I have a short post, and no pictures. Perhaps next time I visit this tea, I'll photograph it. I'm currently finishing off the night's final infusion of Adagio's kukicha. Kukicha is a stem tea, but of course it contains some leaves. This tea is considered low end, as far as the world of green teas go, but it is nonetheless enjoyable.
Six grams in my 8oz ceramic pot, and I was good to go. The tea started very grassy -- enough to overpower just about everything else -- and sweet. Every cup did, though have that asparagus undertone. By the end, the grassiness had decreased, leaving the flavors of the stems. It's a light, somewhat more woody flavor, but still possesses some leaf properties.
The color of the brew changed from a bright, transparent green, to the same transparent quality with the usual browning, though this time a bit more pronounced.
The leaves unfurl, revealing uninteresting stems and the bit of leaves in the mix, but the after-steeping aroma was most surprising. The still steaming post (directly post decanting) is quite reminiscent of an open forest after a strong summer rain.
Showing posts with label Green Tea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Green Tea. Show all posts
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
Sencha
Before I continue, props to MaryR for the thorough review of several types of Snowbud!
(to the entry!)
It's fun watching a tea evolve from one steep to the next. The first brew of Adagio's Sencha (yes, I'm still going through my Adagio teas) is a vibrant green. the next is a little more yellow. The third is much less green, and takes on a brown hue. The leaves change dramatically from dry, through the first steep, and after their flavor is spent. So what did I learn?
When I was still trying to decide which tea to make today, the folks in TeaChat were talking about green teas. It sounded too good to not have one today. Wes mentioned that Sencha should be brewed about 90 seconds for best results. I took his advice. I wasn't disappointed.
While I was gathering everything (I decided to have tea in front of the computer, so I had to bring everything to another room), I took the time to smell the dry leaves. They smell much like a summer lawn. Really. The scent evokes memories of lying in the grass when I was little. But it's not an unpleasant smell. The leaves' appearance is almost grass-like, with the leaves laterally rolled, compressed, dried, or whatever is done to get that shape. Just long and narrow, and a nice dark green.
The first time, I let the water continue heating for a bit, hoping the teapot wouldn't cool it too much, but it did. I've never gotten water above 180ºF in the kettle, and the room temp pot brought the water down to 133ºF. With the thermometer sticking from the spout of the teapot, it looks like I have a sick blow fish. It's quite entertaining. Any way, about two minutes after closing the lid on the teapot, I poured. The small leaves tend to pour with the tea, but the strainer catches them for the return to the pot! The liquor was a wonderful green. It's a great reminder that bagged tea hold nothing to lose. Of course, most bagged teas out there don't distinguish beyond being "green." the flavor? A little grassy, but still quite nice.
When I removed the lid from the teapot to pour the water for the second infusion, the strong smell of grass welled out. It was surprising, and told me this tea had more to offer! This time, the pot was warmed a bit, and the water stayed around 150ºF. The tea was poured about two minutes later (just over, actually) to reveal a yellower brew but one still flavorful. The grassy flavor had washed out a little, leaving the rest.
The third infusion, a little warmer, a little longer, revealed a less green and slightly brown tea. The flavor was a bit washed out, and I knew it's best not to brew more -- at least not expecting a really good cup of tea. The flavor retained a touch of grass, and added a little bitterness. It wasn't the kind of bitterness that leaves a dry sensation. It was more a detraction from the previous sweetness. It was a nice turn for the conclusion of this tea.
The leaves opened up nicely. They're a little chopped up -- I stress a little. Plenty of leaf surface remains, and the rehydrated contents revealed their veiny details. A few stems were among the mix, as well. Here's the final 'cup of tea."
(to the entry!)
It's fun watching a tea evolve from one steep to the next. The first brew of Adagio's Sencha (yes, I'm still going through my Adagio teas) is a vibrant green. the next is a little more yellow. The third is much less green, and takes on a brown hue. The leaves change dramatically from dry, through the first steep, and after their flavor is spent. So what did I learn?
When I was still trying to decide which tea to make today, the folks in TeaChat were talking about green teas. It sounded too good to not have one today. Wes mentioned that Sencha should be brewed about 90 seconds for best results. I took his advice. I wasn't disappointed.
While I was gathering everything (I decided to have tea in front of the computer, so I had to bring everything to another room), I took the time to smell the dry leaves. They smell much like a summer lawn. Really. The scent evokes memories of lying in the grass when I was little. But it's not an unpleasant smell. The leaves' appearance is almost grass-like, with the leaves laterally rolled, compressed, dried, or whatever is done to get that shape. Just long and narrow, and a nice dark green.
The first time, I let the water continue heating for a bit, hoping the teapot wouldn't cool it too much, but it did. I've never gotten water above 180ºF in the kettle, and the room temp pot brought the water down to 133ºF. With the thermometer sticking from the spout of the teapot, it looks like I have a sick blow fish. It's quite entertaining. Any way, about two minutes after closing the lid on the teapot, I poured. The small leaves tend to pour with the tea, but the strainer catches them for the return to the pot! The liquor was a wonderful green. It's a great reminder that bagged tea hold nothing to lose. Of course, most bagged teas out there don't distinguish beyond being "green." the flavor? A little grassy, but still quite nice.
