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Tea anyone?

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    Tea anyone?

    Well, I seem to have gotten myself into a new "rabbit hole". Tea! Not flavored tea, such as jasmine, cimanimaninamim, frippy frappy, chocolate herby stuff & no tea bags. The real tea, loose & not to be snooty, non-western brewing. WB, as I will refer to, ended up with the tea bag phenomina. The bags then ended up with the Brits puttin cream & sugar into it to mute the bitterness.
    I have stumbled on to what is called gong fu brewing. If any body does this kind of brewing they are more experienced at it than I, since I have been at it for a few months. I stumbled on this in trying to treat my cancer. I found a good remedy is green tea. Cool, cuz I had a box of green tea bags in my pantry. I’m goin on down the road drinkin it, with sweetener of course. On a visit to a Chinese/Asian grocery I meander down a tea isle & sea some Green Tea Loose. I pop on it & bring it home thinkin I know what to do with it. The more I thought, the more I thought I did’nt know what to do with it.
    So, bein a red blooded human bein, I googled brewin loose tea & I get this guy named Don Mei (pronounced may) out of London. One his businesses is Mei Leaf, a tea shop, a serious tea shop. His passion & knowledge of tea & ability to convey it to you the drinker is unmatched in my limited experience. Regaerdless, I am hooked, big time.
    To give you a little background, the brewing process is different than what I ever knew. Tea bags consist of broken pieces, stems & mostly dust, hence the bitter taste amongst other things. Plus the brewing time is 4-5 minutes so it brews the dickens out of the product, which is why often times "stuff" has to be added to tone the taste. With gong fu brewing it is the full leaf & the process is "infusions" of 15 to 25 seconds depending on the type of tea. I have also learned that tea is tea, whether it be white tea, green tea, oolong, pu ehr or black tea, there might be another one or two I have missed. It is all tea from a tea tree & depends on the process, drying, roasting, fermenting etc.
    The benefits are remarkable. One "batch" I do is approx. 7grams & I could get 8 to 12 infusions of 150ml. The tastes change ever so slightly with each infusion. And again, before one thinks this is a hoyty toyty way of brewing, it was started or discovered by poor Chinese workers who were cultivating the trees & processing the product but couldn’t afford the way of the time in the 16th/17th century. The experience is terrific, the tastes are to fight for. It does take a little more time, but is so worth it. I will show a few pics of the hardware needed to brew it. The first pic is of a gui won (little pot) & 3 cups. The last two pics would be of a portable brewer that I put at my desk. After the time brewing you hit the red button & it drops into the pot & you pour & last is the ceremonial tea table. Click image for larger version  Name:	A0E04BF9-C4DE-45C6-BC84-CAEDF3A93A08.jpg Views:	47 Size:	2.71 MB ID:	1231144 Click image for larger version  Name:	FD4399B2-D196-401A-826A-5FB262185331.jpg Views:	47 Size:	2.28 MB ID:	1231146 Click image for larger version  Name:	1948A5E0-D4F6-45A6-BA58-BCF2C80D6EB7.jpg Views:	46 Size:	2.13 MB ID:	1231143 Click image for larger version  Name:	F7A5C793-9F9E-4B78-8EA6-ED0628D7A85E.jpg Views:	45 Size:	2.18 MB ID:	1231145
    Last edited by FireMan; June 3, 2022, 10:17 PM.

    #2
    Just wonderin if any body else is into real tea. You can check out Don Mei at Mei Leaf on YouTube. You will receive a masters class in tea.

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      #3
      I like tea, and have bought loose tea locally before - but brewed it either with a tea ball or my French press. I find this very interesting, and will need to see if I can get full leaf tea like that around here.

      Comment


        #4
        we used to make tea with the mushrooms we picked in the cow pasture….very therapeutic
        but then we started sautéing the mushrooms, out of this world!

        Comment


          #5
          We got a chance to visit the Charleston Tea Garden in SC a few years ago and saw the plants and processing method. Sampled really good tea as well but brewing it myself remains mixed. There are a couple places locally to buy loose leaf and i buy online as well. I'll have to check out these videos, thanks.

