One last tea thread and then I will be quiet

[R-James]

So I placed an order at http://www.nadacha.co.uk/ on good recommendation

I bought

2007 Yiwu Yi Chang Hao SAMPLE
2006 12 Gentlemen Yiwu SAMPLE
2008 12 Gentlemen "Chun Ya Shen Yun SAMPLE
2006 12 Gentlemen "Da Bai Hao" SAMPLE
100ml White Porcelain Gaiwan
25ml White Porcelain Teacup

All on the recommendations of hobbes, The question is how do I use a gaiwan, and can someone give me a beginners brewing step by step!

Many thanks again.

[kongjie]

I'm certainly not a connoisseur but I've never done anything special with a gaiwan as far as brewing...if you overdo it on the quantity of leaves you'll be in trouble if for no other reason than it will be hard to drink.

The pleasure of reusing the same leaves several times lets you experience the changes in flavor. I used to study with a cup until late in the night, cover it and then drink some more in the morning, until my ex mother-in-law found out and freaked out, claimed I was going to get poisoned or something.

[ouch]

I've used a gaiwan for years, but I still don't quite have the hang of it. I feel much more comfortable with a teeny yixing pot and a cup.

At least one of the three criteria (tea/water ratio, water temperature, and brew time) is a no brainer- the water should be just off the boil, no thermometer necessary.

As for the other two parameters, you'll have to play around. Make sure you use enough leaf and start with very short steeps, and take it from there. Sometimes five seconds is too long, and other times sixty seconds isn't enough.

I never bought a sample, as I think a cake is a sample.

[R-James]

I've used a gaiwan for years, but I still don't quite have the hang of it. I feel much more comfortable with a teeny yixing pot and a cup.

At least one of the three criteria (tea/water ratio, water temperature, and brew time) is a no brainer- the water should be just off the boil, no thermometer necessary.

As for the other two parameters, you'll have to play around. Make sure you use enough leaf and start with very short steeps, and take it from there. Sometimes five seconds is too long, and other times sixty seconds isn't enough.

I never bought a sample, as I think a cake is a sample.

I am not that bad yet, but I will take on board what you said!

[Suzuki]

Some general parameters based on what I've read and personal experience

Wash the leaves once or twice for 10 to 20 seconds before brewing a pot to be drunk.

I use 20 or 30 seconds for the first and second brew and then play with it from there. A good pu-erh can be brewed several times - at least 5 for anything decent.

If you find the tea too strong or bitter/tannic, shorten your brew times. After the first 2 - 3 brews, you'll likely want to gradually increase brew times. The neat thing is that you get different nuances with different stages in the life of the leaves.

The first few tries with a new tea are always a crapshoot, but I've found the above to be a good start and then modify as appropriate.

In terms of quantity, I guestimate an amount that I think will be equal to about 1/4 (this is based on Scott at Yunnan Sourcing's recommendatoins) of the pot volume when brewed. With pu-erhs, this can be a bit of a challenge the first while if you don't completely break apart the leaves, as chunks of the tea will expand quite a bit.

I don't use a gaiwan, so can't help you there - I'm a heretic in that I use a mesh filter.

I also fit into the Ouch camp - my first order of teas was for 5 cakes/bricks with a total weight of about 4 pounds!

Happy sipping!

[Hobbesoxon]

Nice purchasin' there, sir. :)

I love the 12G cakes, and have two tong of them knocking around at home. Great stuff. It might be a bit sharp and aggressive for your taste, see what you think.

Regarding the gaiwan, there's plenty of great advice above. You'll settle into your own routine after some time, but here's my gaiwan routine:

i. Leaf quantity

Be conservative to start with. Drinkers new to pu'er often find it rather bitter, so use less leaf. I don't believe in using scales, but maybe a pinch of leaves (circa 4-5g) is a good place to start. I use 8-10g these days, but I like it strong in order to really check out the depths of a tea (and have become used to the bitterness).

ii. Rinse

Water in, then instantly pour the water out. Use the lid as a filter to keep the leaves in the gaiwan, and just pour the water out of the side as if you were pouring water from a saucepan after boiling some vegetables. You're just wetting the leaves here, killing any errant bacteria (more a problem with shupu / shou pu'er / ripe pu'er), and washing off any of the foul stuff that Mainland Chinese production typically attracts.

iii. Infusions

Start short, short, short. The first brew can knock your trousers off if you brew for longer than 10s. I pour the water in (over the leaves, up to about 3/4 gaiwan capacity), pause a moment, then pour it straight out. Pour it all out into a jug ("gongdaobei") to avoid the leaves continually steeping. Enjoy your handiwork.

Adjust the length of future infusions according to taste. Bear in mind that there is a curve with pu'er, and the 2nd-4th infusions see a swelling of the bitterness. You want to bear that in mind and reduce times accordingly. Just mess around a few times and you'll get the hang of it.

Generally speaking, if there's one thing I've learned, it's never to be too proud to remove some leaves. Does your tea taste immensely bitter, even after you've reduced the length of the infusion? Take out some leaves. You can always reintroduce them at a later infusion when the main portion of leaves are losing their strength.

You can soldier on for about 7-8 fairly rapid infusions, then take things more slowly as later infusions require several minutes to get flavour out of them. With the 12G shengpu, I tend to let the last brews just sit in the gaiwan for up to half an hour, in order to get some decent strength out of them.

I hope you enjoy your purchases!


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[R-James]

Thanks for the advice again buddy, you are a true gentleman, and you could write a book with your tea based knowledge!

[Hobbesoxon]

Thanks for the advice again buddy, you are a true gentleman, and you could write a book with your tea based knowledge!

Perhaps a Ladybird book... :)

[ouch]