Leaf-containing device. Use a device for containing the leaves, such as a bamboo, twenty-three-carat gold, or stainless-steel basket, a paper tea filter, or a cloth “sock,” or use a teapot with a built-in infuser of glass, nylon, ceramic, or stainless steel. Using this method, you can remove the leaves from the brewing water at precisely the steeping time that you prefer and then discard or reinfuse them, depending on the tea leaf being used. Unless all you drink is a small-leaf black tea the utensil that you never want to be tempted with is a tea-ball. This old-fashioned, egg-shaped perforated metal or stainless mesh tea leaf container usually hangs from a chain into the teapot or cup to theoretically infuse the tea. These and most of their variations, while aesthetically pleasing and “cute” are far too small to contain enough tea to properly infuse any tea other than a finely cut black tea and other small leaf teas. Remember, you want the brewing water to circulate around and infuse the leaf, replicating the open pot method but with the convenience of easy elimination of the spent leaf.
A tea glass. Brew the tea in the vessel from which you will drink. A modern rendition of the classic gaiwan, the Chinese have many such tea glasses, ranging from a simple mason-type jar to an elegant stainless-steel cylinder to hold the green tea. These have a filter screen at the top to keep the leaves from coming out of the jar, keeping them in the container for further steeping. Chinese tea drinkers will steep the same leaves many times during the course of the day and refresh them as needed. This is an excellent way to drink green tea.
Make a concentrate. From Turkish tea to the Russian samovar to the 1970s “sun tea” to institutional iced-tea preparations to present-day chai concentrates, making an essence and then diluting it to taste is a practical method of brewing tea. This concentrate can be prepared using either hot or cold water.
Steeping Time
Now that you have the brewing equipment assembled, fresh water at the proper temperature, and the measure of your favorite tea (or perhaps a new selection) prepared, what is the correct steeping time? We encourage the reinfusion of some types of tea. This is standard with green, oolong, and white tea and pu-erh, plus a few others, such as many of the presentation teas and jasmines. We have been experimenting with the extremely tippy black tea subvarietals from Yunnan and super-large-leaf clonals from northern India that brew wonderfully for a second infusion, but you must infuse them properly and not brew a long first infusion.
If you have one pot
And can make your tea in it
That will do quite well.
How much does he lack himself
Who must have a lot of things.
—SEN RIKYU
This ability to reinfuse is because of a combination of the short brewing time and the tippy nature of the leaf being used. The ability to infuse oolongs multiple times results from the fact that oolongs are traditionally brewed that way, and the process of partial oxidation in the manufacture of oolongs requires the use of a larger, more mature leaf that yields a more flavor-packed leaf that demands reinfusion (see “Oolong Tea, Defined” in chapter 3 for more information). When you know that you will be infusing multiple times, the brew time is kept short, from sixty seconds to slightly more than two minutes per infusion. Some teas that can be brewed multiple times can also be brewed once (or twice) for a longer, more traditional period of time. See Table 6.2 for guidelines on correct steeping times for teas by type.
Table 6.2. Steeping Time for Brewing Tea, by Type
Detailed list to follow
Tea Type: Black tea
Time: 3–5 minutes (one steeping only)
Tea Type: Oolong tea
Time: 90 seconds to 2 minutes (several steepings)
Tea Type: Green tea;
Time: 2–3 minutes (several steepings)
Tea Type: Spring (or new) green tea
Time: 90 seconds to 2 minutes (several steepings)
Tea Type: White tea
Time: 90 seconds to 2 minutes (several steepings)
Tea Type: Pu-erh tea
Time: 2–5 minutes (many steepings)
Miscellaneous Brewing Tips
Throughout our collective sixty-plus years of tea-drinking experience, we have observed, learned, and refined several other tea-brewing tips.
When brewing green, yellow, white, and oolong teas, do not scorch the tea. Tea leaves of these classes of tea do not benefit from being blasted with boiling hot water, or water at the top of the range at which it could be brewed. Rather, pour some of the water down the side of the brewing vessel to temper the leaves, then pour all over to wet the leaves. Never scorch them, as they will bite back with nasty astringency, especially green tea.
