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On November 20 2012 06:23 Golbat wrote:
In the OP you it is mentioned that gunpowder has a smooth mouthfeel, but when I drink my gunpowder tea it leaves a strange taste/feeling in my mouth. What could be the cause of this?
I think its primarily brew time. I've had it a couple times, and it varied widely, but I don't know it if was equal quality tea.
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On November 20 2012 07:21 Froadac wrote:Show nested quote +On November 20 2012 06:23 Golbat wrote:
In the OP you it is mentioned that gunpowder has a smooth mouthfeel, but when I drink my gunpowder tea it leaves a strange taste/feeling in my mouth. What could be the cause of this? I think its primarily brew time. I've had it a couple times, and it varied widely, but I don't know it if was equal quality tea.
I find that with Gunpowder, it's easy to put in too much tea (as the leaves look tiny when rolled up), and it's also easy to brew it for too long. Also, keep in mind it's a green tea, so the water needs to be cooler than with black tea, about 80 max.
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On November 20 2012 20:02 aseq wrote:Show nested quote +On November 20 2012 07:21 Froadac wrote:On November 20 2012 06:23 Golbat wrote:
In the OP you it is mentioned that gunpowder has a smooth mouthfeel, but when I drink my gunpowder tea it leaves a strange taste/feeling in my mouth. What could be the cause of this? I think its primarily brew time. I've had it a couple times, and it varied widely, but I don't know it if was equal quality tea. I find that with Gunpowder, it's easy to put in too much tea (as the leaves look tiny when rolled up), and it's also easy to brew it for too long. Also, keep in mind it's a green tea, so the water needs to be cooler than with black tea, about 80 max.
I think that you can prepare any green tea like this, the problem with gunpowder is that if you even slightly overdo the brewing time or amount, it goes bad very quickly. So I always advise to brew it light because its to only way to make it last flavor wise. It's not possible to fully attribute this to the quality (even though gunpowder is always low quality green), but it definitely plays a major role. If you take high quality green tea, some experts agree that you can even brew them at 90 degrees Celcius / 194 degrees Fahrenheit.
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I'm not a tea expert at all but I absolutely love Twinings' Earl Grey Tea and Lemon Scented Tea, I drink it like twice a day: always for breakfast and usually in the afternoon at about 4:00 pm. I also tried other tea flavours like Lipton's Green Tea, and Twinings' Vanilla and Red Fruits Teas but I don't like them as much as the two I mentioned before.
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Twinings Earl Grey is quintessential.
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What a wonderful thread 
Tea really is a fascinating subject. Though one really has to be careful, because there are many myths around (as mentionend in the OP).
On May 25 2012 03:43 peacenl wrote:
Green tea is very delicate and brewing takes special precautions (timers and thermometers). It can easily get too sweet or bitter if its steeped too long or at a too high temperature.
I know there are many complicated instructions regarding the optimal temperature required for green (or white) tea. 55 °C for white tea, 75 °C for this and 78 °C for that green tea. Also pre heating seems to be important. Oh and of course you are forbidden to ever clean your magic tea kettle so that it may develop a magic patina. Note that there are some experts who don't give a crap about all that complicated stuff.
For example Mr. Schmitt from the well known KingsTeagarden in Berlin (he claims all the Japanese in Berlin buy at his store  ). He does not pre heat anything. He does not use dirty dishes. He brings water to a boil (but does not let it boil for a long time) for every kind of tea - and he does not use tea warmers because he states this would kill the flavour (according to him a freshly brewed tea only tastes good roughly half an hour). And he believes chalky water makes the tea actually taste better (he thinks any degree of filtering water is nonsense (unless of course you have chlorinated or otherwise contaminated water :/)). Note that he likes to add a little amount of sugar to every cup though, which is a no-go for many other tea enthusiasts.
If you want to take a look at his brewing instructions: click here!
I think they are far superior compared the harney.com instructions posted earlier; the thing with "add an extra teaspoon of tea 'for the pot' for example probably is just an old marketing trick to increase sales. Many so called tea experts just blindly babble, few actually test.
What to make of it all: One should be very critical when it comes to tea and brewing techniques. A good method is to do blind testings (you obviously need help for this ;P): do you really taste the difference between a green tea brewed at 55 °C or 75 °C? Does pre heating really make a difference? Also: do you really test the difference between this supposedly superb tea and your standard tea?
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5003 Posts
On November 21 2012 20:40 IPS.Blue wrote:For example Mr. Schmitt from the well known KingsTeagarden in Berlin (he claims all the Japanese in Berlin buy at his store ). He does not pre heat anything. He does not use dirty dishes. He brings water to a boil (but does not let it boil for a long time) for every kind of tea - and he does not use tea warmers because he states this would kill the flavour (according to him a freshly brewed tea only tastes good roughly half an hour). And he believes chalky water makes the tea actually taste better (he thinks any degree of filtering water is nonsense (unless of course you have chlorinated or otherwise contaminated water :/)). Note that he likes to add a little amount of sugar to every cup though, which is a no-go for many other tea enthusiasts.
