In Hot Water

I finally must speak up about something that has bewildered me for years.  I have seen numerous articles on the most efficient way to heat water for coffee or tea; Is it better to use gas? electricity? the microwave? (Microwave did not score highly overall, by the way) None of them, however, addressed what I term:

The Strange Occurrence of Volume

In the countless homes in which I have been offered countless cups of tea, I notice that the tea kettles were filled to the brim despite the fact that there are only two to four cups of tea, or the one small teapot being planned.

Full kettle.  The wait for the boiling water is endless.  And then, in the end, all that hot water sits in the kettle and becomes cool again.

My tea drinking darlings!  It can be so much easier!

Just put in enough water in your kettle for your current tea drinking needs!  You save energy (whether gas or electric) and time.  You will be surprised how quickly your kettle begins to sing!

Also remember your hot water temperatures for the various kinds of tea.  Boiling water is not so common a necessity as you might think.  Please review my article on water temperature for brewing tea.

The foregoing, however, does not necessarily apply to the world of Chinese tea.  If you are an avid Chinese tea drinker, you probably will want to fill the kettle, but add to your kitchen’s arsenal a large thermos to keep the hot water handy for hours of fragrant green, oolong, white, or black tea.   For more information on Chinese tea, read my article: A Short Introduction to Chinese Tea.

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A Short Introduction to Chinese Tea

The tea species Camellia sinensis produces all the varieties of tea, except herbal teas: mainly green, black, oolong, pu-erh and white. The growing season, geographic region and processing of the leaves create the many varieties and contribute to each tea’s uniqueness. The special care given during processing brings out the natural subtleties of flavor and creates a visual aesthetic that is unique to each tea. This is part of the mystique of tea. No two teas are exactly alike. Each growing season creates a unique leaf and taste. (from http://www.generationtea.com/learn.htm)

Chinese tea is healthy in a lot of ways. It is supposed to lower blood pressure, protect the heart, help prevent obesity, prevent tooth decay and increases immunity, etc. The Chinese have been drinking tea for a host of health reasons as well as for enjoyment for thousands of years.

“Research has found scientific evidence that Chinese tea can actually help to prevent cancer. It’s more than just empty talk now. Chinese tea is more than just something to drink. It has in fact become a way of life for many.” (read more at http://chineseteas101.com/allabout.htm)
Below is information I hope will help the beginner in Chinese tea preparation. Keep in mind the cups and teapots are generally smaller than what you may be used to.

This is a yixing teapot:

Brewing tea in yixing teapot: www.jcm.co.uk for brewing oolong, pu-erh, and black tea.

A Gaiwan is like a small tea pot in that it is for brewing tea. It is suitable for green, white, oolong, black, pu-erh.
Brewing tea in a gai wan: www.jcm.co.uk

All kinds of brewing instructions: http://chineseteas101.com/brewingmethod.htm

white teas: store.teance.com/white-teas.html
More about health benefits: www.generationtea.com/health.htm

High Mountain Green	Immortal Peach Hand Tied Jasmine Green	Pu-erh Tea
Monkey Picked Ti Kuan Yin	Jasmine Silver Needle White Tea	Jasmine Pearl Green Tea

Where a blog becomes the most useful is with the combined knowledge of other bloggers and readers. I would like this blog to be very informative, so if you know of other great sites about Chinese tea basics, please leave comments!

100 little cups of tea

Coffee drinkers often stick with coffee long after they wish to “get off coffee.” But they think that tea ist just the watery semi-flavored stuff you get in bags at the grocery store or neighborhood cafe. I used to be one of those coffee drinkers.

One Christmas I came home for the holidays and my father had a new obsession: Chinese tea. It took me a while to wrap my head around this totally different way of drinking tea - a thousands of years old tradition. But soon, despite the particular temperatures, cups and brewing vessels, I was hooked, and now drink only the occasional espresso out of desire, but not need. The aspects of the practice of drinking this tea which at first I found strange and a little cumbersome became a treasured ritual.

Well, if you are lucky enough to in the San Francisco Bay Area, there is a place you can go to get the hang of Chinese Tea. Just around the corner from the Pete’s Coffee on 4th Street in Berkeley nestled among the bright shops, is a haven of Chinese tea: Teance. Here you can sample their daily choice, or buy a sampling of all kinds of Oolong, green tea, pu-erh tea, white tea. The staff is knowledgeable and communicative. The owner Winnie is a wealth of information about Chinese tea and also Taiwanese tea. (for more info see www.teance.com)
If you delight in subtlety try her oolongs, greens and whites. If you prefer thick earthy flavors try the pu-erh. Remember that the more aged the pu-erh, the less the caffeine, the more earthy.

The quality of Winni’s stock of teas is quite high. None of that cheap stuff! But there are affordable solutions to be found there as well, if you are on a budget.

I never did give up coffee, I found Chinese tea.