consideration when the text was written before. ;) I guess my crayons didn't come with a sharpener.
Actually I use water from my water cooler which is ceramic lined and comes straight from a PA spring to the bottling plant to my cooler. I'm sure it may touch metal somewhere in its journey, but very little.
This thread got me to think it through more though and it has helped a ton, I'm sure it will still take me time to break old habits. Thanks all!
I like Foo Joy tea in general, it is very inexpensive and decent quality. I like the Foo Joy Wuyi Oolong teabags. My fiance likes the Foo Joy Lichee Black, but I can't stand it personally. YMMV.
I don't have a lot of respect for the Foojoy teas, but I suspect that they probably sell various different grades of similar teas. I can say that the Foojoy oolong that sells for $7/25 lbs. at the Chinese grocery and is served by lots of Chinese restaurants is very poor stuff. Maybe that has just put me off the whole brand.
[Dominic]
[Michael] Dominic, two things strike me in your post above: First, your reference to Kukicha, which is of course right on the money. I add my favorite example in this rich man/poor man dichotomy -- again, I know ya'll heard me on this before -- of the black sturgeon fish eggs found in the Caspian sea, where the people in the northern end of the sea prized them above all other food while only the poorest of people at the southern end bothered with it, it being the poor man's food there. So much for objectivity.
It's a lot like music: The dopiest thing in the world is criticizing others' music. The idea of music supercedes which music any one person plays, sings, or listens to. My music is better than your music is just plain dumb. This does not mean that an intellectual conversation can't be a good one.
Second, and I quote you, "I enjoy tea. I enjoy the whole process and culture surrounding tea." I could not have said that better myself, and with me it goes right to choosing waters, and how I heat them; and pots and gaiwans, how they look with the other stuff, not to mention how they brew tea. Some might say I overdo it. Some might say it matters little with a klutz like me.
I grew up pretty poor. I had a tough life and had a lot of hurdles to overcome, but through it all we always managed to have fun and happy times. Growing up as I have you learn to do a lot with a little and you really learn to appreciate what is truly important in life. I also am a student of life, I try to learn from everything and my experiences. When you walk through some of the poorest neighborhoods and slums you find some of the biggest smiles, and when you attend a big black-tie affair you see some of the unhappiest people alive. I've managed to succeed in life (so far, I'm still young) but I hold true to my values and the wisdom I've gained so far and I continue to learn. On a philosophical level I have also learned a lot from the Tao Te Ching and Taoist works as well as texts like "The Book of Tea."
I share that same passion and adventure, and I think that is what it truly comes down to. To think of the history of a Chinese worker who carries his Yixing teapot in his pack and uses it daily for his entire life and hand it down for generations to come, when I am brewing tea in mine is what makes it such a great experience. You can't overdo it. It takes you away to a happy time and place to put effort and concentration into the process, and is no different than any other form of entertainment or escapism. And unlike most other forms it has an extremely deep and rich history and culture that branches out into so many more areas. Where I work people tend to poke fun of me about my tea (why don't I just drink coffee like everyone else?!?), and I could never hope to explain just what it is all about, nor would they care. That is why I was so happy to find this newsgroup and folks like you who understand and can share and enjoy this little leaf as much as myself.
There is perhaps an interesting discussion here as to whether, and/or to what degree, we are blessed in the West with so many many types and styles of tea to choose from. I think it makes us fickle. I drink hundreds of different types of tea from all corners of the globe, but the Chinese worker you refer to above has perhaps but one tea in his repetoire. Think about how thoroughly he knows his lone tea. When I was in Afghanistan -- before the Russians invaded, it being awhile ago -- I noticed how closely children stuck to the occupations of their fathers. How different it is here. We can do anything, and do. I'm not entirely convinced that this is an untarnished good thing with tea or work. Anyway, it's a question.
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