How many infusions from loose leaf black Assam tea?

[blade08]

Some say loose leaf Indian black teas in general can only be infused once, others claim they can be infused two or even three times. I am no expert but I do love a good cup of Assam. I infuse the leaves only once and then toss them. Good quality Assam tea is relatively cheap compared to some rare greens from Japan and I can afford it so I don't really care. I would however like to know if loose Assam tea can be infused more than once. Anyone with a definitive answer here?

[ouch]

I can barely manage one palatable brew from a black tea.

[Stauff]

Assam lover here. Just one infusion.

[Hobbesoxon]

Some say loose leaf Indian black teas in general can only be infused once, others claim they can be infused two or even three times. I am no expert but I do love a good cup of Assam. I infuse the leaves only once and then toss them. Good quality Assam tea is relatively cheap compared to some rare greens from Japan and I can afford it so I don't really care. I would however like to know if loose Assam tea can be infused more than once. Anyone with a definitive answer here?

I hope you don't mind my saying, I mean this just generally but your message made me think of it: no matter how affordable something is, I don't ever feel comfortable with being wasteful. There's something that just makes me feel not-quite-right about binning something when it's still decent, whether it be an item of clothing, an old shaving soap, or a portion of tea.

(Again, I don't mean this to lecture you, but it reminded me of the story of the Chinese princess who had thousands of chickens delivered, ate just their feet - a Chinese delicacy - and then threw the rest of the chickens away.)

In terms of the actual question, it really depends on how your loose Assam has been processed. 99% of Assam is "CTC" (Crush, Tear, Curl), in which the leaves are highly fragmented. This brings out their internal oils onto the outside of the leaf, making for a quick infusion - of prime importance in our convenience-seeking world. So, after one or two infusions, a CTC leaf will have lost the majority of its charm, because all those oils have been washed away in the brew.

However, if you have good whole-leaf Assam, it behaves just like Chinese hongcha - you can brew it many times. It is not unusual for good hotel tea-rooms to bring you sufficient water to allow 4+ infusions with the good whole-leaf Assam that they typically provide.


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[blade08]

I hope you don't mind my saying, I mean this just generally but your message made me think of it: no matter how affordable something is, I don't ever feel comfortable with being wasteful. There's something that just makes me feel not-quite-right about binning something when it's still decent, whether it be an item of clothing, an old shaving soap, or a portion of tea.

(Again, I don't mean this to lecture you, but it reminded me of the story of the Chinese princess who had thousands of chickens delivered, ate just their feet - a Chinese delicacy - and then threw the rest of the chickens away.)

In terms of the actual question, it really depends on how your loose Assam has been processed. 99% of Assam is "CTC" (Crush, Tear, Curl), in which the leaves are highly fragmented. This brings out their internal oils onto the outside of the leaf, making for a quick infusion - of prime importance in our convenience-seeking world. So, after one or two infusions, a CTC leaf will have lost the majority of its charm, because all those oils have been washed away in the brew.

However, if you have good whole-leaf Assam, it behaves just like Chinese hongcha - you can brew it many times. It is not unusual for good hotel tea-rooms to bring you sufficient water to allow 4+ infusions with the good whole-leaf Assam that they typically provide.


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

Thanks for your useful answer here. The leaves from my current tin of Assam are indeed broken and not whole leaf.

And I don't mind your comment

[expatCanuck]

...So, after one or two infusions, a CTC leaf will have lost the majority of its charm, because all those oils have been washed away in the brew. ...

And, by the way, almost all of the caffeine will be gone after the first infusion (actually, within the first 30 seconds or so)-- so if you *want* the caffeine, best to brew fresh.

- Richard

[Suzuki]

I get 3 - 4 good brews from quality black tea.

However, if I want to make several pots from the same leaves, I'll use a bit more tea (say 1/2 to 1/4 more) and shorten the brewing times. I get good results this way.

[sehrgut]

And, by the way, almost all of the caffeine will be gone after the first infusion (actually, within the first 30 seconds or so)-- so if you *want* the caffeine, best to brew fresh.

A common misconception. This came up often enough on another tea-related (kombucha, actually) discussion list that I looked into it. The short story: 30 seconds is required to remove 9% of the caffeine, while 10 minutes removes 80%.

Long story

[Hobbesoxon]

It's a good point, the caffeine-rinse thing is a misconception. Hicks (1996) is a good reference, where the authors show how multiple infusions are required to extract caffeine to any significant extent, highlighting the myth that most of the caffeine comes out in the first rinse. The authors show that the caffeine is extracted along with the compounds that give flavour: some in the first infusion, a little less in the second infusion, and so on.

However, that study was performed using whole-leaf tea, I think. For CTC teas, with the internal oil coating the exterior of the leaf due to the mashing, there is very little retained in the leaf after 2-3 infusions. The majority of flavour is extracted in the first few infusions - and I suspect that this is also true of the caffeine.

Try brewing the third infusion of a CTC leaf and I bet you don't get much of a caffeine buzz.


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[sehrgut]

Try brewing the third infusion of a CTC leaf and I bet you don't get much of a caffeine buzz.

Why would one brew a first infusion of CTC tea?

[galopede]

Why would one brew a first infusion of CTC tea?

Becase I prefer builder's tea...

Gareth

[Hobbesoxon]

Why would one brew a first infusion of CTC tea?

Ever tried "Yorkshire Tea" from Taylors? It can be good, if you're looking for a conventional-style drink. :)


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[TimmyBoston]

I get two.