Lion's Peak Preview

Finally, our Lion's Peak Dragonwell (longjin) has arrived and we wanted to share a few basic tips for brewing such a delicate green tea:
We like to use gaiwans with thin porcelain walls to brew our Dragonwell. The thinness of the walls is important because it's the first step in ensuring that heat won't linger and over brew the leaves. Some people really like to use a glass gaiwan and seeing the leaves suspended in the water is very pretty but I've yet to find one that wasn't too clunky for my tastes. I like using a small glass teapot instead because there are better quality ones out there with nice delicate details and thin walls.

Always preheat your brewing vessel with near boiling water. While this is a common practice for brewing all types of teas it's especially crucial for green teas. Longjin requires low temperature brewing but if the temperature gets too cool, then you run the risk of losing out on some wonderful flavor notes. One of the ways to ensure the tea doesn't cool too quickly is to maintain the indirect heat. Also, heat up your serving pitcher and cups.

Winnie used our medium sized gaiwan (90cc) and 5 grams of tea or a heaping tablespoon full.
We like to prep the young buds by gradually building up heat levels. Once the dry tea buds are put into our prepared gaiwan, the heat will gently warm the buds and the aroma will come to life. This is a great time to appreciate Dragonwell's sweet and savory fragrance.

Now it's time to add the water.
Winnie likes to give the buds an initial shock with the rinse. She'll bring the water temperature up to 180F and give the leaves whats known as a "flash rinse" for the first. The hot water is poured in quickly, using the rushing stream technique. Once the leaves are covered, the water is just as quickly poured out into another vessel.
Save the rinse and drink it last. The aroma of the tea will have taken on even more depth and some beautiful notes of sweet rice and toasted nuts. My mouth is usually watering at this point.

With all the talk about low temperature brewing, why use scalding water at all? This is done to "wake up" the buds and prepare them for brewing. I also mentioned that heat is necessary to taste certain components. While we wouldn't brew at 180F for a longer amount of time. The quick dowsing at a higher temp. opens up the outer edges of the buds without unleashing any inner bitterness. I've experimented on friends and tried to omit this step and just brew at low temperatures but we found a dimension of the tea's flavor was missing.
Now that the tea is ready, Winnie brings the water temperature down to about 155F. She doesn't use a thermometer to gauge heat levels, but you can use one until you get a feel for it the Winnie does. The first steep can last as long as 20 seconds. Since we're using cooler water we don't have to worry about "cooking" the tender buds. If the water were even cooler, you can add another 10 seconds to the steep time. Once you decant the first steep and serve it, your assessment of the taste will inform the amount of time you need for the next steep. If the tea tasted too light for you, you will want to brew the next steep longer. However, once you've introduced bitterness from over steeping, there's little you can do to save it.

Beautiful Dragonwell buds are covered in downy hairs that's almost too difficult to see on the buds themselves. But they're easier to notice when you stare at the surface of the infusion. While the body of the tea should have a crystal clarity, the surface will be pocked with the little hairs, It's easiest to notice when light reflects off the surface and you can see the minute interruptions on the top of the brew. Some people use the "flash rinse" to scald off these tiny hairs to make the infusion even clearer. Sometimes the hairs can irritate sensitive throats and while there's no way to avoid them completely, you can avoid drinking the rinse which will have the most concentration. We're not bothered by the hairs and the rinse tastes too sweet and velvety for us to pass up.

When it comes to tea, especially green teas, temperature and timing are your tools to use in a number of ways. Use very low temperature and you can steep the leaves for longer. Sometimes, I like to cold brew green tea so I can take a bottle of it on the road with me. I simply add a tablespoon of Dragonwell to a 24oz water bottle with room temperature water and leave in the fridge overnight. In the morning, I have a sweet, delicious tea without a trace of bitterness that I can take to the gym or office. I love the convenience of it but I would never do this to a premium grade LongJin because heat is necessary for developing certain flavors and textures and experiencing a well rounded cup.
The combination of a high temperature rinse followed by longer low temperature brewing really gives us the best of both worlds. There are number of fun ways to prepare green tea and I'll be sharing more of them in the days to come.

