[mbriant]

I really enjoy green tea. For as long as I can remember, it's been my beverage of choice when dining in Chinese or Japanese restaurants. At home, I never cook or even brew coffee, but once in while, if I don't feel like leaving home or the office, I'll boil water and make green tea. I drink copious amounts of fluids, so I've been brewing large mugs of tea using a bagged brand of organic Hojicha green tea ( it's actually black like regular British/Indian tea ), but although I prefer to have something to sip on at all times, I find that unless I guzzle it all at once, it gets cold and gets dumped, forcing me to waste a lot and to keep boiling the kettle and starting again.

So I've been thinking of getting a tea pot for the office and home, and would prefer something that's authentic Asian. My main priority is that it hold at least 20 to 30 ounces and that it keeps the tea hot for as long as possible. In restaurants, the teapots seem to always be made of porcelain .... except for shape and decoration, pretty much the same as a classic British teapot. But after snooping around the net, I found these enameled, cast iron "Tetsubin" teapots that look interesting. http://housewarescorp-store.stores.y.../tecairte.html These are Japanese, but I've read that the enameled cast iron style originated in China. Something tells me that the cast iron would work well to keep the tea hot. And I like the way they look.

While I've been using bagged tea, I notice that in restaurants the tea is often loose and simply floating in the pot. It also is actually green in colour and often looks like sticks and seeds ... as I said, this stuff I've purchased is bagged and although called green tea, is black in colour and leafy like Orange Pekoe.

Does anyone have any advice/info regarding the methods and equipment to brew good green tea and make recommendations of specific, common brands/types of loose tea? The type they use in restaurants would be fine. I'd appreciate the help.

 

[pkshiu]

I am a heavy tea drinking. There are three things:

1) loose tea leaves. That's a must. Any buy in small enough quantity that they stay fresh.

2) Teapot actually does not make sense if you are the only person drinking it. It will get cold too quickly. Single (large) cup brewing is the best way to go. The best thing that I found is to either use "tea sock", i.e. teabag-on-the-fly, or infuser. The best infuser is Chatsford or the finum ones. Just pour hot water into the unfuser sitting in your large cup.

3) Hot water -- easiest way is to just microwave water at the office. At home I use a hot water pot. I got mine from amazon here.

For 1 and 2, I use uptontea.com.

Good luck -- Tea is great for you!
P.K.

 

[morphine]

I drink excessive amounts of tea instead of coffee usually. When pulling all nighters in college/grad school I'd just make pot after pot.

uptontea is a great general all purpose resource, but I find I don't use them that often. I really prefer exploring more. Every tea almost feels like it has its own story. I find the teas I keep going back to fit perfectly with each of my moods. If you have a tea at a restaurant you really enjoy, go ahead and ask the waiter whether it's purchased and where it is purchased from.

Going to specialty tea shops or tea houses can also be eye and taste opening. They do exist in the US but often require effort to find.

Lastly, if you're ever in Asia all the large cities have a "tea district" of sorts. There you'll find large companies with hundreds of fresh teas you can try and sales associates who'll educate you on the history and the process while making your tea samples. Even if you don't know much of the language, pointing at a given bag of tea to select it and smiling when the taste is exactly to your liking are universal forms of communication.

Good luck,
Richard

 

[penguindude]

Many types of tea have much more caffeine than your regular coffee. Tea brewing is much like a hobby, it can help you relax and soothe the unavoidable tension created by our everyday busy modern lifestyle. There are many instances and practice when one brew one's tea in a small teapot and drinking right out of it. The material of the tea pot is also very important. Tea is such a good beverage, no wonder the English thought and fought hard to lay their hands on some.

Here are some tips for making good tea

1) When buying loose tea leaves, remember not to get the ones with stems

2) When brewing the tea, it is much better to use water with a lot of oxygen in it. Although distilled water is good, getting fresh hard water with lots of minerals in it is a plus

3) When making tea, don't use boiling water, instead, use water at temperature just below the boiling point

4) Remember, to make a good tea, you must use the proper combination of water and earth (type of pottery of your tea pot) for the specific type of tea, just like for headphones/amps/DACs what we called a "SYNERGY." It's all very tricky, and it can be a very tricky and EXPENSIVE hobby.