That's preferences, I suppose. It also depends on water you get. But most spring water I've tried brewing adds an additional flavor I often dislike. One specific one makes it taste like paper.
What to make of it all: One should be very critical when it comes to tea and brewing techniques. A good method is to do blind testings (you obviously need help for this ;P): do you really taste the difference between a green tea brewed at 55 °C or 75 °C? Does pre heating really make a difference? Also: do you really test the difference between this supposedly superb tea and your standard tea?
I haven't played around with Green Tea, but there's a stark difference in things like Oolongs and younger Raw Puerh for temperature. Temperature matters quite a bit.
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Glad to randomly see this thread for the first time :-)
I am just an amateur, and probably will remain an amateur, so be kind to me please. I am interested in which kind of tea which is also tea and widely available in stores would help with digestion. I've read up on green tea and chamomile and it says they should do the trick. Basically I just want something soothing for my stomach, that at the moment doesn't have any problems.
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On November 22 2012 00:45 Milkis wrote:
I haven't played around with Green Tea, but there's a stark difference in things like Oolongs and younger Raw Puerh for temperature. Temperature matters quite a bit.
Funny, I just recently had a fantastic Oolong made with boiling water.
I'm not saying temperature doesn't matter. You can ruin any tea in a very short amount of time by heating it after it is brewed.
Did you blind test your Oolong? They are not that far away from Green Tea. Also: when you don't pre heat, even boiling water significantly cools down, when poured into a "cold" tea kettle. So basically you never brew with 80/90+ °C (I didn't measure, though).
As I just bought a good Oolong: What temperature and brewing time do you recommend?
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5003 Posts
On November 23 2012 01:35 IPS.Blue wrote:Show nested quote +On November 22 2012 00:45 Milkis wrote:
I haven't played around with Green Tea, but there's a stark difference in things like Oolongs and younger Raw Puerh for temperature. Temperature matters quite a bit. Funny, I just recently had a fantastic Oolong made with boiling water. I'm not saying temperature doesn't matter. You can ruin any tea in a very short amount of time by heating it after it is brewed. Did you blind test your Oolong? They are not that far away from Green Tea. Also: when you don't pre heat, even boiling water significantly cools down, when poured into a "cold" tea kettle. So basically you never brew with 80/90+ °C (I didn't measure, though). As I just bought a good Oolong: What temperature and brewing time do you recommend?
Roasted oolongs go perfectly well with boiling water. In fact, some of them you should be aiming for as hot as possible. For the greener oolongs (which I assume you're talking about, since you say "they are not that far away from Green", and roasted ones are a world away from Green. Even then, even the greener oolongs are *very* different from green teas, so I have no idea what you're trying to get at) I've never been a fan of making them with boiling water. It makes them taste flat. For greener ones I try to go for a slightly lower temperate (around 80~90). I use gaiwans so I can't really recommend brewing time.
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On November 24 2012 11:57 Milkis wrote:Show nested quote +On November 23 2012 01:35 IPS.Blue wrote:On November 22 2012 00:45 Milkis wrote:
I haven't played around with Green Tea, but there's a stark difference in things like Oolongs and younger Raw Puerh for temperature. Temperature matters quite a bit. Funny, I just recently had a fantastic Oolong made with boiling water. I'm not saying temperature doesn't matter. You can ruin any tea in a very short amount of time by heating it after it is brewed. Did you blind test your Oolong? They are not that far away from Green Tea. Also: when you don't pre heat, even boiling water significantly cools down, when poured into a "cold" tea kettle. So basically you never brew with 80/90+ °C (I didn't measure, though). As I just bought a good Oolong: What temperature and brewing time do you recommend? Roasted oolongs go perfectly well with boiling water. In fact, some of them you should be aiming for as hot as possible. For the greener oolongs (which I assume you're talking about, since you say "they are not that far away from Green", and roasted ones are a world away from Green. Even then, even the greener oolongs are *very* different from green teas, so I have no idea what you're trying to get at) I've never been a fan of making them with boiling water. It makes them taste flat. For greener ones I try to go for a slightly lower temperate (around 80~90). I use gaiwans so I can't really recommend brewing time.
Greener oolongs are definitely comparable to green tea. For example, take the silk/milk oolongs (low oxidization, mild floral taste), such as green dragon oolong (Ben Shan). They are close to the silky gyokuro and kukicha, for example.
On the other side of the spectrum, the darker roasted oolongs are much closer to black tea.