A "Classic" Afternoon

Yesterday gave us our first chilly preview of fall. It was a good opportunity to make ourselves some heavily roasted oolong and stay warm. We decided on our Classic Roast Iron Bodhisattva. We've received a lot of questions about this tea and it's about time I did a post about our most popular oolong. Most were about brewing methods and water temperature. I'll try to include information that answers the most common questions we get.
While this is the tea that Michael uses for his ChiuJoa GongFu Cha, it's flavorful enough to withstand even a western style brewing method with little leaf, lots of water and longer steeping time. Michael is away for the week, so Winnie decided to brew in the basic GongFu style that anyone can do.
Right now, we're drinking and selling the 2009 Spring Harvest. Because of the heavy roasting, this oolong has a very long shelf life so long as it is stored in an airtight container, away from light and heat. Michael will usually reserve some of the harvest for himself so he can age the tea for later enjoyment. Aging is possible due to the high firing process the leaves go through. The heat stabilizes the tea oils and compounds. Once it's been stored for a few years, the roasted character mellows and the flavors become more complex. It's a softer taste with fewer floral notes but a more mature profile. Also, the cha-qi will strengthen over time and drinking a ten year aged TiKwanYin has had me blissed out and dreamy.

Now we that we have the tea, we need a teapot:

This Yixing clay pot is from the seventies. It can hold about 2oz - 60cc of liquid. It's TINY. It fits perfectly in my hand and I have small hands. Pots of this style are well crafted and beautiful to look at but the thin walls can crack if exposed to to extreme temperature change. This is rare but when you have something this nice , why take chances?
Take the time to start with very warm water (120 degrees), fill the teapot and make sure the outer walls are thoroughly soaked. Empty the teapot and repeat once more with hot water (175 degrees). After the teapot has been emptied again, you can proceed to use boiling water to heat up the pot before adding the tea leaves.

Once the teapot is heated through and emptied, Winnie pours in the tea. She doesn't stop until the pot is three quarters full. With so much tea, infusions are going to be very short to prevent bitterness and oversteeping. The first several steeps will be poured out almost as quickly as the water was poured in.

Hot water is poured first along the outer rim and circles it's way into the pot. Winnie pours it out as soon as she's put down the kettle and replaced the lid. This is the tea rinse and is reserved in the fairness pitcher.

We can't all have Winnie's delicate bone structure. But there are ways of moving and serving tea that create a graceful atmosphere. Every person who's ever made tea for me has their own "style" that comes through.

The rinse is poured back over the outside of the teapot. Winnie calls it "feeding the pot". The Yixing clay develops a rich patina from years of soaking up the tea. Most of our readers know this but I think it's important enough to mention again. Some people still toss out the rinse not believing it's good for anything. Bathing your teapot with the rinse is an important part of maintaining and properly aging the teapot.

Another good shot of Winnie's hand position as she pours out the tea. Her fingers are curled around the handle, mimicking the curves of the teapot and creating a nice rhythm. In my lessons with Michael in the traditional ChiuJao GongFu Cha method, I was made aware of how my pinky finger would often stick straight out and apart from the rest of my hand while I brewed tea. A little thing but one that betrayed tension in my movements and exposed my
inexperience. It seems like a minor detail most people wouldn't notice but your guests may pick up a sense of discomfort at a subconscious level. Afterward, they may wonder why they didn't feel entirely relaxed during the tea session. Keep your movements small and fluid. Notice your fingers, wrists, elbows and shoulders. Keep your back straight but not rigid
Maybe you don't care about appearance so long as you can make a good cup of tea. Or maybe, one day, you will make tea for a master... and they will notice everything.

Because there is so much leaf packed into the pot, it's important to give the teapot time to let as much of the infusion drain out. Find an appropriate fairness pitcher or porcelain cup to rest the teapot against. The circumference of the opening should be small enough to keep the lid secure against the pot. While the water navigates the labyrinth of twisted leaf to pour out of the spout, the tea's finish should be perfuming the mouth and tasting sweeter on the tongue.

The first couple of steeps gives us an autumn hue. I think of sunsets when I see this color. Subsequent steeps get richer and darker as we move to heart of the tea.

As Winnie brews, the leaves expand and start to push out of the pot. There's just enough tea to fill two little cups.

The afternoon wore on, and each infusion took a little longer than the last to brew. Finally, Winnie upended the pot one last time that day. There was a little light left in the sky and Winnie fancied a walk in the crisp air.

I hope this has answered some questions, although maybe I'll have created more. Either way, it's always great to hear from other tea people and I'll do my best to respond to any comments left on this post.