When I removed the lid from the teapot to pour the water for the second infusion, the strong smell of grass welled out. It was surprising, and told me this tea had more to offer! This time, the pot was warmed a bit, and the water stayed around 150ºF. The tea was poured about two minutes later (just over, actually) to reveal a yellower brew but one still flavorful. The grassy flavor had washed out a little, leaving the rest.
The third infusion, a little warmer, a little longer, revealed a less green and slightly brown tea. The flavor was a bit washed out, and I knew it's best not to brew more -- at least not expecting a really good cup of tea. The flavor retained a touch of grass, and added a little bitterness. It wasn't the kind of bitterness that leaves a dry sensation. It was more a detraction from the previous sweetness. It was a nice turn for the conclusion of this tea.
The leaves opened up nicely. They're a little chopped up -- I stress a little. Plenty of leaf surface remains, and the rehydrated contents revealed their veiny details. A few stems were among the mix, as well. Here's the final 'cup of tea."
Monday, August 13, 2007
Green Pekoe and Some Knowledge
I haven't updated in a few days, and I have at least some reason for that. After my last entry, I thought maybe I should start a cycle so I don't have the same tea too many times and keep revisiting it here, without enough other teas between. My next tea class in line was Black. I wasn't satisfied. But I may know why. But for now, I'll get to the tea!
Tea: Green Pekoe from Adagio
Leaf: 3g
Vessel: ~8oz (240ml) ceramic pot
Water: Variable per infusion.
The dry leaves have a very light aroma, but a nice fresh smell. It's not grassy at all, really. It's a deeper scent than that. They range in color from dark green to light, and some yellow-ish, and they're covered in a fine fleece of fibers.
With the first infusion, I had a full kettle. I turned it on and waited until I heard the grumbling boil at its heating element. Somehow I had convinced myself this meant the whole pot was boiling. So i proceeded to decant to my fair cup to cool it before I poured into the tea pot. (I like the little pitcher I found. It's really just a large ceramic 'creamer,' but it does the trick, and it holds my strainer quite nicely!)
I measured the temperature of the water after a few seconds. It only read 125ºF. Most people claim a drop to 170º to 180º from boiling. This caught my attention, but I proceeded.
Three minutes later, I poured the tea into the small pitcher (to catch renegade tea leaves in the strainer). The pouring tea looked clear. But this is a Green, so that didn't much bother me. The color was a predictable yellowish green, as expected, but the aroma wasn't so much there. Upon opening the tea pot to pour the second infusion, the grassy aroma, uncovered by the long wash, poured from the top of the vessel. There really wasn't much flavor besides the strong grassy presence.
The second infusion was basically a copy of the first, to test any development in the flavor, and mostly 'just to see.' The water in the kettle had cooled to right about 130º, so I just poured it straght into the pot. And really, nothing had changed. I knew something wasn't doing right with this tea.
Infusion number three was an eye opener. I let the water continue in the kettle, measuring carefully, until it reached 170ºF. I steeped for four minutes, considering I had steeped twice before already. The color during the pour was noticeably green, but the color in the cup didn't significantly change, but it became richer. The grassy prevalence was replaced by a much rounder tea flavor with grassy notes. I was reminded very much of the dry leaves. The entire tea seemed to change significantly. Suddenly, there was more to the tea than aroma and flavor and liquid goodness. There was emotion in the cup.
A sip has become almost a wash over the senses. The liquor is thicker, somewhat. Less like water. There's a slight bitterness, but it's only a direct player when the sip rests on the tongue momentarily. The sense of this tea permeates, much as many other teas have. This is the impression I like to get from tea.
Fourth Infusion brings this to a close. It's a lot of water, but it will never be enough tea! I guess the tea pot I've been using is a little more than 8oz, since the kettle is nearly empty. So I get more water. And I decided to basically reproduce the previous steep.
This time, however, since the tea pot had more time to cool, I watched the thermometer until the water reached 180ºF. After pouring into the tea pot, I measured (through the spout, the lid on the pot) and saw the temperature had dropped to 160º on the nose.
Four minutes later, I poured. the flavor was a little grassier, and a touch more bitter. Still, after every slow sip, the tea withdraws like a wave on the beach leaves traces of itself behind for a moment.
The wet leaves were nice to look at. Most of the leaves remained curled, but they all reconstituted nicely. They showed their age, without a doubt. With small exception, most of the leaves remained naturally curled.
Black Tea Conundrum
I found that my kettle does not heat the water completely evenly, especially when it's not filled with four cups of water. Usually, the temperature variance is about 10ºF from just over the heating element, to the outside edge of the kettle. When I hear the grumble begin, the overall water temperature is about 140ºF. Basically, when I've been saying, "Just off boiling," I've been using very cool water. This isn't good. I'm very glad I bought a thermometer!
So this leads to part of the problem with black teas. I've definitely been brewing too cold.