 

[penguindude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbriant /img/forum/go_quote.gif I really enjoy green tea. For as long as I can remember, it's been my beverage of choice when dining in Chinese or Japanese restaurants. At home, I never cook or even brew coffee, but once in while, if I don't feel like leaving home or the office, I'll boil water and make green tea. I drink copious amounts of fluids, so I've been brewing large mugs of tea using a bagged brand of organic Hojicha green tea ( it's actually black like regular British/Indian tea ), but although I prefer to have something to sip on at all times, I find that unless I guzzle it all at once, it gets cold and gets dumped, forcing me to waste a lot and to keep boiling the kettle and starting again. So I've been thinking of getting a tea pot for the office and home, and would prefer something that's authentic Asian. My main priority is that it hold at least 20 to 30 ounces and that it keeps the tea hot for as long as possible. In restaurants, the teapots seem to always be made of porcelain .... except for shape and decoration, pretty much the same as a classic British teapot. But after snooping around the net, I found these enameled, cast iron "Tetsubin" teapots that look interesting. http://housewarescorp-store.stores.y.../tecairte.html These are Japanese, but I've read that the enameled cast iron style originated in China. Something tells me that the cast iron would work well to keep the tea hot. And I like the way they look. While I've been using bagged tea, I notice that in restaurants the tea is often loose and simply floating in the pot. It also is actually green in colour and often looks like sticks and seeds ... as I said, this stuff I've purchased is bagged and although called green tea, is black in colour and leafy like Orange Pekoe. Does anyone have any advice/info regarding the methods and equipment to brew good green tea and make recommendations of specific, common brands/types of loose tea? The type they use in restaurants would be fine. I'd appreciate the help.

Those are not "real" tea. The ones served by regular restuarants are what we called, "tea waste" (the worst of the worst tea remainings). And herbal tea/bagged tea are also not "real" tea. The above statements all apply to making a good pot of Green tea. Another important point is that unless you're in a hurry or don't have the mood for good tea brewing, you should never brew tea in a cup. The proper steps are:

A) Put leaves in the tea pot and heat water to just below boiling point
B) Pure water into the pot and wait for about 2-3 minutes
C) Pure ALL the tea into a big cup/holder through a tea filtre
D) Pure the filtered tea into a small cup for drinking
E) Repeat steps from B to D

The point here is that every pot of tea brewed has a different taste, even it's done with the same tea leaves. The first pot is usually for aroma, the second and third brew (if done with good tea leaves) are for taste. Good tea leaves can be brewed for around 4 times. Small ceramic tea pots are fine for green tea. The best kind of tea pots are made of Purple Clay, but it can be VERY difficult to take care of. That's right, you didnt hear it wrong, it needs to be taken care of regularly. Meaning you have to regularly brew tea using the pot (bi-daily) or the pot will get a bad odor.

 

[ronin74]

Quote:

Originally Posted by penguindude /img/forum/go_quote.gif Another important point is that unless you're in a hurry or don't have the mood for good tea brewing, you should never brew tea in a cup. The proper steps are: A) Put leaves in the tea pot and heat water to just below boiling point B) Pure water into the pot and wait for about 2-3 minutes C) Pure ALL the tea into a big cup/holder through a tea filtre D) Pure the filtered tea into a small cup for drinking E) Repeat steps from B to D The point here is that every pot of tea brewed has a different taste, even it's done with the same tea leaves. The first pot is usually for aroma, the second and third brew (if done with good tea leaves) are for taste. Good tea leaves can be brewed for around 4 times. Small ceramic tea pots are fine for green tea. The best kind of tea pots are made of Purple Clay, but it can be VERY difficult to take care of. That's right, you didnt hear it wrong, it needs to be taken care of regularly. Meaning you have to regularly brew tea using the pot (bi-daily) or the pot will get a bad odor.

