General / Off-Topic Tea Duelling.
- Thread starter Robin of Spiritwood
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And as a professional I can tell you that it's a total bull.
But humanity can't resist standardizing everything.
Yeah, it's a standard but not actually nice.
And as a professional I can tell you that it's a total bull.
But humanity can't resist standardizing everything.
You sell and make tea?
Also:
Sell.
And drink of course, which means that I know that every one of the thousands of Chinese, Indian, Kenyan, Turkish, Vietnamese, Formosan, Korean, Japanese,... teas requires different volume, water temperature and amount of leaves.
If you followed the "rules" set in that ISO, probably only a couple but more probably none of the teas you'd try would actually TASTE good.
And as for that quote - yeah. I know where they're coming from, but it's still a nonsense. You can't standardize the brewing to compare different kinds of tea in this manner.
You can standardize the brewing if you're comparing ONE type of tea from different gardens, for example, but that standardized brewing method will still by typical for THAT ONE type of tea, not what they are proposing.
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Presumably when you make sensory comparisons you use the same kind of tea to eliminate variables, then again, I doubt it's of much importance to brew it "properly" as in, make it taste good for academic purposes.
Well, as an example - when you are comparing darjeelings, you brew 2 grams in 90°C water for two minutes, then compare the specimens, because you're looking for the amount of tannin. Less tannin means the tea will taste sweeter even if you make it stronger, while a lot of tannin means it will turn bitter before it manages to become strong.
THAT is an apples to apples comparison.
But it also doesn't tell you anything about the tea itself or how it's going to taste when prepared properly. It's just a measuring stick to root out the weed, so to speak, but then you have to brew each specimen in a proper way that supports its strengths. For example the one with more tannin will require a slightly colder water and it will be light and fresh with the undertones of fresh grass or oats, while the one with less tannin will have to be brewed in hotter water for longer and it will turn out fuller, heavier with the aftertaste of wood or bread.
The point being - they will taste differently, but they will both be good, just in a different way, and the amount of tannin won't matter in the end
Does this imply that if you breew darjeelings the way ISO states they taste differently between two pots?
Of course. There are dozens of gardens/producers in Darjeeling each making their own tea and every one of them tastes differently. Not just when you brew them according to the ISO, but even if you brew them correctly.
Of course. There are dozens of gardens/producers in Darjeeling each making their own tea and every one of them tastes differently. Not just when you brew them according to the ISO, but even if you brew them correctly.
Then you'd be sure the taste difference comes from the tea itself, not from the brewing method.
Errr..... Logically. Both cups would have the same liquid in them, so does it really matter, how it is made or by what tradition?
P.S. I have drunk, made and sold tea. The first two, for close to half a century.
And you'll have 20 of those cute little figurines to play with in your bunker.
You made the right choice because according to an analysis made in 2014 on ten teas, only one does not contain pesticides, that of the brand Red Rose.
For the anecdote, after the water, the tea is the second most consumed drink in the world. 15 000 cups per second are consumed.
For the anecdote, after the water, the tea is the second most consumed drink in the world. 15 000 cups per second are consumed.
Is that dainty little Tea cups, or mugs?