Too Strong!

I think I've figured out my tea problem: I'm making all the teas too strong. So now I'll have to scale back, and hope for a better flavor when I have them.

That's teapot that I bought? I'm having mixed feelings about it. It holds two cups, and I'm surprised that the infuser that comes with the pot doesn't let all the tea leaves out. A major problem is that you don't know how much water is in the pot because the infuser is in the way, with the tea leaves in it. But then you will overfill the pot, because by the time you can tell how much water you have, it's overfull. And then, if you want to fill it up first, then settle the infuser in the water, some of the leaves are going to float on top. And you're going to have the issue of having the infuser push out some of the water. Can't win with this stuff! I do like the way that the lid fits into the infuser, though, and then that little assembly fits into the tea pot.

And the tea that I had was the Keemun Superior. I made it too strong, but not too too strong, but enough that I lost some of the flavor, and it just tasted like tea, bland and plain.

I was at the airport yesterday, and there was a young woman who was talking to someone on a cell phone, mentioned a tea room that just got started in Georgia somewhere. I asked her about it, and she was clueless, beyond just knowing that it was opening up. I told her about my blog, and she's like, "what is there to talk about with tea?" So I began a small lecture on different teas, why they're different, and so on. And other tea related topics. There's a lot to discuss when it comes to tea, actually. A whole culture. I'm sure I'm just scratching the surface.

What I'd like to get is a tea brick, which is compressed tea leaves, with a design on it, usually as part of a much larger set. Settlers used to take the bricks with them, and scrape off enough to make tea on their trips.

Tuesday Tea

I'm drinking the Earl Grey Bravo from Adagio. I love the tea leaves, mostly smaller black leaves, with some odd looking blue ones that almost look like blue fuzz. The aroma of the bergamot orange is quite powerful in the tea tin. The flavor is even stronger! Wow! I still get the aroma, not as strong though. I may need some sugar for this cup...it hits you right in the back of the mouth! Yikes.

Meanwhile, in thinking about the ingenuiTEA, I have some suggestions. First, the filter basket at the bottom doesn't stay at the bottom when I pour water into the pitcher. It comes loose and gently floats to the top. Then I have to stick my hand into the water to get the basket back in its spot. This is not optimal. I think the basket should have a rod that is as tall as the top of the pitcher, so it will be heavier, and I can stick it in the pitcher without getting my hands wet. In fact, I don't know how to do this, but it would be nice if I could lift the basket out without losing the tea leaves in the water.

I do like that when the steeping is done that the leaves begin to fall to the bottom of the pitcher. That's nice.

March 10, 2008

More Assam Gold Rain...and my infuser problems. I was reading somewhere recently that you're supposed to brew in one pot, then transfer the tea to another pot. Just seems wasteful somehow. The infuser basket just collected the leaves, and they all floated to the top, so they didn't all actually brew. Then I get tea-dust-grit in my first cup of tea...ick.

Separately, I was contacted about getting some tea samples to review for a tea website. Should be fun. I realize that I've become a tea reviewer without even trying. But for me that's the fun. I'm sure that there's more I like about tea, but I'm just getting started.

Found another website call specialtyteas.com...it's got a lot of stuff, but I like adagio's site better for look and feel. My sister gave me a $20 gift certificate to amazon, but it's intended to get me a blue-tooth headset for my cell phone. ... sigh. I'm too tempted by the tea. I can buy another Adagio sampler from Amazon, and get a teapot thing to go with it. Maybe...

1/13/08

I bought the Irish Breakfast tea from Twinings at the grocery store. Yesterday I made some, and it was nice, mild, and decent tasting stuff. Today I made it and it was too strong.
It comes in a tin, and the tea itself is granules, rather than loose leaves...they are loose, though, but it's more like very loose sand than anything. I can dip my teaspoon into the tea without fear of breaking any of the tea leaves up. I just have to watch the portion.

I like the label. When you open up the tin, it has a foil wrapper, with instructions on making the tea. A teaspoon per person/per cup, plus "one for the pot." Nice. I like that. I'd heard of the 'one for the pot' before, but it was nice to see it somewhere in writing. The issue with the tea's being in granular form is that it goes through the little strainer in the spout of teapot, so you end up with tea granules in your teacup. Not optimal. It is a step up from the tea bags, though. I'll have to work on that. Maybe put a mesh over the holes to prevent that. Also not optimal. I'll figure something out. There's still some rough edges with the whole tea thing that I haven't figured out, and that I haven't seen solved anywhere.

One last thing. The tin for the Irish Breakfast is green. Naturally. The problem, of course, is that this is the same color for DECAF everything. Of course, this isn't decaf tea, but I think they got it wrong by choosing the Irish color for their tea tin for this variety of tea. People might stay away from it because they would automatically think it's decaf, when it isn't.

12/30/07

So I forgot to put in the response email from Adagio. Ooops. Meanwhile, more Christmas tea: orange, lemon, some other fruits, and spices...just masks the natural tea flavor I like. It seems that I probably should be putting sugar in that tea with all those normally sweet things (except the lemon, of course). It does seem to be premium quality tea. I used my new teapot. It's an improvement in one area: the top is large enough for me to put my whole hand in so I can clean the pot. But it drips something fierce when you pour it. So my search for teapots goes on.

Today was the Ceylon Sonata. Ho hum. I should have gone for the Yunnan Jig...I needed more flavor, more "kick"...

12/21/07 Part III

A letter I wrote to the Adagio people...

