Too much tea or stepped too long?

I'm not sure what "too strong" would mean if the liquor is neither too bitter nor too astringent.

Not for me, at least. Last week I made some Assam that was too harsh for me in 15 seconds. Too much leaf.

/Lew

Maybe I am looking for a difference that doesn't exist.

I have done tests where I brewed a tea at a low strength (<1g/cup) for a long time (>5 min) and got a cup that seemed to me to be both weak and bitter.

On the other hand, in trying some suggestions here for much more leaf (3-5g/cup) for short times (10-30 seconds), I've gotten a cup that did not have any of that biting bitterness, but was too strong.

Unless I'm way off base, I think I can detect the different when it's extreme. The problem is when I brew something at medium strength for medium time. If it's off, I can't always tell whether I should reduce the amoubnt of leaf or the time.

I think I can detect astringency.

By "harsh" do you mean "bitter"?

The basic steps, of approx. 1tsp of leaf to about 6oz. of water is where to start almost always when unfamiliar. Then change time and water temp to adjust. For a black tea go with boil or just off boil water, start at 15 seconds. Go to 30, 45, etc. until you hit the sweet spot for you.

There is no magic to this all, I think you are making it more difficult than it needs to be... and some teas just will never be for you. Assams are usually drunk with milk and or sugar/honey... if you aren't up for that, then move to a new tea.

- Dominic

Both, in this case

/Lew

Sorry, but I really don't think it's this simple. One teaspoon of CTC tea, which is extremely dense, is a *lot*. One teaspoon of a fluffy whole leaf tea that hasn't been twisted or rolled, like some leaf-and-a-bud white teas, can be barely enough to scent the water it's steeped in. If you want a default starting place, the weight of the leaves, not their volume, is what you need.

It's true that, with experience, a scale may not be necessary, but only if you've become practiced at eyeballing the approximate weight of the leaves you have in front of you no matter how they've been manufactured.

/Lew

I think too much leaf means strong. I thing too much time means bitter. One of the taste sensations is bitter. Try some Bakers chocolate. I encounter bitter almost daily in Chinese greens. I simply judge bitter by the tongue, throat, stomach. Ive had Samovar tea that was cooked for hours that was strong and not bitter even when diluted. Im on my last sips of a multiple infusion of Darjeeling which causes my eyes to squint. It is not bitter or strong but more like a chalky taste. I think tea taste is so sufficiently complex it can only be appreciated and not analyzed. The Indians dont mess around with Assam. They drink it as Chai. If you want to play around with strong and bitter buy some British blends.

Jim

One thing to try is diluting the brewed tea with hot water. If the tea is too strong you'll make two cups of good tea from one strong one. The Russians make tea by diluting a concentrate (lots of leaves in a bit of water) with hot water from a samovar.

Some teas have a natural bitterness, because some tea-drinkers prefer a somewhat bitter cup. If you don't like it, pick another tea.

I've experimented with that a bit, but I need to try it again. The problem that I found was that diluting the liquor amkes it weaker, but it also diminishes the bitterness. I think I need to educate my palate to be able to tell the difference between bitter (the kind that occirs from steeping too long) and too strong.

Some teas have more of a bite than others, to be sure. I was about to discard that Assam, but I tried Dominic's suggestion of going all the way down to a 15 second steep and I was able to find a set of parameters that are not bad at all.

Of course, it's also possible that my tastes are changing. There are a lot of food that I like know that I didn't 20 years ago and vice-versa.

I tried a Ceylon a few months ago and while it was possible to brew acceptable pots of tea, it was pale in comparison with a Yunnan or Keemun. (You can't extract from the leaves what is not there.) I usually have better experiences with Assams producing a malty or "tobaccoish" brew.

Being aware of what you're eating and drinking and discussing it makes you grow. And there is a natural tendency to prefer less sweet foods when you grow older.

That's for sure. When I was a kid, we used to pour so much sugar on our Cheerios, that there would be a sugary sludge in the bottom of the bowl that we would drink at the end. That was the best part. It makes me gag just to think about it now. ;-)

This was before sweetened cereals, but I bet we would have added sugar to sweetened cereals, too.

Dominic,

I just wanted to thank you for these tips. I was brewing most teas way too strong and way too long. Since you posted this, I've been trying much less leaf and much shorter steep times. The results are remarkable. I've even been able to reclaim a couple of teas that I had given up on.

Anyway, thanks for sharing your experience.

I also discovered that I was mistakenly calling some pots "too weak" when they were actually too strong. Some teas with some parameters produce a taste that, for lack of a better work, seem "hollow" or "empty" to me. Having used that label, I concluded that they were too weak and spent most of my time testing more leaf and longer times, which actually made the situation worse.

It's a sort of amazing revelation, for I thought that what I have given up on can't have any saving grace except for being a trash, for you can't pull out no matter how much you tried any from what is not there in the first place.

What we are seeking here is a tea which gives tea taste and tea smell, which 'whiffs' you no sooner than you open the package.

But you say you have been able to recover the 'impossible'. Would you please kindly give us more detail, so we can know what is done and how it is done.

I'm not sure what more I can say. I was brewing several teas too strong and too long. I am now using much less leaf and much shorter steep times. I don't recall saying anything about the 'impossible'.