For the spring green teas that carry a lot of “down” in their folds, a quick, fresh water rinse is often recommended before steeping. This removes the pollen that would float on the surface of the brewed tea. Many tea experts (such as Eliot Jordan, tea taster for Peets) prefer that their early spring teas have this character, so you decide: to rinse or not to rinse?
Cover the tea while it is brewing. Tea always brews better and tastes superior when the brewing vessel is covered during steeping. Tea leaves will unfurl properly only if covered. Try it with two identical portions of tea and you will be amazed; the uncovered portion will not have the character or interest of the covered.
Regular harvest China greens and oolongs are generally rebrewed with water that is hotter than the temperature of the water first used. Without exceeding the temperature range given in Table 6.1, using water that is at the upper end of the range is often better for rebrewing these teas. Also, we frequently increase the amount of steeping time (perhaps a minute longer), especially when attempting a third or fourth infusion.
Early harvest China greens, white teas, and Japanese green teas are generally rebrewed with water that is cooler than the temperature of the water first used. Without going below the temperature range given in Table 6.1, using water that is at the lower end of the range is often better for rebrewing these teas. Because the white teas and early greens are delicate tips, and because the Japanese greens have been steamed already during their processing, the use of cooler water when infusing multiple times will greatly increase the quality of the brewed tea.
While millions of avid tea drinkers around the world “take the teapot to the kettle” to use water that is as hot as possible to brew “proper English tea,” we find that even the stoutest black teas prefer to be brewed in water that is slightly off the boil. Any perceived reduction in strength can be made up by steeping the tea a little longer.
“Creaming” is the term used to describe the phenomenon of a brewed tea becoming cloudy as it cools. The degree of cloudiness is determined by the specific amino acid content of the soluble solids in the brewed tea in combination with the exact composition of the polyphenols. While historically creaming was considered to be an indicator of highest-quality tea in countries that grow and produce Assam bush tea, now, with the rising popularity of iced tea beverages, the presence of cloudiness is no longer the positive factor it once was. Many iced tea blenders today use a significant percentage of Nilgiri black tea and other high-altitude-grown tea from China bush plantings to moderate this effect, as they tend to “cream” less and sparkle more. About all we can do to mitigate this chemistry is to (1) use untreated but soft water when possible (a high mineral content water will exacerbate the situation); (2) use tea leaf from China bush growths and accept a typically lighter-color brewed tea; (3) add citrus juice (lemon, lime, or even orange), as the increased acidity will hold the liquor brighter (hence, there is often citric acid in bottled iced tea); and (4) cool the brewed tea slowly and do not refrigerate it. Brewed tea can be kept at room temperature for several days in most climates. Our opinion is that, as with the “down” mentioned above, this aspect of tea brewing is completely natural and should not be cause for concern.
You brew a second or third steeping of green or white tea (or the sixth or seventh of oolong) and don’t want to drink
it at that time. So you put it in a glass pitcher on the counter to hold until later. When you come back to it several hours later, it has changed from its sparklingly clear pale green liquor to a gorgeous but dark golden-amber color. This effect is oxidation, not creaming. The soluble solids in tea liquor brewed from nonoxidized tea leaf will ultimately oxidize even in suspension. As in tip #7, if you add acid in the form of citrus juice to the brewed tea before it cools, the darkening will be significantly reduced. Just remember, however you choose to prepare cooled tea, the colors are beautiful, varying, and natural, so enjoy the diversity.
Tea Tasters
Tea tasters are an experienced lot—it can take up to four years of serious, practiced tasting to develop the necessary skills. Tea tasters serve several functions and work in different capacities throughout the tea industry. Some tea tasters must be able to cup two hundred to four hundred samples of tea each day. Depending on the position of the tea taster, he or she must be able to easily distinguish between the flavor characteristics of nearly two thousand types of tea. Their palate and sense of smell must be finely tuned, and they must have the ability to retain a taste memory that allows them to evaluate multiple offerings of the same style of tea from different estates over the course of an entire crop year.
