On Sun, 31 Aug 2008 09:09:20 -0700 (PDT), Jenn
hotmail.com> wrote:
>Hell < Square Peg,
>You have stated that you are new to teas, and when I was really new
>and finding out all the stuff you will learn I really wanted to buy
>lots of tools. And pots, and strainers and yixing, and bone china and
>lovely gaiwans of many sizes and all, tea bags, tea socks, tea sets
>cups with strainers, glass teapots with strainers Jenaer or from the
>asian market or the world market. Every place has their thing, and so
>does each and every person.
>I cannot tell you how much money I have spent on utensils but know now
>I SHOULD have saved most of it just for nice tea.
>In the end.. this am I got up, went to the cabinet, chose an old
>coffee mug that I have hundreds of, put a mesh strainer(poly) in the
>cup and poured hot water in my tea, took out the strainer and put it
>in another cup, drank my tea and then poured new hot water into the
>2nd cup (that has the leaves) drained it and put the strainer back in
>the first cup. and then go on and on till the leaves were exhausted.
>Funny I do this on the counter top of the cabinet that holds my
>gaiwans, teapots sharecups,strainers teapots and mountains of teaware.
>Sometimes I even brew in a pyrex measuring cup (for volume) Or just
>put this same little $4 poly strainer in a teapot and steep, take out
>the strainer and pour.
>On days I want to feel special or am tasting I just go for the
>gaiwans.
>This was just my story. If you are really into the tea experiment you
>probably will try everything. (like I did)
>I have learned this...
>The more complicated the device is the more apt it is to malfuncion,
>The more expensive it it, will maybe be more prone to break (like
>gaiwan lids) The simpler the device is to use, will end up being the
>one used most often.
>BTW I have one of those also and it is hidden in the bowels of my tea
>cabinet.
>Jenn
> enjoying golden lily oolong in the cup, smooth and delicious
Thanks for the comments. I agree that it is way too easy to get
carried away with gadgets and tools. This is coming from a recovering
DIYer (do it yourselfer). For years, I could never park my car in the
garage. ;-)
I started my tea adventure with a simple Chatsford 2-cup teapot with a
removeable infuser. I'd heat water in the microwave or on the stove. I
did a little experimenting without the infuser and then pouring the
tea through a strainer.
The biggest problem was measuring the tea accurately. I decided to
abandon volume (teaspoons) and go by weight because the leaf density
varies so much. I had a baker's scale, but it only went to 1 g, so I
bought a little tea scale that will weigh to 0.1 g. This helped a lot.
Next, I found that I preferred to sip it slowly while working at my
desk. This caused a problem of keeping it at the right temperature.
The tea would be too hot at first but then too cool after a few
minutes. I bought one of those coffee warmers, which worked OK.
I then discovered that one cup was not enough. This exacerbated the
problem of keeping it hot. My solution was a thermos bottle. I bought
a 500 ml glass Thermos. The Chatsford pot was now too small, so I
started brewing the tea in a 4-cup pyrex measuring cup. This worked
fairly well.
The next problem was water temperature. I started drinking more greens
and I had trouble getting the temperature right. I didn't think that
just waiting awhile after boiling was accurate enough, so I bought a
little candy thermometer. But it was still difficult getting it right,
especially in the microwave. I just ordered the Digital Kettle Pro
from Tea Treasures. This is the unit purchased by Natarajan and
reviewed on 8/18. The alternative was the utiliTea kettle from Adagio.
I chose the DKP because (a) it is digital, (b) it will hold a
temperature, and (c) the good review by Natarajan.
My plan is to play with this new toy for awhile and then invest in a
larger teapot. I am looking at the ingenuiTea or one of the glass
teapots such as the one from Adagio. Then I need a larger thermos.
Thermos makes a 34 oz stainless model that should be just right. Then
I can make up to 4 cuos of tea in the morning and be good for most of
the day.
So, that's about it for the gadgets. If I get a lot of free time on my
hands, I may get into clay pots and the like, but I think I will be
happy with this setup for awhile.
