madametj select Send Message

120ml Yixing pot
Steeping times: 5s rinse, 45s, 55s, 70s, 85s, 100s, 115s*, 175s, 205s*, 265s

First steep: Perfumey taste, light greenish yellow liquid. The leaves opened up a lot already!

Second steep: Lighter perfume taste. The leaves have now fully overtaken the yixing pot.

Third steep: Still perfume, with a bit of a bitter aftertaste that I’ve noticed with oolongs.

Fourth steep: The perfume flavor is beginning to lighten up a bit and the bitterness has magically vanished.

Fifth steep: Sooo much flavor still left in this! I’m definitely gonna push it past the recommended 6 steepings :)

Sixth steep*: Wooow and just like that almost no flavor. My fault though, I should have known to add more time than 15 seconds for the 6th steep

Seventh Steep: Ahh, yes and extra minute did the trick. The flavor is back! Noticing more sweetness this time around :)

Eight steep: Wow, very noticeably sweet this time! Except I added extra water to bring down the sweetness and ruined the cup :(

Ninth steep*: I can’t believe they seriously suggest only 5-6 steeps. What a crime! This steep has come back down almost the 6th steep level so I’m gonna bump up the next steeping time for one final hurrah.

Tenth Steep: The perfume flavor is mostly gone now and has been replaced by a sweet taste :)

*increase steeping time next time around for better flavor

Here is photo of that last steep: http://instagram.com/p/pEoGQvguIu/

Well, all good things must come to an end. This was probably the best oolong I’ve tasted. You can tell that it’s very high quality. For the record, I’m sure I could have gotten another few steepings out of this! This was just a 5g sample, but I think I may buy a few ounce someday :)

I feel like I’m becoming a pioneer, or rather an EXPLORER of uncharted territory: brewing herbal tea gongfu style! Sadly, my Rosemary plant didn’t make it :( BUT my aunt has a huuuge bush in her backyard and I was able to get some from her! Next time I’ll make sure I weight my herbs to get more consistent results.

Steeping times: 60s, 60s, 120s

First Steeping: The rosemary definitely overpowered the brew. If you concentrate reeeally hard you can taste the lemongrass in the background and I really do think it enhances the taste. I also added honey which made it a really enjoyable drink.

Second Steeping: One thing about herbals is they generally don’t resteep well (probably why most people don’t gongfu them). The second steeping definitely tastes lighter, but still has enough flavor to be enjoyable. Gonna bump up the next steeping time to see if any flavor is left.

Third steeping: Doubling the last steeping time allowed to get a flavor that matched that of the second steeping. Ahhh, and now my tummy is happy and full of fresh herbal tea :)

Backlogging this from this morning. It’s becoming my favorite first drink of the day! :)

steeping times: 5s rinse, 30s, 45s, 40s, 50s

Meh. I tried everything I could to pull some flavor out of this tea, but it was far too light for my tastes. I even tried using less water AND increasing the steeping time simultaneously. Still nothing. Kinda vegetal with a hint of floral aftertaste, but other than that not much taste to this cup of tea.

I think I’ve finally confirmed that while I do love a nice, warm, comforting cup of soba cha,, I much prefer my green rooibos genmaicha for the fuller flavor. Which is actually a good thing because I have plenty of rice and plenty of green rooibos so it’s a much cheaper option :D

ohhhhhhhhhhhh yes. My efforts in brewing Green Rooibos Bonita in my new blue Yixing pot were less than stellar yesterday. Today a guest came over and I offered to make them some tea. I opted for this one because i know most people like mint, and it was sooo good. Forgot how much I loved this tea. It tastes great in this teapot, and it’s the perfect size for serving guests :)

Just a quick little gongfu session. Light, but delicious! :)

Got a “Modern Matcha Kit” with a teapot I got as a gift yesterday. Wasn’t thrilled about it because I tried matcha a couple of years ago and didn’t like it. “You were young and inexperienced,” I tell myself. “Give it another try.” Ok, Self :)

I followed all the steps. Pre-heat the cup, sift the powder, mix in just a little bit of water, add the rest of the water and whisk (with my electric frother that came in the kit—no instructions btw).

Strong. Bitter. Nasty.

Did I use too much powder? Maybe. Did I use water that was too hot? Probably.

One thing is for sure, I’m not trying this again till I go to the store and get that thermometer!