Tea tasters who work for large tea estates in tea-producing countries cup hundreds of samples of tea each day during the heavy cropping season. Their sharp palates detect positive elements as well as any flaws in the daily tea production, and they report this to the tea production manager so that adjustments can be made to the production routine. Tea tasters also work for auction houses, evaluating the continual flow of tea samples. Outside the tea-producing countries, many tea tasters work for specialty tea purveyors. Their experience allows them to zero in on the best teas quickly and accurately and recommend the correct purchases. Still other tea tasters are employed by national tea companies and are responsible for purchasing vast quantities of particularly flavored leaf in order to maintain the recognized flavor of a regional or national tea brand. Additionally, they execute the purchase of large quantities of those teas to keep the brand in production.
Professional tea tasters taste tea several ways. Old-school tasters use the trade custom established by the Tea Act of 1833, in which the weight of tea for tasting was set at thirty-five grains, the weight of the silver half-dime of the era. This quantity of leaf, about 2.25 grams, is put into a 5-ounce cup, properly heated water is added to fill, and tasting ensues.
Coincidentally, professional Japanese tea tasters use their five-cent coin as the official tea-weight measure, as well. Weighing 5 grams, the five-yen coin translates to go en. For tasting, 200 cc (6.68 ounces) of 165°F (75°F) freshly heated water is added to this go en measure.
THE BREATHING AND STRETCHING OF THE TEA LEAVES
In simple terms this is the unfurling of the tea leaves. The British refer to it as the “agony of the leaves,” the process of rehydration that dried tea leaves undergo when returning to their original, softened, and pliable state after the introduction of hot water. Hot water is the sap that reinvigorates tea with the blush of new life in the teacup or teapot. The leaves become deliciously drinkable thanks to the flavor and aroma that was coddled and tamed into being by skillful tea-processing hands. The Chinese can be counted on to create the most poetic allusions in this regard. For instance, how much more lovely it is to think about this process as they do—the breathing and stretching of the leaves—rather than as “an agony.” Think of it as a rebirth from a hibernation of a sort.
In most modern tea tasting rooms, 6 grams of tea is the required amount used for tasting. A specially designed three-piece tea-tasting cup set is used. Hot water is poured over the leaves in the tea-steeping cup, and the lid is quickly placed over the cup. The tea is steeped for a specified number of minutes (depends on the tea, but it is usually five) and then, holding the lid in place, the steeping cup is turned over and set to rest in a wide but shallow bowl-like tasting cup. The tea liquor drains from the steeping cup into the tasting bowl through dentals cut into the lip of the steeping cup opposite the handle. Once the liquor has been decanted, some of the wet, infused leaf is tapped onto the underside of the lid. The lid is inverted and set to rest atop the steeping cup for examination. The taster raises a teaspoon of tea to his or her lips and slurps the tea with a loud sucking noise. The tea is then swirled in the mouth and over the tongue, and the taster draws the aroma back into the olfactory area. The tongue judges taste, but other parts of the mouth evaluate hot, sour, bitter, and sweet. The astringency of the tea is felt in the cheeks and on the gums. The lingering aftertaste of the tea is appreciated and noted.
No one expects the casual tea enthusiast at home to supervise and labor over tea brewing in the manner that professionals do at the tasting table; however, we know that many of the particulars of tea brewing are identical, and the processes are similar. While home tea making is more casual, a bit of attention paid to the brewing will reward you with a cup that is well made and shows off the attributes of the tea you sought out in the marketplace.
Now stir the fire, and close
the shutters fast,
Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa round;
And while the bubbling and
loud-hissing urn
Throws up a steamy column, and the cups
That cheer wait on each,
So let us welcome peaceful evening in.
