What Technique Do You Use for Brewing Loose Tea?

[timelord]

I generally use a Bodum glass teapot with a built-in tea strainer:

Tea into the stainless steel container; add water (just off the boil); wait 3 or 4 minutes the press down the handle (to stop the brew) and serve (in my case without any added sugar or cow juice).

I also have a collection of traditional English earthenware and novelty teapots but these only get used for special occasions (i.e. once in a blue moon).

Typically I drink Lapsang Souchong or Earl Grey although Mrs Timelord prefers English Breakfast (and hates Lapsang Souchong!).

 

[hairvise]

Marvelous, anyone got a website who sells British-style material?

Try Upton Tea for this

 

[bullet08]

Marvelous, anyone got a website who sells British-style material?

Most British teas can be purchased at local supermarkets. Amazon sells them also.

 

[mso489]

I can't drink tea except on rare occasions due to a tendency toward kidney stones, fortunately so far every ten years or so. Living in the the U.S. South, I used to drink iced tea (but without all the traditional sugar down here) by the gallon, and since childhood I've liked hot tea. I have been so elevated as to make mostly loose tea with an infuser, but usually went back to tea bags and P&G Tips and other quality tea in bags. I still enjoy "shopping" in premium tea catalogs, and wish I could explore some of the choicer kinds, but if you have ever had a kidney stone episode, you wouldn't either. Women who have them compare it to difficult childbirth. For the same reason, I also can't drink grapefruit juice, which I chugged like an addict.

 

[BarrelProof]

If brewed correctly, the taste is smoother, less bitter, and more like a journey through flavor as it changes with each round. Some even log in a tea journal so they know how to retrace their steps to their own perfect cuppa.
You could absolutely brew the same quality cup with a small teapot and strainer if you are just as careful with water temps, steep times, and tea type.
To once again tie this back to pipe smoking, tea can be as simple as cramming an OTC in a cob -by just picking a popular bagged tea and tossing it in a mug with hot water, or it can be as complicated and ritualistic as slicing a plug to your preferred thickness, rubbing out to your desired consistency, drying to the ideal humidity, packing with a careful hand or prescribed method, false light/true light, and carefully watching your cadence to pull the peak flavor from the entire bowl.
Some derive the most satisfaction from a simple, relaxing, thought free method that works just fine, while others get their kicks figuring out their own path to perfection through careful observation, trial and error, and most importantly, thoughtful intent.
Basically, if your idea of a good time looks a lot like certifiable neurosis, as does mine, gongfu is the method for you?. Absolutely nothing wrong with plonkin' a bag in a cup and going about your day!
Cheers!

This was a completely unknown concept to me until we stumbled upon that tea shop in the middle of some crowded streets in Hong Kong, but off the beaten path of the more frequented tourist hot spots.

That man who made the tea for us didn’t even work there, but knew the owners very well. There was a woman there who was close to 400 years old and she couldn’t speak English. This guy shows up and starts interpreting for her, while also showing us the entire process and making tea for us for nearly two hours.

He claimed to have over $50,000 worth of tea in his own collection, talking about how he often took trips to sample certain teas before and during the various aging processes.

During this time, he told us he prefers his tea to be made from freshly melted snow because, in his opinion, there’s no better water. We went through the various steps in the process, saw how he repeatedly poured boiling water all over everything to keep all of the (presumably) clay pots and cups hot, and went through various iterations of the same leaves in order to taste the differences in flavor as we progressed.

It was truly a remarkable experience. I learned a TON about tea that day. Enough to dabble in it a bit when I got back, but eventually retreated back into my equally elaborate coffee routine. It’s definitely worth paying attention to using the same leaves multiple times. I wouldn’t have expected the experience to change as much as it did. The man there in Hong Kong likened the flavor’s transition to the progress one experiences hiking up, over, and back down a mountain.

 

[CoffeeAndBourbon]

Anyone else remember back in the day (the 90's) the online store webtea.com? They had an amazing selection of blends, single estates, etc. They had the right idea, just too early on.

Tea today is "mainly" just a bunch of flavored teas. Hard to find a large selection of different unadulterated black teas, single estates, regions and so on.

 

[anotherbob]

mesh tea basket. slowly pouring the water through the leaf. changing the details by cut and leaf type. Some japanesse green teas that have a fine cut I'll count to 60 or 90 the moment the water starts to submerge the leaf.