          Comment


            #6
            I sorta went down this path a few years ago. However, I was lookin' to make good iced tea.

            I wound up with Assam black tea. After trying some expensive stuff, I settled on something a little cheaper. I make 1/2 gal at a time and it usually lasts 3 or 4 days. I couldn't go back to tea bags now, and buying bulk loose tea is cheaper anyway if ya don't get the really expensive stuff.

            What winds up in tea bags is the dust swept off the processing machines.

            Comment


            • RonB
              RonB commented
              Editing a comment
              Sid P - I'd go to a tea shop and ask for a small amount to try, (2 g per cup is recommended, but I I like it strong, so it's 18 g to 64 oz of water). I steep for 5 min starting with boiling water. Use a fine mesh strainer to remove the tea leaves. Just use two containers the same size and pour through the strainer from one container to the other. Or you can use an Aeropress. Just start with 8 oz of water and add that to the tea in the Aeropress. Add enough cold water to get what you need.

            • RonB
              RonB commented
              Editing a comment
              Sid P - almost forgot - this is what I buy, but it's a large quantity:



              I suspect you can buy smaller quantities, but I did not check.

            • Sid P
              Sid P commented
              Editing a comment
              Thanks.

            #7
            This is very interesting.

            But inquiring minds want to know. Really, FireMan, how you doing?

            Comment


            • FireMan
              FireMan commented
              Editing a comment
              Well, just had some kind of heart scare on Saturday, but after a plethora of tests, "yer doin just fine". Then, after a biopsy on my bladder Tuesday due to a speck that showed up & me feelin like someone just scraped out my innards, which someone did, "yer doin just fine", tests are all negative. So, just fine. Still have to get the pancreas checked out. The rest of the story.

            #8
            Not a tea snob by any means, but I love a good cuppa. I get some shipped to me from the UK every now and then and I'll completely ignore coffee until I run out of tea. Also really enjoy a good green tea.
            Last edited by ItsAllGoneToTheDogs; June 3, 2022, 07:25 PM.

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              #9
              Tea, Long Island Ice Tea for me. But only one is all I can handle.

              Comment


              • smokin fool
                smokin fool commented
                Editing a comment
                +1 on the Long Islanders

              #10
              I’ve been a tea drinker for years.
              Full leaf is the best…especially with more delicate teas.
              Nothing worse than over brewed green tea. Tastes like lawn clippings to me. Bleh!

              Years ago, my eldest son would often drink tea with me…
              Then one day, my youngest said, "I’ll try some."
              Poured him a cup, and after trying it, he said, "Wow, this is really good. I understand why you guys like it."
              I looked at them both, and laughingly said, "Well, crap…my tea costs just increased by 50%." LOL

              Comment


                #11
                Thanks for this. Very interesting process.

                I spent two long stints in Assam and had the joy of visiting tea plantations and processing operations. Came home with quantities (now long gone) of the very finest full leaf Assam black yea. Fully hooked of course. Then several years in England got the Mrs. hooked, but she now drinks this ghastly decaf tea. 😖Tastes like radiator water.

                Comment


                • FireMan
                  FireMan commented
                  Editing a comment
                  "No one deserves to drink bad tea". LOL.!

                • fzxdoc
                  fzxdoc commented
                  Editing a comment
                  I get an organic Assam tea from the Indian grocers that I really like. Strong and flavorful but not bitter.

                  Kathryn

                #12
                If I understand this right, in my travels, the green teas have a high or higher caffeine content than the darker teas.

                Comment


                #13
                My children and I love tea but my wife not so much. One of my holiday gifts to my kids each year is tea. I usually purchase it from https://www.willoughbyscoffee.com/GRN.html

                Comment


                  #14
                  Fancy. I do Louisiana sun tea with ice and sugar. My wife does stuff like this. Her tea box looks like the cardboard cigar box that used to rest on a tray under my bed in college.
                  Last edited by texastweeter; June 4, 2022, 08:25 AM.

                  Comment


                    #15
                    Very interesting, If I drink tea it is from tea bags. Or it goes in vodka

                    Comment

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