Black tea needs slightly hotter water than many, and near boiling at that. I've also been reading several recommendations that say black teas aren't so good with gongfu. So next time, I'll see about brewing some of the black teas I've been disliking, in the way of the West (basically). I'll see if slowing down will make any of it better.
Maybe in stead of just Western brewing, I'll do a side-by-side gongfu test, just to see. And maybe I'm using too much leaf. I may just have to back it off a touch.
But that's for a later time. I'm definitely grateful for teh thermometer and my timer. That is except that the timer is so stinking noisy! I know I've pressed the button when the display reflects the change i made. It doesn't need to 'beep' every time, to let me know. But that's a small issue.
Next time? Perhaps a white tea, perhaps a black tea review. I haven't decided yet.
Good night.
Tea: Green Pekoe from Adagio
Leaf: 3g
Vessel: ~8oz (240ml) ceramic pot
Water: Variable per infusion.
The dry leaves have a very light aroma, but a nice fresh smell. It's not grassy at all, really. It's a deeper scent than that. They range in color from dark green to light, and some yellow-ish, and they're covered in a fine fleece of fibers.
With the first infusion, I had a full kettle. I turned it on and waited until I heard the grumbling boil at its heating element. Somehow I had convinced myself this meant the whole pot was boiling. So i proceeded to decant to my fair cup to cool it before I poured into the tea pot. (I like the little pitcher I found. It's really just a large ceramic 'creamer,' but it does the trick, and it holds my strainer quite nicely!)
I measured the temperature of the water after a few seconds. It only read 125ºF. Most people claim a drop to 170º to 180º from boiling. This caught my attention, but I proceeded.
Three minutes later, I poured the tea into the small pitcher (to catch renegade tea leaves in the strainer). The pouring tea looked clear. But this is a Green, so that didn't much bother me. The color was a predictable yellowish green, as expected, but the aroma wasn't so much there. Upon opening the tea pot to pour the second infusion, the grassy aroma, uncovered by the long wash, poured from the top of the vessel. There really wasn't much flavor besides the strong grassy presence.
The second infusion was basically a copy of the first, to test any development in the flavor, and mostly 'just to see.' The water in the kettle had cooled to right about 130º, so I just poured it straght into the pot. And really, nothing had changed. I knew something wasn't doing right with this tea.
Infusion number three was an eye opener. I let the water continue in the kettle, measuring carefully, until it reached 170ºF. I steeped for four minutes, considering I had steeped twice before already. The color during the pour was noticeably green, but the color in the cup didn't significantly change, but it became richer. The grassy prevalence was replaced by a much rounder tea flavor with grassy notes. I was reminded very much of the dry leaves. The entire tea seemed to change significantly. Suddenly, there was more to the tea than aroma and flavor and liquid goodness. There was emotion in the cup.
A sip has become almost a wash over the senses. The liquor is thicker, somewhat. Less like water. There's a slight bitterness, but it's only a direct player when the sip rests on the tongue momentarily. The sense of this tea permeates, much as many other teas have. This is the impression I like to get from tea.
Fourth Infusion brings this to a close. It's a lot of water, but it will never be enough tea! I guess the tea pot I've been using is a little more than 8oz, since the kettle is nearly empty. So I get more water. And I decided to basically reproduce the previous steep.
This time, however, since the tea pot had more time to cool, I watched the thermometer until the water reached 180ºF. After pouring into the tea pot, I measured (through the spout, the lid on the pot) and saw the temperature had dropped to 160º on the nose.
Four minutes later, I poured. the flavor was a little grassier, and a touch more bitter. Still, after every slow sip, the tea withdraws like a wave on the beach leaves traces of itself behind for a moment.
The wet leaves were nice to look at. Most of the leaves remained curled, but they all reconstituted nicely. They showed their age, without a doubt. With small exception, most of the leaves remained naturally curled.
Black Tea Conundrum
I found that my kettle does not heat the water completely evenly, especially when it's not filled with four cups of water. Usually, the temperature variance is about 10ºF from just over the heating element, to the outside edge of the kettle. When I hear the grumble begin, the overall water temperature is about 140ºF. Basically, when I've been saying, "Just off boiling," I've been using very cool water. This isn't good. I'm very glad I bought a thermometer!
So this leads to part of the problem with black teas. I've definitely been brewing too cold.
Black tea needs slightly hotter water than many, and near boiling at that. I've also been reading several recommendations that say black teas aren't so good with gongfu. So next time, I'll see about brewing some of the black teas I've been disliking, in the way of the West (basically). I'll see if slowing down will make any of it better.
Maybe in stead of just Western brewing, I'll do a side-by-side gongfu test, just to see. And maybe I'm using too much leaf. I may just have to back it off a touch.
But that's for a later time. I'm definitely grateful for teh thermometer and my timer. That is except that the timer is so stinking noisy! I know I've pressed the button when the display reflects the change i made. It doesn't need to 'beep' every time, to let me know. But that's a small issue.
Next time? Perhaps a white tea, perhaps a black tea review. I haven't decided yet.
Good night.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)