—WILLIAM COWPER (1731–1800)
IMAGINE THE FOLLOWING: a Japanese tea master wishing to teach his student the importance of perception dashes a cup of tea to the ground, breaking the cup and spilling the tea. The tea master wished to illustrate the point that the broken cup was no longer a cup but just a pile of shards, while the tea was still tea, immutable and unchanged. But as the tea could no longer be consumed without the cup to hold it, the true importance of the cup becomes clear. It is the empty space of a teacup that performs the most essential duty, one with greater importance than merely the fleeting beauty of a pleasing shape, fetching design, or lustrous glaze.
While this essential point defines the relationship between the drinking vessel and the intended beverage, man’s desire to surround himself with objects of beauty has nevertheless placed great emphasis on the pleasing, visual nature of teawares. Over the centuries each tea culture has expressed its passion for tea drinking by creating a rich repository of teacups and teapots that pays homage to form and fancy and to the civilizing power of tea rituals. From highly refined, painted, and gilt-decorated porcelain teacups to rough-textured, slightly asymmetrical, simple cups, teawares are the visual expression of a society’s attitudes regarding the importance of tea drinking and the delineation of class in each society. But difference of style and material aside, once tea enters a culture’s daily life, it is no longer just a beverage: it becomes a way of life.
No matter where you are or what tea is being enjoyed, the requisite elements of tea drinking are the same: water, tea-brewing vessels, drinking cups, the tea itself, and the expected pleasure of the brew. We have observed in other tea cultures around the world a complex set of practices that is based on history, tradition, and philosophy, as well as daily and ritual necessity.
Gong fu tea service tea sets are made of natural-colored Yixing clay and can be purchased in reddish-brown or dark brown. Each gong fu setting includes a short drinking cup and a tall aroma cup, to capture the delicate floral aroma of a fine oolong tea.
The various traditions uphold a strong, historical tea-drinking practice, as each society has adapted tea drinking in its own exacting ways. From China to India, Japan to Thailand, Tibet to Georgia and the Russian Federation, England to Morocco, tea drinking is expressed differently and passionately. As the second-most widely consumed beverage on the planet, tea brings a vibrant and colorful array of utensils and teawares to the global marketplace, creating a seemingly endless collection of necessities for tea enthusiasts everywhere.
Tea Cult
ure in China
Chinese tea history follows a long and detailed pathway to the creation of the first teacups, water ewers, and teapots, each of which directly influenced the pottery traditions of first Korea and later Japan. Approximately five thousand years ago, the earliest Chinese people made crude, simple tablewares of rudimentary, unglazed clay. Later, by the time of the Shang (1766–1050 BC) and Zhou dynasties (1122–256 BC), cookwares and tablewares were fashioned of heavy, durable, and decorative bronze. By the end of the Zhou dynasty these somber pieces were replaced with lightweight and colorful lacquer tablewares.
Under the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD) the variety of materials used for food increased to include wood and bamboo. From a document written from 59 BC titled Tongyue, we know that tea was being consumed as a beverage at that time. This text reveals that the duties of a servant boy were to include “tea making and utensil cleaning and buying of tea,” although there is no reference to the utensils used for the tea. During the Eastern Jin dynasty (317–419) the first handle-less tea bowl emerged. In the prose poem on tea titled Chuanfu, author Du Yu muses regarding the appearance of a freshly prepared cup of tea. Referring to tea brewed from powdered tea and the requisite water temperature necessary to create the desirable surface foam, he writes: “bubbles subside and froth floats/resplendent as snow.”
THE WORLDLY ERA OF THE TANG DYNASTY
By the time of the Tang dynasty (618–907), China had developed a diverse food culture comprised of numerous regional cuisines that incorporated various culinary implements. An increased variety of foodstuffs coupled with a growing culinary sophistication brought a sense of refinement to cookware and tableware. As tea transformed in use from medicine to a stimulating, healthful brew, and then to a refined, pleasure beverage, the functionality of teawares changed and the aesthetics increased.
The Story of Tea Page 35
