A speck of optimism

It is a rainy fall day here in Mid-Michigan, and today I finally got around to doing something that will help get my tea sessions back on track.  Somewhat shortly after moving for my new job, my electric hot plate boiled its last kettle full of water.  Throw in the mess of new job, new place, new expenses, new area, new almost everything.  My budget has been horrid nearly all summer, and I kept telling myself, I will replace the hot plate when it is the end of the month and I have the spare room in my budget.

Maybe it is a good thing, but I try and keep my budgets so tight that there was never room in my budget, so come October I decided it is a priority and needed when it gets so cool I just want to keep a warm kettle on all after noon while drinking tea.  So I can look forward to once more being able to use other kettles, especially my Lins Ceramic kettle which I dearly miss using.

Currently in my cup (pictured above) a 1999 Kunming Factory Red and Red sample.  Nice and soothing, but I can't seem to dial it in between too light and too heavy, though bitterness is not really the issue in the too heavy, so maybe this does have some hints of age.

Aged teas seem to do wonderfully in the cooler weather, and I have stockpiled a small selection including some delicious Aged Baozhong that I can not wait to dig into later this fall. 

Confessions of an avid Tea Drinker

I am sorry, I realize it has been quite a while since I posted.  So while I try and put it on my list to take new and interesting photos, I decided to put out a somewhat fun and hopefully quick post.  Here are my confessions as an avid tea drinker.

• I reboil water... often.  
This is one hard fast rule I am not completely sure I buy, at least not as far as it is normally sold.  Based on the properties that water has, especially its ability to somewhat quickly take on air when undergoing a turbulent action such as being poured through the air, or splashing slightly while hitting a cup, basically all sorts of actions undertaken while drinking tea, not to mention the subtle slurping from the cup when drinking.  The whole the water has lost all its oxygen and that it will taste worse for that point is dubious to me.  Not to mention in natural processes warmer water has  a harder time holding oxygen than cold water, so in theory any hot water is already losing massive amounts of the dissolved oxygen in the water, so whether you are keeping warm, or reboiling that issue is still there.
• I give up on bad tea fairly quickly.
File this under: life is too short to spend a lot of time drinking bad tea.  
• I have a hard time talking to most people about tea.
To be fair I had this problem with mathematics too. This really comes down to the huge disconnect between how they see tea, and how I see tea.  On a related note, I just smile and nod, and try not to make any comments when ever someone tells me "Oh you must love the great tea selection in _____ grocery store."  Call me a snob if you must, but if it is on a US grocery store shelf, I have a hard time considering it as tea, especially if it is not even loose leaf.  I don't get how people hear tea drinker, and think I would love the revolting display of what flavors could we mix with generic black tea dust. 
• I drink coffee surprisingly often. This might seem in a bit of a stark contrast to the previous confession, but while I also avoid flavored coffees if at all possible, when I drink coffee it is the caffeinated drink I turn to when I need to get other stuff done, I have a hard time drinking tea, and focusing on something else.  So my coffee selections/ preferences are somewhat scary to those that are as passionate about coffee as I am about tea. 

A wonderful day for Gyokuro!

Today I filmed myself trying to remember how to brew Gyokuro.  Thankfully I remembered how to brew Gyokuro incredibly well.  The weather may have helped as well, as it is a cool Fall day, with a persistent drizzle.

I hope you enjoy this video, as my previous Gyokuro video is one of the most viewed, and one comment I get the most is people wanted more explanation on what I am doing, so I am trying to do that by having this video with audio commentary.  Enjoy!

How much leaf is too much?

Chances are if your pot looks like above, you used too much leaf.  At the same time this was very close to passable and nearly great, simply because of the type of tea it was, which can be very incredibly forgiving with brewing parameters.   Honestly I have been brewing a large number of rolled balled oolongs lately, yet I am still having a very hard time zeroing in on the right amount.  If this goes on any longer I may need to resort to using a scale, as it seems I either under or over shoot my goal amount.

What are the symptoms of too little leaf?

While of course this is also dependent on your brewing parameters, such as steeping time, and temperature of the water/ temperature maintained during the steep.  Too little leaf can often throughout the first 2-4 steeps seem a little thin, and lack luster.  Often underwhelming in almost all aspects.  The one part that can actually shine better than the rest of the tea is aroma.  This can make the tea seem sweeter, so if that is what you are going for you may want to aim for using less leaf.

What are the symptoms of too much leaf?

Well besides the obvious over powering bitterness.  The tea will feel almost too thick, in a sense that even if it is not bitter, it will seem almost sticky, and leave you wanting water after each cup.  You may suffer from palate fatigue very quickly.  By that I mean after a few infusions you may find yourself feeling like you are no longer able to taste anything well at all.

What do I consider ideal?

I could go with the obvious answer between the above two, but I'll elaborate.  I do want to highlight that this is my own personal preferences, as everyone has their own personal flavor profile and sensitivities to bitterness.   I like my tea to the point that I get a slight sense of bitterness, enough that it lingers in the aftertaste, and turns sweet, but not so bitter as to become overpowering.  I often feel that this has the best mouth feel as well, because it seems at least in my opinion most of the thickness in tea is tied to actually the sense of tannin/ bitterness in the tea, so when it is at that point it is light enough to feel refreshing and thirst quenching, but thick enough to coat everything nicely and stick around just long enough.


To now ask my readers, what do each of you find ideal?