Just the right amount

What is the right amount? Normally I'm pretty good at eyeballing the correct amount of tea to make, but lately I've been having some pretty serious issues with putting in the correct amount. At first, it wasn't enough, and now, it's too much!

The other day I put in the perfect amount of Golden Monkey, and it was a rich, delicious brew. I was all about it. The other days after that, though, too strong! I have no idea what I did right, or what the right amount was, but it was just perfect. Rich is how I think of it. I cycle back and forth through the Yunnan, Golden Monkey, and the Black Gold. I did the Black Gold right the other day, too. But oddly it tasted like very weak coffee. Acidic maybe? It was really good, yet it had that flavor.

Today I made the Golden Monkey, and it was all right, but there was a powder residue in the shape of the infuser on my desk after I poured the leaves out of the bag...Maybe I should use the tiny tins I have, to keep the tea in the back from all being opened at once, and keep it from powdering so much. There's an idea...

Black Gold

I must be doing something wrong. This tea was subtly different from the Yunnan, but not a lot different. I was expecting the taste to different, and it really wasn't. Maybe a bit milder, but I did use a tiny bit less tea. I was thinking how my mother said the Yunnan Jig was smooth, but I don't remember thinking that when I was drinking the Yunnan yesterday. The leaves don't seem to dry in these pouches, either. And I still wonder about those little blue measuring spoons. They're nice, but if you put one in every bag, how many spoons is that? A lot of waste, if you ask me. And their usefulness seems a bit limited, too, given the different densities of tea leaves for each type. And another thing I wonder about is the labels. I've found that each tea has a specific amount to steep that is unique to each tea. Some require more, others less, to get the right flavor out of it. They should tell you (or give a guideline) as to the proper amount for each cup. They do talk about 12 ounce cups, but I don't know how much that is...is that a standard coffee cup? Yes, I use a coffee cup to drink my tea. It even lists different kinds of coffee on it. So anyway, I need a scale. Right now I'm eyeballing it, to determine how much is appropriate. Some day I'll get a scale. "Tea Nerdness"...