That tea "thermos" with the strainer...

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My wife was looking for something like that and found one from Nissan.

She loves it. She say it keeps tea hot all day. It comes with an infuser and a travel lid. It was the only one we could find without getting one on ebay.

Mike

Well those look nice but doesn't steeping your tea all day get a little bitter?

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That was the same question I had about them at the start, Falky, but I am not seeming to have a problem with this TGY...I am using somewhat cooler water though. Meaning it's not at a full rolling boil for the first steep (nor is it supposed to be I know...I err on the cooler side though). And resteeps are getting thinner but they're still there. I don't know that you'd get a "perfect" cup of tea but it beats being without it all day.

Also, I am being somewhat daring in my steeping these days...I left some TGY in a glass with cool water on the counter overnight and drank it this morning. This particular TGY is getting somewhat bitter for me, and I think I shouldn't have left it so long, but still it was drinkable to me.

I have been using one to take puer to work for the last 3 months. I avoid the bitterness of oversteeping by starting out the first fill with lower temperature water. I then find that the hot water out of the water cooler is sufficient. This method is working great for Puer.

Mike

On Wed, 9 Feb 2005 17:01:18 -0800, "Melinda" cast caution to the wind and posted:

Mike Petro snipped-for-privacy@pu-erh.net

remove the "filter" in my email address to reply

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Do small leaf particles drift through?

I found this Bodum at a local store yesterday and was doubtful because of the size of the mesh and because I like a clean tea such as is produced by Teeli and Chatsford baskets and very fine strainers.

Then, there was the message. On the side, it said either something like, "Give up bad TEA for good" or "Give up bad COFFEE for good."

Towards the bottom of the webpage, there are two other styles in

14 and 16 oz w/o the printed message that I'm considering more seriously.

You know, that means that restaurant water isn't so bad - all we have to do is take our own green tea or whatever else that does well at temps < boiling hot.

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According to the pic, the website is fuguangchina.com, but I can't find exactly the same thing:

I wonder if it's NOS (new old stock) on clearance or something.

I like that there's no press rod sticking up until the tea is brewed and no infuser to remove after steeping.

"...not available at all in the United States." Hmm...

If I was getting anything it would be their Yixing thermos. I enjoy shopping Asian stores. Yesterday I saw a tall cylindrical glass ice tea pot made to fit a refrigerator door. It was a spectacular teapot in its own right. I have the same shape in a double walled stainless steel thermos which fits nicely in the pants pockets for walking. It has a push down button on the cap to pour the tea into the lid. It doesn't clog even with fines. I hope US retailers are paying attention because Chinese consumerism also means they are selling to us.

Jim

Mel> Some time back people on here were talking about that "tea thermos" that

shoulder bag.

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In the case of the thermos I got yesterday, I am using long jing and other greens and large oolongs in it right now and I don't see any particles coming through, but I haven't tried it with, say, roobois (and I'm not gonna...getting that taste out is tough for me). But I don't expect it would be horrible, though it might allow "dust" through.

I have two Bodums, they are my ole reliables every day for black teas. The do allow some very fine almost dust to come through, but that all settles at the bottom of the pot anyhow and doesn't make it into my cup. I love em. They do, however, allow the tea to cool off quicker than some people might like...you could always get a cozy for it or wrap a towel around it (what I do if I am caring at that time).

I haven't tried a Chatsford yet...I may get one but it won't be soon, I don't really collect teaware I am utilitarian about my tea drinking right now.

Melinda

Precisely my point...I can fill my green tea up from the hot water tap mostly if I need to. And people so far have not minded giving me hot water. I didn't get the thermos for black teas, I drink those with milk and sugar anyhow. .

I wouldn't call it necessarily appropriate for a concentrated tea drinking episode where one is drinking very fine teas and wants to do it perfectly...but it certainly makes me very happy being able to take green teas or oolongs along with me where I go, very happy indeed. Have you SEEN how much those cans of unsweetened green tea go for in the markets? Over a buck....I'll bring my own. :D

Also, on the "doesn't it get bitter" front...using a gaiwan lets the green tea get bitter towards the bottom anyhow..this is similar in that it only holds something like 10 ounces (I'm eyeballing here) so you do have to refill often but you drink it up quick too.

And on the "bush in my pot" front...yeah, my TGY looked like that in my tea glass yesterday...lol, I was out and about and I could imagine what it must look like to people who weren't sure what it was. It looked like some sort of large kelp....very bushy. (That's the TGY I mentioned a long time ago, Butterfly brand in a brownish tin at the Aisian markets, kinda pricy and gets very bitter quickly when I use too much in my Yixing...but seems OK at a lighter amount in my glass.)

Melinda

Some of us, at least, use a gaiwan to brew the tea, and pour off the liquor when it's done. But I take your point: not all of us do that.

/Lew

Yeah I understand, but I've recently (couple of months ago) gotten my first gaiwan and what I have been doing is steeping and drinking from it all at once, so that was where I was coming from (I know you know that). Also, if you wanted to, you could brew in this thermos (I need another name for this...it's not really a thermos and anyway isn't "thermos" a registered trademark or something?) and pour it into another cup very easily because of the screen. I'm not trying to sell more of these things by the way, lol...whatever works for a person is what they should get and it's not the same for everybody.

Melinda

I think so, but if I ask you to hand me a Kleenex you'll go ahead and reach for the Puffs right next to you, right?

Right, but the point is that with this traveler, we can have tea w/o fuss and bother by virtue of multiple infusions - simply measure the tea at home and then get hot water to refill at any desired interval throughout the day - right? Isn't it the KISS Principle: simply remove the cap to sip or refill? No rods sticking up like with the Bodum press or infusers to remove like with the Nissan, etc.

As for bitterness, over an hour ago, I put 2+ tsp. of lung ching in a 2-cup Pyrex w/ 16 oz of

Sounds good.

Yes, rooibos is a tough one.

I think the easiest/least costly way to try a Chatsford is to get a mug basket - relatively inexpensive at $5.60 (Upton) and it can be used with various ware. My first infusion basket was Republic of Teas and it was a mistake because it's too small, doesn't have a rim ledge to prevent it from sinking into all but the short standard cup, doesn't have a tab for easy removal so must be fished out with a spoon or something, and has major seams to which leaf particles cling tenaciously. IMaggravatedO, it was a total waste at >$4.50.

Thanks, I'll have to think about it more, but this is looking more like what I need than the others I've seen.

Where did you buy yours?

Is the leaf still attached to the stem? I've got plenty of whole leaf tea such as souchong which will bloat up like the Incredible Hulk but I like the bushy look with the stem. Also so I can get a feel for the oxidation level do the leaves infuse lite or dark green?

Jim

Melinda wrote: ...Google never forgets...

I got mine from a friend in China, it cost me about $5. It is my understanding that this is a common everyday "travel" cup in China. I am told that it is the cup of choice for Taxi Drivers etc. They are made by dozens of companies and are of various qualties.

I sure have been happy with mine. There was a small learning curve but I have used it 5 days a week ever since I got it. If it ever breaks I will buy 2 or 3 more of them.

Mike

Bluesea wrote:

Thanks.

Yeah the leaf is still attached to the stem on some pieces. And it seems like it's pretty heavily oxidised, the liquor is sort of an olive green. But dark olive.

Melinda