...and for gosh sake DO NOT put sugar in your tea.
Also you might want to rinse out your tea cup with hot water before pouring the first cup o tea. Note that the perfect tea water temp is not full boil 100*C, but somthing a bit less.

 

[Poboy]

look out for darjeeling or sri lankan tea ( dilmah )
always remember to put hot water ( not boiling ) on the leaves rather than the other way round.
its not necessary to make tea in a teapot , you could do it any open vessel with a lid on top.

 

[Assorted]

To get the most from green tea's carcinogenic substances, one 10 minute brew should do.

Of course, that has nothing to do with tradition. I merely join the family for health benefits

 

[Agnostic]

Tetsubin are wonderful things, I have one that I bought in Japan:

For me a nice tetsubin really enhances the pleasure of drinking tea. They are also very good for keeping the tea warm and most aren't that big so they are suitable for making tea for one person.

If you're lucky you can sometimes find them on Ebay for a good price, and shipping from Japan is actually not that expensive if the seller offers SAL (surface air lifted - which means it's sent by airmail if there's room left open on a flight).

 

[FilterSweepRight]

i used to work at a tea house: zen zoo tea in brentwood california. before that i drank a lot of tea growing up, so i know a little bit about it.

the best way to brew proper tea is one cup at a time. if you have a teapot going, the leaves or bags steep longer than the recommended time. what you get is bitter, astringent tea.

what i recommend is getting an electric water heater, such as a zojirushi. these keep the water at an optimal temperature (like others have said, just below boiling.) get one with a reboil option, since black/red teas require water just below boiling. green teas require slightly cooler water, about 175-180 degrees F. some delicate green teas need water as cool as 140.

http://www.zojirushi.com/ourproducts...ts/cd_fac.html

use about a teaspoon of leaf per 8 oz. of water. for green teas, steep three minutes, then remove the leaves; for black/red, steep five minutes. a tea-ball makes the removal a lot easier on the fingers

http://www.englishteastore.com/teabain.html

now, as far as leaves go...

get yourself LOOSE LEAF TEA. tea bags are just dust. nasty. get whole, loose leaf tea. there are lots of stores selling tea leaves now. in the states, you can get leaves at chains such as coffee bean. or you can go to chinese stores (in NYC, go to Ten Ren). or, visit small boutique tea stores such as the one i used to work at, zen zoo tea. a quick google in your city should be able to help you locate one.

try a variety of teas. get like 1/2 or a full ounce of each, and give different varieties a shot. darjeeling and orange pekoe are great ones to start out with for black teas. genmai cha is an flavorful green tea; its a japanese green tea flavored with puffed rice. ti guan yin is an excellent oolong tea. there are also some very good flavored teas, such as jasmine, earl grey and lapsong soochong (a rich smoky dark tea.) when you're feeling more comfortable, try the new thing in asia... pu'erh tea.

you CAN put sugar, lemon and/or milk in your teas, but you have to be very select as to which ones you flavor. milk and sugar go well in black teas, such as an english or irish breakfast.

as far as pots go, use them to impress your guests. teapots are more suited to multiple servings of tea. usually you make a pot, pour out a few cups, then infuse another pot. one set of leaves can make 2-3 pots; most times the second or third pot is the best. keep in mind that iron is not an insulator, and will not keep tea hot. but, it will look damn good.

keep drinking that tea. i'd even go as to say, drink as much as you can. there are plenty of health benefits, and it tastes good. not to mention, soon you'll be able to impress your friends by being able to drink boiling water without even flinching.

 

[fatcat28037]

Do any of you tea drinkers drink from a traditional 'style' tea bowl? if you do could you post a picture? As a potter, and Tea Bowl maker, I'm always interested in seeing ceramics other people collect.

