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Deedh
Uh, Can I Add Sugar?
Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4
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 Posted: Jan 18, 2008 6:52 am Post subject: how many? |
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Hi
yesterday I recived this Uji Green Tea Bags, I love it, the taste, aroma.. its amazing tea.
but I have a doubt, How many infusions can I make with one bag?? 2, 3 infusions?
thanks a lot to all^^ |
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britt
2nd Degree Black Belt
Joined: 22 Oct 2007
Posts: 175
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| Posted: Jan 18, 2008 9:31 am Post subject: Re: how many? |
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| Deedh wrote: | | How many infusions can I make with one bag?? 2, 3 infusions? |
That depends on the size of the cup and your personal taste. There's no harm in trying a second or third infusion; if you're not happy with them then cut it down the next time. I tried these teabags at home in kyusu between 9 and 12 ounces for one infusion and that worked out well.
In a typical Japanese cup of 4 ounces you should get at least two infusions if you remove the bag. If you leave the bag in the small cup, the first infusion will probably be too strong.
The above is just a guideline; the important thing is what you prefer. I don't do third infusions on many Japanese teas, but most others apparently do. |
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Chip
Spam/Troll Killer
Joined: 21 Apr 2006
Posts: 737
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji, purging looters
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| Posted: Jan 18, 2008 10:09 am Post subject: |
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...with the bags...2-3, with O-Cha's loose leaf, 4-6.
But the bags have a place, however I like to fill my own bags when possible for when I have to use a bag.
I had the gift Otsuusan bags in a glass coffee mug when out at a restaurant the other evening, it was gorgeous green. Sure, everyone thought I was strange, but I had GREEN tea. |
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Kevangogh
Forum God
Joined: 19 Jul 2005
Posts: 904
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Jan 18, 2008 1:20 pm Post subject: |
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| The number of infusions for me depends on which tea but generally I only do two. The new fukamushi will give you four no problem however! Otsuusan - one really good infusion and that's about it. Case-by-case. |
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britt
2nd Degree Black Belt
Joined: 22 Oct 2007
Posts: 175
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| Posted: Jan 20, 2008 2:08 am Post subject: |
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| Kevangogh wrote: | | The number of infusions for me depends on which tea but generally I only do two. The new fukamushi will give you four no problem however! Otsuusan - one really good infusion and that's about it. Case-by-case. |
I do three infusions on the Yutaka Midori but I limit the first infusion to one minute. I previously had not had much luck with the new fukamashi as far as a third or fourth infusion goes, although everyone else seems to get a decent third, fourth, and even fifth from it.
I have recently varied the way I brew the fukamashi after reading the sencha brewing instructions on a Japanese tea retailers site. Although brewing method is a matter of opinion and personal taste, I thought these guidelines made sense.
They do not preheat the pot or limit the first infusion to a specific time, and they use hotter water for the first infusion. It's ready when the leaves are open regardless of the time count.
The water for the second infusion is cooled down more than the first because the leaves are now fully open. The somewhat cooler water is put into the kyusu, which is then immediately poured back into the cup with no waiting time.
Using this method, I managed to get a better third infusion from the new fukamashi. I also doubled the amount of tea stated on the instructions that came with it. One teaspoon for 10 ounces was way too mild for my taste. The fukamashi is still not my favorite sencha, although it is very good and for me this method and the doubled amount of tea extended it to an acceptable third infusion. I think I'd have to dump the whole bag in the kyusu to get a strong enough fourth!