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tea abuse time. muahahaha
oh god just drank 3 cups x..x with 0 tea tolerance . arghhhh >.o
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5003 Posts
On November 24 2012 18:15 peacenl wrote:Show nested quote +On November 24 2012 11:57 Milkis wrote:On November 23 2012 01:35 IPS.Blue wrote:On November 22 2012 00:45 Milkis wrote:
I haven't played around with Green Tea, but there's a stark difference in things like Oolongs and younger Raw Puerh for temperature. Temperature matters quite a bit. Funny, I just recently had a fantastic Oolong made with boiling water. I'm not saying temperature doesn't matter. You can ruin any tea in a very short amount of time by heating it after it is brewed. Did you blind test your Oolong? They are not that far away from Green Tea. Also: when you don't pre heat, even boiling water significantly cools down, when poured into a "cold" tea kettle. So basically you never brew with 80/90+ °C (I didn't measure, though). As I just bought a good Oolong: What temperature and brewing time do you recommend? Roasted oolongs go perfectly well with boiling water. In fact, some of them you should be aiming for as hot as possible. For the greener oolongs (which I assume you're talking about, since you say "they are not that far away from Green", and roasted ones are a world away from Green. Even then, even the greener oolongs are *very* different from green teas, so I have no idea what you're trying to get at) I've never been a fan of making them with boiling water. It makes them taste flat. For greener ones I try to go for a slightly lower temperate (around 80~90). I use gaiwans so I can't really recommend brewing time. Greener oolongs are definitely comparable to green tea. For example, take the silk/milk oolongs (low oxidization, mild floral taste), such as green dragon oolong (Ben Shan). They are close to the silky gyokuro and kukicha, for example. On the other side of the spectrum, the darker roasted oolongs are much closer to black tea.
I personally look for completely different flavor profiles when looking at sencha vs green oolongs... it's really not comparable. I really don't understand how it can be? Unless you're tasting really low end stuff :S
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Hey, so random question - does anyone know what the tea they serve by default at Chinese restaurants and at yum cha, if you do not specify a particular kind of tea to drink? Tried ti kwan yim and bo lei, and I'm reasonably sure that it's neither. I'm going to hazard a guess and say that it's not jasmine either.
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On November 25 2012 15:21 khaydarin9 wrote:
Hey, so random question - does anyone know what the tea they serve by default at Chinese restaurants and at yum cha, if you do not specify a particular kind of tea to drink? Tried ti kwan yim and bo lei, and I'm reasonably sure that it's neither. I'm going to hazard a guess and say that it's not jasmine either.
From my experience, it's usually jasmine or oolong, with couple places serving pu erh.
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On November 25 2012 15:47 anrimayu wrote:Show nested quote +On November 25 2012 15:21 khaydarin9 wrote:
Hey, so random question - does anyone know what the tea they serve by default at Chinese restaurants and at yum cha, if you do not specify a particular kind of tea to drink? Tried ti kwan yim and bo lei, and I'm reasonably sure that it's neither. I'm going to hazard a guess and say that it's not jasmine either.
From my experience, it's usually jasmine or oolong, with couple places serving pu erh.
yeah definitely jasmine at my local dim sum
also fuck yeah tea thread, i am really into the Morning Red variety from T2 at the moment - its got some really smoky bush flavour and is just amazing
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On November 25 2012 16:44 eSen1a wrote:Show nested quote +On November 25 2012 15:47 anrimayu wrote:On November 25 2012 15:21 khaydarin9 wrote:
Hey, so random question - does anyone know what the tea they serve by default at Chinese restaurants and at yum cha, if you do not specify a particular kind of tea to drink? Tried ti kwan yim and bo lei, and I'm reasonably sure that it's neither. I'm going to hazard a guess and say that it's not jasmine either.
From my experience, it's usually jasmine or oolong, with couple places serving pu erh. yeah definitely jasmine at my local dim sum also fuck yeah tea thread, i am really into the Morning Red variety from T2 at the moment - its got some really smoky bush flavour and is just amazing
That's a sick blend. I love tea with small rose pieces, but jasmine is just so overwhelming.
Did anyone try this thing (special T) yet from Nestle 
![[image loading]](http://www.miamz.fr/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/specialtnespresso3.jpg)
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Seems incredibly expensive.
I feel 50 cents per cup of tea is rather excessive.
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So, one thing I saw at my tea store the other day was gingerbread flavored rooibos tea. It sounds good, I really like to drink fruit-flavored rooibos when I need to relieve my stress.
But it is expensive, 67SEK (~10 USD) /100 grams with my student discount, and I'm not sure if I should try it or not.
Do you guys think I should try it or not?
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On November 26 2012 02:59 WindWolf wrote:
So, one thing I saw at my tea store the other day was gingerbread flavored rooibos tea. It sounds good, I really like to drink fruit-flavored rooibos when I need to relieve my stress.
But it is expensive, 67SEK (~10 USD) /100 grams with my student discount, and I'm not sure if I should try it or not.
Do you guys think I should try it or not?
Rooibos is fairly cheap to produce (even organic), as a result it seems that the price is fairly high, have you checked other shops?
Maybe this also helps: I've just added the "Tea pick by 'peacenl-i'm-not-a-doctor' for common problems" paragraph, it's about time to make a nice index lol, losing overview now.
To anyone: Again, feel free to add, I will try to validate everything by scientific papers and journals, we really want to help each other not advise each other miracle cures.
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EPT