 

[mbriant]

Thanks for all the suggestions. My British grandmother got me hooked on English tea (I assume that's what you mean by black tea) as a kid. I'd drink it with milk and at least 3 teaspoons of sugar. When I was 19 I completely eliminated the sugar in both tea and coffee, but still use milk. Green tea I just drink straight.

My Chinese doctor sips on green tea all day out of a handless ceramic cup which has a lid. I'm more of a chugger myself, but I noticed on one of those recommended sites, mugs with a matching ceramic infuser and what appears to be a lid. I imagine the lid would help keep the tea warm. So if I'm reading this right, if I were to buy loose tea and use the infuser, I could brew up to 3 cups ( in a relatively short period of time ) using the same tea. Just remove the infuser, drink the tea, re-insert the infuser, fill with water, and drink again? That seems easy ( especially with one of the water heaters ) and economical.

I find these hot water machines interesting. Do they stay on all day, keeping the water at the appropriate temperature for immediate use? That certainly seems convenient.

I think I'll take a trip to Chinatown ( I'm in Toronto ), pick up a few varieties of tea and start sampling.

 

[penguindude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbriant /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for all the suggestions. My British grandmother got me hooked on English tea (I assume that's what you mean by black tea) as a kid. I'd drink it with milk and at least 3 teaspoons of sugar. When I was 19 I completely eliminated the sugar in both tea and coffee, but still use milk. Green tea I just drink straight. My Chinese doctor sips on green tea all day out of a handless ceramic cup which has a lid. I'm more of a chugger myself, but I noticed on one of those recommended sites, mugs with a matching ceramic infuser and what appears to be a lid. I imagine the lid would help keep the tea warm. So if I'm reading this right, if I were to buy loose tea and use the infuser, I could brew up to 3 cups ( in a relatively short period of time ) using the same tea. Just remove the infuser, drink the tea, re-insert the infuser, fill with water, and drink again? That seems easy ( especially with one of the water heaters ) and economical. I find these hot water machines interesting. Do they stay on all day, keeping the water at the appropriate temperature for immediate use? That certainly seems convenient. I think I'll take a trip to Chinatown ( I'm in Toronto ), pick up a few varieties of tea and start sampling.

In you're in Toronto, take a trip up to Scarborough/Markham and visit Pacific Mall or Market Village. Numerous stores and plenty of them sell ceramic cup with infuser, Purple Clay/ceramic tea pot, electric water heater, and many other tea accessories.

Good luck.

 

[FilterSweepRight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbriant /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for all the suggestions. My British grandmother got me hooked on English tea (I assume that's what you mean by black tea) as a kid. I'd drink it with milk and at least 3 teaspoons of sugar. When I was 19 I completely eliminated the sugar in both tea and coffee, but still use milk. Green tea I just drink straight. My Chinese doctor sips on green tea all day out of a handless ceramic cup which has a lid. I'm more of a chugger myself, but I noticed on one of those recommended sites, mugs with a matching ceramic infuser and what appears to be a lid. I imagine the lid would help keep the tea warm. So if I'm reading this right, if I were to buy loose tea and use the infuser, I could brew up to 3 cups ( in a relatively short period of time ) using the same tea. Just remove the infuser, drink the tea, re-insert the infuser, fill with water, and drink again? That seems easy ( especially with one of the water heaters ) and economical. I find these hot water machines interesting. Do they stay on all day, keeping the water at the appropriate temperature for immediate use? That certainly seems convenient. I think I'll take a trip to Chinatown ( I'm in Toronto ), pick up a few varieties of tea and start sampling.

hey,

yes, you can reuse the tea leaves as many times as you want. 3 is usually a good number. the first brew will be the strongest, caffeine wise. but yah, i think you're getting it.

and the hot water heaters stay on all the time, and keep the water at the right temperature. very convenient.

 

[Assorted]

And don't forget to buy proper teacups. Different teacups for different tea, and each actually makes the same tea leaves taste different.

It's very much like using different interconnects.