I still use the standard brewing method for the Yutaka Midori, as I have had no complaints with that one. It is still my favorite sencha by a very large margin. |
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greenisgood
Black Belt
Joined: 20 Jan 2008
Posts: 112
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| Posted: Jan 20, 2008 9:08 am Post subject: |
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| I too have found that fukamushi is really only worth two good steepings. I haven't tried the supreme but with maki from Den's, the third always looks good but just tastes kind of blah. I don't use that much tea (usually a very slightly rounded teaspoon for my fukugata kyusu), but I personally would rather use less tea and get two really good steepings than try to do more steepings with more tea. |
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britt
2nd Degree Black Belt
Joined: 22 Oct 2007
Posts: 175
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| Posted: Jan 20, 2008 10:01 am Post subject: |
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Welcome to the forum!
| greenisgood wrote: | | I too have found that fukamushi is really only worth two good steepings. I haven't tried the supreme but with maki from Den's, the third always looks good but just tastes kind of blah. |
That brings up a good question; when forum members talk about all these great multiple infusions that I can never get, are they referring to taste or color? I assumed they refer to taste, but now I'm not so sure. Many Japanese teas that I feel give poor third infusions tastewise still look great, but looks isn't why I drink tea. I personally go strictly by taste when determining the number of infusions. Maybe others use different criteria.
| greenisgood wrote: | | I don't use that much tea (usually a very slightly rounded teaspoon for my fukugata kyusu), but I personally would rather use less tea and get two really good steepings than try to do more steepings with more tea. |
I agree with you here as well. I tried doubling the amount of tea bacause what the instructions on the bag called for is much less than what I'm used to. I typically use one level or slightly rounded teaspoon of sencha per six ounces of water, and do only the number of infusions for which this ratio still tastes good. Typically, that number for me is two. |
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britt
2nd Degree Black Belt
Joined: 22 Oct 2007
Posts: 175
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| Posted: Jan 20, 2008 11:52 am Post subject: |
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| greenisgood wrote: | | I don't use that much tea (usually a very slightly rounded teaspoon for my fukugata kyusu)... |
I just ran across the fukugata kyusu on another website. If that's the one you own, it's a great deal; not many $35 kyusu have the clay sasame filters. I have seen only two others in this price range that have the (arguably) superior sasame filter.
I recently gave away my first two kyusu, both of which had metal screen filters. Of my remaining kyusu, seven have clay sasame filters, two have ceramic ball-type, and one specifically designed for gyokuro has no filter at all. On the last one, a pan type of pot, the lid is tilted back to allow the tea to exit. Clearly, I don't care for metal screen filters.
O-Cha.com's current selection of kyusu has one with no filter and twenty-two with some form of stainless steel filter or basket. These are all reasonably priced, functional, and appear to be aimed at the mainstream tea consumer.
Now that several kyusu with clay sasame filters are available at mainstream prices, I'd like to see them offered to O-Cha.com customers, as many tea drinkers feel they improve the taste of tea and are easier to clean. I think the very high quality of O-Cha.coms teas would justify the move to this type of filter and I believe many consumers would notice the difference.
These comments should be considered as honest customer feedback, not as an attempt to run someone else's business! |
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Kevangogh
Forum God
Joined: 19 Jul 2005
Posts: 904
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Jan 20, 2008 2:30 pm Post subject: |
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Hi,
I could offer those, and I probably will here sooner or later. However, I must say that my experiences with ceramic filters have been the opposite of yours - they clog more readily than the mesh screens.
Another thing to keep in mind, there are different mesh sizes, some are really fine. The very fine mesh does not clog too much. |
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britt
2nd Degree Black Belt
Joined: 22 Oct 2007
Posts: 175
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| Posted: Jan 20, 2008 8:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Kevangogh wrote: | ...However, I must say that my experiences with ceramic filters have been the opposite of yours - they clog more readily than the mesh screens.
Another thing to keep in mind, there are different mesh sizes, some are really fine. The very fine mesh does not clog too much. |
I might have given the wrong impression. I have never had a metal screen noticeably slow down or stop the flow of tea from the pot. I have seen this with a small percentage of clay filters, as they typically are much smaller so cover much less area. However, for the same reason, the larger metal filters, especially the obi-ami, have so much extra area for tea leaves to get stuck it makes it very difficult to thoroughly clean. I apologize if I confused the separate issues of clogging with cleaning. I've found the obi-ami to be near impossible to clog, but is also very difficult to get all the leaf bits out afterwards.