Merry Christmas! I love the Golden Monkey. I was on the teavana.com website, and they are charging $18.50 for 2 oz. of Golden Monkey, whereas you charge so much less. Do you know why the difference? I am a customer of yours, and a loyal one, so I'm just curious more than anything.

One other thing, though. I notice that you have musical names to go with your teas. That makes it difficult to compare your varieties with other tea sellers...

I'm not sounding so loyal...I'm just trying to explore the different teas (mainly black teas at this point). Thanks for your help!

Also...do you know of any teapots that have infusers where the infuser has a handle that can be used to pull the infuser out of the pot without having to reach into the pot and burn your fingers (and contaminate the tea), or use some other tool to do that. Because if you don't pull the infuser and tea leaves out of the pot, you have to serve it all at once. Not ideal.

Thanks for everything!

12/18/07

I made the Ceylon Sonata today, a bit weaker...and I regret it. Ceylon tea should be stronger.

Pouring of tea...designed to be slow. And deliberate. You can't pour any faster than the pot, because if you try, it will just spill out the top.

Yesterday I steeped the tea too long, and it was bitter...

12/3/07

I like the Keemun teas so far. Keemun concerto was today's tea. I like the way the dried leaves smell, and their texture.

I'm developing a problem with my teapot dribbling a little bit off the spout. Not sure what to do about that. Goes back to getting a 'better' teapot. I'd love to get one of these metal ones, but they cost $80! Too rich for my blood. I may have to invest in that anyway...Maybe I can design my own teapot...

11/29/07

When I do it right, I love it! The Assam Melody I did with the just the right strength, and it turned out wonderfully! I don't think I was as much a fan of this before, but it had the right color, and taste, where I could taste it without it being too powerful. This tea turned out great. It's moved up in my list of 'teas that I like'.

Meanwhile, I have found that with the infuser, the tea dust that settles in the bottom of the pot doesn't usually come out until I hit the dregs. So I get good tea out of two cups, and then the dregs I can just pour out. No cloudy tea, no tea dust, no leaves.

11/27/07

Today's tea was Yunnan Jig. Not sure what happened today, but the tea tasted good, yet there was a metallic flavor in there. I'm not a fan of my teapot, nor the infuser, since it doesn't go deep enough in the teapot, which doesn't allow for the tea leaves to expand right, and the lid doesn't go on with the infuser in there...When I do drink the tea, it is faster, because it cools in the cup quicker since I brew in the teapot, and I drink it faster since I can just pour another cup, rather than have to go through the brew in the cup process all over again.

And let's talk about stimulation! With me drinking the tea faster, I've gotten quite a boost! Sometimes I'm just jittery, though yesterday I felt extremely alert and aware of what was going on around me, almost like someone had lifted some kind of veil. Today I'm not so "extra aware"...maybe because I didn't sleep that much last night.

I'm not sure why it's so hard to get a decent teapot/infuser combo, either. I've done some looking, and can't seem to find anything. I wonder if there's any philosophy on this that I'm missing. Maybe someone can get me a book on tea for Christmas.

11/26/07

Today, I'm drinking Golden Monkey. Ahhh pleasure! It's soo good after drinking the unappealing darjeeling. I think I'll throw the darjeeling out when I get home. It smells good when it's brewing, but that's about all.

Back to the Golden Monkey. I think I made it a tad too strong, but it's still enjoyable. I brought my teapot to work...I do have another one at home, I forgot! I can leave the blue one there. Because the blue teapot makes three cups, and I drink two, I'm trying to share what I have with someone, but not sure who. I've got to be careful, though, because making that much more at once means I'll go through it more quickly...

11/25/07

Darjeeling again. I'm beginning to think that this tea has had its day, as its flavor and 'coolness' has gone. It's just kinda plain and ordinary. I played with the amount again, using less this time, and it just turned out to be lighter without any real benefit in taste change. I should just use it up quickly so I can get some more.

Separately, I find the process of making tea to be crude somehow. Tea leaves, dried, placed in hot water. Then they get into your cup. The teapot drips a bit out of the spout. The time to steep, the cloud that sometimes gets into the cup, other details. It doesn't seem very elegant. You have to get the tea leaves out of the cup, or the pot, and it's messy, and wet, and you have these brown, unfurled leaves to deal with. They don't come out of the pot well, or the tea basket infuser, or they sit in the bottom of your cup. Then your cup gets tea stained, and you have to scrub it, or bleach it (no, I don't bleach my cups).

I don't drink tea for the health benefits, but because it's interesting that something simple like a plant in water could have so many flavors. Or something. Maybe I just think it's exciting to drink tea. It really is quite an experience.

11/21/07

Today we're having Assam Melody. I'd tried it at home, in my teapot, but at first I'd made it too strong, and then tried it again and it was too weak. The process I use for making tea is different at home, since I have a teapot, than at work, where all I have is a coffee cup (with different words for coffee on it, like espresso, or roast amaretto -- I love the irony of it), and a stainless steel infuser, about the size of the cup. It works out well. I have a better idea of how much tea to put in the infuser than in the teapot.

The teapot didn't come with an infuser, which is a pain, since you have to pour all of the tea out of the pot when it's done steeping, since you can't take the tea out. What's worse is that there's no hole in the lid for the chain of a basket infuser, and no space for one that sits in the pot.

Back to the tea itself: it's not a very distinctive tasting tea. It's kind of plain, and ordinary. Doesn't really stand out.