Tea Pots and Infusers???

[Godzilla]

Hello all:

I drink a lot of tea (mostly green organic, in a typical tea bag, from a company named STASH) and am interested in and excited about upgrading my tea drinking knowledge and experience.

I browsed thru the ‘Imperial Tea Court’ site and found such a large selection. There are some local ‘kitchen shops’ and I would rather just pick one up around town. So, can some of you kindly recommend some options for me?

I suppose I am first concerned about the Tea Pot itself. I would like to get one with an infuser strainer built into the top. Later I will experiment with different teas. Thanks in advance.

Godzilla

[Kung Lek]

Tea ceremony is High art!
Good pursuit!

It is not 100% necessary to have the infuser built in, I guess it is a matter of the technology and personal preference.

What i have seen, experienced and done myself is to brew the tea in it's own pot (full leaf fresh) and then pore that through the strainer into another fresh pot and then pour that to the cup.

Start at your Chinese grocery stores that include tea sets of course, and of course try out a few different teas.
I will say that fresh leaves beat the heck out of any other tea imho as far a robust flavour and aroma go.

Anyway, have fun with this, the whole act of tea making and serving and enjoying is quite relaxing and almost meditative in many aspects.
(even the english way adopted from India! hahaha)

I'm gonna steal a line from ben franklin and replace the word beer wiht the word tea and say...

"tea is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" hahahaa, 'sorry ben' ;)

peace

Kung Lek

[GLW]

In Hangzhou, one of the major producing areas of Green Tea in China and famous for it, they do the following:

A ceramic tea pot
They heat the water to around 190 deg F (20 degrees under boiling) they maintain that hotter burns the tea and colder does not activate it enough
They put the tea in the pot and add water.
They let it steep a bit and drink it hot.
The tea has water added to it 3 times.
The first time is strong and can be a bit bitter but releases a fine aroma.
The second time doesn't have much scent but has the best flavor. The bitterness has already been leached out of the leaves.
The third time is so as not to waste the tea. However, if you are rich, you can do only 2
The Green Tea there is quite expensive and the first 50 kilos each year are reserved for the government and used as official state gifts for dignitaries such a a visiting president or whatever.
It is good stuff...and quite healthy.

[Eight Diagram Boxer]

A yixing teapot is made in the Yixing province of China of special clay which becomes infused with the flavors of the tea and so becomes better with every brewing. It has a strainer at the spout so you can just put the hit water and leaves in and pour it out into your cup, it works well for me. I got it at http://www.plymouthtea.com

Knowing others is wisdom, Knowing the self is enlightenment- Lao Tzu

[Godzilla]

Thank you for responding. I searched the web for interesting tea pots and found the following:

http://www.imperialtea.com/ImperialT...ctGroup_ID=130

http://holograms.bc.ca/tetsubin/tea-pots.htm

http://4.19.130.238/acb/showprod.cfm...jectGroup_ID=4

Hope this will help others in selecting their own tea pots.

I purchased a Japanese Cast Iron one this morning (I will get another one made from Yixing soon!!). It was in the local shop. $60 bucks later I am enjoying some tea in my office. I cleared one bookshelf and set it there near several hi-tech computer books. It looks really good there. I bought a matching black cup and some Green ‘Dragon Well’ (Lung Ching) loose tea. I feel more relaxed already! Any suggestions for other types of teas, please?!?

I would have bought a Yixing one but wanted something quick. This gives me the chance to continue searching for one, which appears to be part of the charm. Does anyone have experience with the cast iron ones? How does it differ from the clay?

This thing gets HOT! Sip, ahhhhhh…

Thanks again!

Godzilla

[GLW]

Lung Qing is a good tea...healthy for you too. It is the one that is famous in Hangzhou.

If you get the opportunity, buy some of the expensive sort and try it. the difference between the cheaper and expensive in flavor is amazing. I would not have believed it but when I got some that was fresh...I kept it in my fridge (They recommended that to keep it fresh longer) and doled it out to myself as a treat.

[Kung Lek]

Hi- another tea I very much enjoy (that isn't really a tea per se) is American Wild Ginseng tea.

