Brewing times and temperatures
It's been a while. It looks like I need to rethink how to manage this community. In the meanwhile I have some questions for you.
How do you brew your tea?
I've seen several general guidelines like 1 minute for white tea, 2-3 for green and 3-5 for black etc. If you go more specific and actually read the instructions on specific teas, the times can be quite different. I'm yet to encounter a white tea with such a short steeping time. Usually the instructions say 3 minutes or even 6+. And when you look at the mass product teabags they always seem to say 3 minutes and boiling water, even if the tea is green.
I have a bad habit of forgetting about the tea I'm making all the time and have taken to using an egg timer. I find myself setting it to the classic 3 minutes all the time because all those contradicting instructions can get so confusing.
I use a clay pot for making tea. If I pour water into it, it absorbs quite a lot of the heat and the water isn't boiling anymore. Even if I try to make black tea as hot as possible and let the water cool down a bit before adding the leaves, usually the difference ends up not being all that different. Have you run into this problem? Does the water really have to be boiling for black tea in your opinion?
How do you brew your tea?
I've seen several general guidelines like 1 minute for white tea, 2-3 for green and 3-5 for black etc. If you go more specific and actually read the instructions on specific teas, the times can be quite different. I'm yet to encounter a white tea with such a short steeping time. Usually the instructions say 3 minutes or even 6+. And when you look at the mass product teabags they always seem to say 3 minutes and boiling water, even if the tea is green.
I have a bad habit of forgetting about the tea I'm making all the time and have taken to using an egg timer. I find myself setting it to the classic 3 minutes all the time because all those contradicting instructions can get so confusing.
I use a clay pot for making tea. If I pour water into it, it absorbs quite a lot of the heat and the water isn't boiling anymore. Even if I try to make black tea as hot as possible and let the water cool down a bit before adding the leaves, usually the difference ends up not being all that different. Have you run into this problem? Does the water really have to be boiling for black tea in your opinion?