 

[CoffeeAndBourbon]

Anyone else remember back in the day (the 90's) the online store webtea.com? They had an amazing selection of blends, single estates, etc. They had the right idea, just too early on.

Tea today is "mainly" just a bunch of flavored teas. Hard to find a large selection of different unadulterated black teas, single estates, regions and so on.

That should say specialty tea today...

oops

 

[rushx9]

This was a completely unknown concept to me until we stumbled upon that tea shop in the middle of some crowded streets in Hong Kong, but off the beaten path of the more frequented tourist hot spots.

That man who made the tea for us didn’t even work there, but knew the owners very well. There was a woman there who was close to 400 years old and she couldn’t speak English. This guy shows up and starts interpreting for her, while also showing us the entire process and making tea for us for nearly two hours.

He claimed to have over $50,000 worth of tea in his own collection, talking about how he often took trips to sample certain teas before and during the various aging processes.

During this time, he told us he prefers his tea to be made from freshly melted snow because, in his opinion, there’s no better water. We went through the various steps in the process, saw how he repeatedly poured boiling water all over everything to keep all of the (presumably) clay pots and cups hot, and went through various iterations of the same leaves in order to taste the differences in flavor as we progressed.

It was truly a remarkable experience. I learned a TON about tea that day. Enough to dabble in it a bit when I got back, but eventually retreated back into my equally elaborate coffee routine. It’s definitely worth paying attention to using the same leaves multiple times. I wouldn’t have expected the experience to change as much as it did. The man there in Hong Kong likened the flavor’s transition to the progress one experiences hiking up, over, and back down a mountain.

This sounds like a beautiful experience. The very best quality teas never leave China because of collectors like your cha guru. His passion is so strong that he wanted to teach you, so you could share in his joy! To many Asian enthusiasts, cha is chi, a liquid lifeforce. Anything done Gongfu is an art that some deem worthy to dedicate their life to. Not surprising that pipe smoking and tobacco cellaring has become so popular in China as well.

 

[edger]

Marvelous, anyone got a website who sells British-style material?

Teadog online. English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh blends.

 

[Jacob74]

I just used an electric kettle to bring water to exactly 212 degrees, and then poured it in a cup and used a tea strainer to pull out the pu erh after it was steeped.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

When I have a working coffee machine I've found the best way to make Tea is to make it exactly the same way you make coffee.
Since that coffee machine broke (tried and failed to replace the one way valve before the boiler) I've just been using a mesh cup in a rice cooker full of water. It's not pretty but it works.

 

[Kapnosis1988]

I wonder does anyone here like to brew in cast iron?

 

[rajangan]

I wonder does anyone here like to brew in cast iron?

I have not, but I've lusted over those pots.

 

[charf]

Walk for 4 hours. Light a fire. Put the Billy on the fire with a couple of cups of mountain stream water in it. When water is boiling take off the embers and throw in a palm of black tea leaves. Stew for 2 minutes. Pack pipe. Swing Billy. Pour into cup with milk powder and sugar if you desire. Stir. Light pipe. Sip, smoke, relax.

 

[elnoblecigarro]

I wonder does anyone here like to brew in cast iron?

I do. I have a very small cast iron teapot that can hold about two cups of tea. I use it when I want more than one cup.
It has a stainless steel mesh that holds the tea and then I just pour the water in. I heat the water in electric kettle made from glass.


I am interested in a glass pot too. Just don't own one yet.

 

[Kapnosis1988]

Do you find that the cast iron alters the character of the tea at all?

 

[elnoblecigarro]

Do you find that the cast iron alters the character of the tea at all?

I haven't noticed a difference compared to making looseleaf straight in a cup. But I don't have experience with any other kind of tea pot so I can't say for sure.

I have been thinking about buying a glass pot as I think they look great, especially with green and white teas.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

I use loose tea and an English pot, mostly a Brown Betty.

 

[Fiddlepiper]

I haven't noticed a difference compared to making looseleaf straight in a cup. But I don't have experience with any other kind of tea pot so I can't say for sure.

I have been thinking about buying a glass pot as I think they look great, especially with green and white teas.

I have a glass pot for when making tea for 1 or 2 and the classic porcelain for more cups. It’s a nice looking way to brew.