With either type of filter I have found that running hot tap water backwards through the spout often removes stubborn bits of leaf from the filter. This works best on the ceramic or clay filters, as the holes are usually quite a bit larger. The clay sasame also allows more leaf into the teacup, which may be one reason why some claim there is a taste difference or improvement. |
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greenisgood
Black Belt
Joined: 20 Jan 2008
Posts: 112
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| Posted: Jan 21, 2008 8:41 am Post subject: |
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Yeah, my kyusu is the fukugata from Rishi. I knew very little about Japanese tea pots before I bought it but I liked the idea of a clay sesame filter vs. something metal. Though in theory (I have never used a metal mesh filter) the clay sesame would clog more easily, I've found that when I'm pouring if I tilt back and forth it seems to swish everything around a little more so the leaves don't all get stuck on the filter. I also am kind of obsessive about getting every last drop out of the kyusu when I'm pouring and have found that the seemingly vulgar, yet in my experience effective method of giving the bottom back side of the pot a few taps of the hand (so as to knock the leaves away from the front filter) tends to get rid of any clogs so the last few drops can run free. I haven't noticed any problems with having leaves stuck in the filter; I just rinse well after I'm done and any stubborn leaves that stay in there usually come out after they dry when I pre-heat.
I know tokoname's are not like yixing pots but I've been wondering if there's any problem in leaving some patina/residue/tea-stains inside of a kyusu that's used only for sencha. Like as long as I'm not mixing my Jasmine Pearls with my Fukamushi I would think the build-up would only compliment similar teas. Do most people clean them out? |
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britt
2nd Degree Black Belt
Joined: 22 Oct 2007
Posts: 175
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| Posted: Jan 21, 2008 10:41 am Post subject: |
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| greenisgood wrote: | | I haven't noticed any problems with having leaves stuck in the filter |
I haven't noticed any real problems with stuck leaves with the clay sasame either. I have actually had more stuck leaves in the metal filters. I have on rare occasions had the flow from the spout with the clay filter restricted, but not many leaf pieces get stuck in it. This may sound contradictary but it isn't. Have you noticed that the spout openings of kyusu with sasame filters are often much smaller than those with metal filters? Larger leaves like gyokuro can easily restrict flow through the smaller opening without getting stuck in the filter holes.
| greenisgood wrote: | | I know tokoname's are not like yixing pots but I've been wondering if there's any problem in leaving some patina/residue/tea-stains inside of a kyusu that's used only for sencha. Like as long as I'm not mixing my Jasmine Pearls with my Fukamushi I would think the build-up would only compliment similar teas. Do most people clean them out? |
After each use I always rinse the kyusu with very hot tap water. I never use any soap or cleaner, and I always air dry it without wiping out the inside of the kyusu. The hot water removes some of the tea oil, but not all. You can sometimes see it as the kyusu is drying. I haven't found this to be a problem. Typically Japanese kyusu are much less porous than Yixings so the affect the tea has on the clay is not as drastic. |
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Ed
Black Belt
Joined: 03 Jan 2007
Posts: 140
Location: Colorado
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| Posted: Jan 22, 2008 12:38 am Post subject: |
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| I've been using the obi-ami style for about a year now and I have no complaints. I like the looks of the traditional clay kyuusu with sasame, but I suspect the obi-ami is more practical... especially with all this fukamushi I'm drinking. |
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FataliTEA
2nd Degree Black Belt
Joined: 10 Sep 2007
Posts: 168
Location: Locked inside a deep-steamer.
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| Posted: Jan 22, 2008 1:45 pm Post subject: |
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| I loooooove my clay sasame's. Ed and I go back and forth arguing the sides, but in all, they both have their +'s. The clay screens may clog more easily than metal screens, but all it takes is adding an extra second or two to the pour by not turning the kyuusu completely sideways, but slowly turning it so the leaf stays off the screen. This technique is second-nature to me. My clay screens always allow the perfect amount of leaf through. |
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