This stuff is awesome goodness. Not heavy like red ginseng but rather light and flavourful, and replenshes vital essence! Lots of good yin energy with it.

anyway, it's ful name is "sum wong american ginseng tea"

it is found in many chinese grocery stores and is distributed by the Wo Fung trading company.

peace (really, this is very good stuff)

Kung Lek

[Eight Diagram Boxer]

The plymouth tea site is down as they are updating, but you can find some nice ones on Ebay (http://www.ebay.com) which is where I got my first one. Those are small pots mostly and perfect for work, mine brews about 1-3 cups worth of tea.

Knowing others is wisdom, Knowing the self is enlightenment- Lao Tzu

[Godzilla]

Thanks for the recommendations!

I bought a ‘sampler set’ and have been experimenting.

So far I have tried and liked, Green Lung Qing, Jasmine and Safron tea. These are tasty. A cup by my side and a pot brewing is relaxing and rewarding. I like the refreshing aftertaste (you don’t get that with a tea bag). Helps get me thru the day more comfortably.

I did not like Bergamot tea. It was dark and bitter. I may try it again in a few days. I have several more and will post my opinions.

Have not been able to locate any American ginseng yet (still looking, this is half the fun!)!

As for the question about alcohol in tea, thanks for everyone’s response. I will be keeping the two separate.

Question: I know Green tea has health benefits, but do any others (not just what I have listed) also help to detoxify and cleanse your body?

Godzilla

[dwid]

All tea has the ingredient (i forget the name) that helps prevent many types of cancer. However, due to the way it is processed, green tea has by far the largest amount of it (Somewhere around 40% of the total weight of the tea). Oolong has less than half as much by weight, and the amount in black tea is nearly insignificant.

_________________________________________
The way of the samurai is in desperateness. Ten men or more cannot kill such a man. Common sense will not accomplish great things. Simply become insane and desperate. - Hagakure

[Retired Taoist]

To have a quick view on tea history you can try here and also here if you want to know a bit more about the art of tea.

They also have choices of teapots, you can stroll around if you like.

Dim Dam Doum

[dunbarj01]

Hi Godzilla,

Have you read the Book of Tea (Cha no Hon)?

I recommend this book by Tenshin Okakura. It was written in 1906 and discusses the Way of Tea. It is an excelleent book and covers not just the history and the appreciation of Tea but also the spiritual aspects of serving tea and how tea is one of the few universal icons. I have a bilingual version through Kondansha international (ISBN4-7700-2379-0)

[Godzilla]

Hi all,
Vlad, I have not read any books on tea. I will look for the one you recommend the next time I am in Barnes and Nobel. If I cannot find it I may choose another.

I have recently purchased two additional teapots to add to my collection. The one I have been using was a Japanese Tetsubin Iron Teapot. It was great but I have recently put it aside.

My new Chinese Yixing Teapot brews wonderful tea! There is a warmth to the flavor that is not present with the Iron. I have not yet formed an opinion as to which I prefer, but there is a difference. I enjoy both!

My wife actually likes these teapots and has not complained about me buying them (yet). I have told her I would like to collect several more to use and to decorate my office and home. Right now, she thinks they are ‘cute’ and ‘classy’ works of art. I agree. They are expensive, usually between $30 and $90, but after switching from ‘Tetly Tea’ in a bag to delicious loose tea leaves, there is no turning back.

An excellent, soothing hobby! Each day begins with stretching on the floor, running thru my forms, push ups, sit ups, etc., getting to the office and brewing a pot of tea. The day ends with cleaning the teapot and placing it back on the shelf.

I appreciate all of the responses to my posts on tea. You have all greatly enhanced my new hobby! I look forward to sharing my experiences with everyone.

Truly,
Godzilla

[Godzilla]

>Have you read the Book of Tea (Cha no Hon)?

>I recommend this book by Tenshin Okakura.

Just picked this little book up at Barnes and Nobel. Thanks for the recommendation. I will probably finish it in two or three ****s, thanks. Menwhile, I am still enjoying my tea!

Truly,
Godzilla