Loose leaf tea

[Coquito]

Without some sort of infuser, brewing a big batch of tea to carry around in my Thermos is a pain. Spashing boiling water through a strainer, into a small opening, is asking for trouble.

So I'm looking into getting something like this, to ease the pain of making a few cups of tea. After reading one of the reviews though, it seems stress cracks can develop over a short time. Metal leaves an aftertaste, so I don't want that either.

Any recommendations on a ceramic/non-metal pot & infuser set?

Thanks.

 

[mundane]

We were given some loose-leaf tea, and unfortunately lacked the tools to correctly brew it. Instead, we used our French Press

 

[Imported]

I use this when I brew loose-leaf tea.

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.adagio.com/teaware/ingenuiTEA_teapot.html?SID=1a20892c5ae8bfbb8a61e1d806c9942e">IngenuiTEA
</a>

However, its really only big enough for one cup at a time. They do have a larger version though, but the filter isn't removable.

 

[OutHouse]

use your coffee maker. its what i do and have done for many many years.

put the tea in the basket instead of coffee

brew a pot

pour pot in a large pitcher

fill with cold water

perfect tea every time.

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: Citrix
use your coffee maker. its what i do and have done for many many years.

put the tea in the basket instead of coffee

brew a pot

pour pot in a large pitcher

fill with cold water

perfect tea every time.

Don't make green tea that way, though, because the leaves will scald and produce an extremely bitter green tea.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Originally posted by: Imported
I use this when I brew loose-leaf tea.

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.adagio.com/teaware/ingenuiTEA_teapot.html?SID=1a20892c5ae8bfbb8a61e1d806c9942e">IngenuiTEA
</a>

However, its really only big enough for one cup at a time. They do have a larger version though, but the filter isn't removable.

Yup that's what I use. Super easy and dishwasherable

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: Citrix
use your coffee maker. its what i do and have done for many many years.

put the tea in the basket instead of coffee

brew a pot

pour pot in a large pitcher

fill with cold water

perfect tea every time.

Don't make green tea that way, though, because the leaves will scald and produce an extremely bitter green tea.

Actually, if it's a crappy drip machine like so many are, the temperature might just be about right

In all seriousness, I agree with you.

 

[jdini76]

What are the benefits to lose leaf tea? as apposed to tea bags from lipton?

Also I thought you were making tea out of lose leaf paper. hehe

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: Citrix
use your coffee maker. its what i do and have done for many many years.

put the tea in the basket instead of coffee

brew a pot

pour pot in a large pitcher

fill with cold water

perfect tea every time.

Don't make green tea that way, though, because the leaves will scald and produce an extremely bitter green tea.

Actually, if it's a crappy drip machine like so many are, the temperature might just be about right

In all seriousness, I agree with you.

my coffe pot is a Bunn and the last time i put a probe in the water as it was brewing it showed a temp of 182.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: jdini76
What are the benefits to lose leaf tea? as apposed to tea bags from lipton?

It tastes better... a lot better. There's simply no comparison. Granted, there are other variables that go along with it, so if you prepare loose leaf the same way you do your Lipton, then you're not likely to appreciate the difference. A good loose leaf tea will present a lot of qualities you'll simply never get out of a Lipton: floral, fruity, citrusy (and no, adding lemon to it doesn't count) and sometimes even darker notes from your better black teas.

Lipton, depending on which variety you're buying, uses a lower-quality tea. Some of the tea from the tea bags are practically dust. Much of the quality of a tea is in how it's processed (just like coffee, wine, beer, etc.); a machine processed tea will be inferior to a tea that's cut (if at all), rolled, etc. by hand. It also depends on how it'd dried (if at all), etc.

In short, there are better teas to be had than Lipton, and you won't find them in tea bags (thank god).

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: Citrix
use your coffee maker. its what i do and have done for many many years.

put the tea in the basket instead of coffee

brew a pot

pour pot in a large pitcher

fill with cold water

perfect tea every time.

Don't make green tea that way, though, because the leaves will scald and produce an extremely bitter green tea.

Actually, if it's a crappy drip machine like so many are, the temperature might just be about right

In all seriousness, I agree with you.

my coffe pot is a Bunn and the last time i put a probe in the water as it was brewing it showed a temp of 182.

That is way too low for coffee, but almost right for green tea; you'd probably do well with a few degrees cooler, but it wouldn't likely scald all but the most sensitive of green teas. You'd probably destroy the character of something like a Gyokuro though.

 

[Coquito]

I'm not a coffee drinker, so does anyone else use infusers like the ones Imported & I linked to?

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: Coquito
I'm not a coffee drinker, so does anyone else use infusers like the onese Imported & I linked to?

I have three of the IngenuiTea style pots. I use the smaller one at work and the larger one for iced teas. I also have half a dozen or so Yixing teapots and a Bodum Assam that I use for blends (like a Rooibos with Silver Needle or something).

EDIT: In the end, the IngenuiTea style wins in terms of convenience, durability and maintainability.

 

[TheNinja]

real men like to tea bag

 

[Descartes]

Since I am just that geeky, here is a picture of me brewing a Monkey Picked Oolong in one of my Yixing pots. A shot of my cappuccino too while we're on the subject of drinks.

Monkey Picked Oolong is absolutely fantastic, but Tung Ting Oolong is cheaper and probably more accessible. Just don't steep it for too long. If you get a good grade, it's an incredible tea that will demonstrate all the nuanced qualities of a really good tea. It's floral, citrusy and silky all at once.

 

[OutHouse]

monkey picked???

 

[Coquito]

Originally posted by: Descartes
Since I am just that geeky, here is a picture of me brewing a Monkey Picked Oolong in one of my Yixing pots. A shot of my cappuccino too while we're on the subject of drinks.

Monkey Picked Oolong is absolutely fantastic, but Tung Ting Oolong is cheaper and probably more accessible. Just don't steep it for too long. If you get a good grade, it's an incredible tea that will demonstrate all the nuanced qualities of a really good tea. It's floral, citrusy and silky all at once.

I haven't graduated past PG Tips & the local Chinatown green tea offerings. I'll leave the orangutang oolong for a later date, thanks.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: Citrix
monkey picked???

Yes. It just refers to the quality. It's something like "Blue Mountain" coffee, although that's probably far less deterministic of quality than Monkey Picked, imo. The name was apparently taken from monks who used to train monkeys to pick the younger leaves from the top of the trees.

 

[Coquito]

tea time

 

[rgwalt]

make your own tea bags with cheese cloth and string.

cheap, FTW.

R

 

[Norris]

I like to use this nifty new invention called "tea bags"

 

[blakeatwork]

You're welcome

and whatever happened to enjoying a good Earl Grey or Breakfast tea? Green tea this, oolong that... it

 

[Imported]

I find Earl Grey gross. Green tea ftw.

 

[Cerb]

I get spice/tea balls from an Asian grocery store for $2-3. Just pinch the part that keeps it closed tight every few weeks, rinse it after every use, and all is well.

If you wan to try some good green tea, check out Yamamoto Yama. Not a lot of variety, but I've paid far more for much worse quality green tea. Also, note that green tea is nasty with boiling water. I don't recall the right temp, but I stir the water, once boiled, until it's only barely steaming, and it works great. Black teas may have some ideal temps, but work fine by brewing with water only just shy of boiling.

 

[biggestmuff]

Use a glass teapot with an infuser. My wife uses something similar to this one, but with a plastic infuser.