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“Another unfortunately-stored sample from my unenlightened days. Here’s hoping I can get something out of it! There were no recommendations for steeping parameters, so I went with two heaping tsp of...” Read full tasting note
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Another unfortunately-stored sample from my unenlightened days. Here’s hoping I can get something out of it! There were no recommendations for steeping parameters, so I went with two heaping tsp of leaf (it’s rather fluffy and old) and the parameters for TreasureGreen’s ‘Treasuregreen Silver’ green tea.
First infusion (~84C/2min)
As I’ve had a fair bit of luck steeping greens in increments of about 30s, I started with this one at 30s, but after pouring it out, the “tea” smelled like hot water, so I poured it back in to infuse for another 30 seconds. Same deal at this point, so I let it go another full minute. Don’t really have high hopes for it, because the water probably cooled down quite a bit with all the back-and-forth I was doing.
Steeped, this one pretty much has no smell to it. Hoping it tastes like more than just water… Ok, it does, but definitely not very strong. It’s a very mild green tea, I am getting a vegetal taste, and almost a bit of a toasty flavour(?) No astringency or bitterness, but just VERY mild. I like it though! If it was stronger, I think I would quite enjoy it.
Second infusion (~87C/3min)
This one got a solid three minutes. Again, no real aroma. The flavour is a bit more on the toasty side and less vegetal, but still rather weak. I’m pretty sure age and storage are huge factors here.
I’d like to try this one again, freshly purchased. I think there’s potential! It just wasn’t very strong. I think I have enough of this left to give it one more shot, and there might be a bit more leaf left than I used today, so here’s hoping that decreasing the amount of water + more leaf might bring out a bit more flavour. Current rating is based on a bit of speculation that this tea will be stronger when fresh :)
such bad luck with teas lately! maybe it’s your kettle? :(
I’m pretty sure that this tea is just a consequence of poor storage and age. It is upwards of a year old, and has likely been stored nearly that long in a definitely-not-airtight clipped bag. I actually don’t use a kettle at home – I microwave water in a cup :D (Or boil in a pot on the stove.) Can’t justify buying two kettles, and the one I do have is much more necessary at work. Neglected to use filtered water today though; that could have muddled flavours.
Work is a different story though since I have an electric kettle there and because Guelph’s water is pretty hard IMO, it’s quite caked with scale. I wonder sometimes whether teas brewed there are off because of the water.
However, I think the main reason for my bad luck with teas lately is just that I haven’t paid enough attention to steeping parameters (or I have, and it turned out they weren’t really appropriate). Things are looking up though! I haven’t really screwed up any teas today, and I’ve tried five!
oh hard water is not fun to make teas with! though it tastes good cold, I guess the minerals affect the flavour. Bleh!
phew, I was getting worried for you. Bad tea runs are so depressing.
As depressing as it may be, my wallet certainly approves! Haha :)
heh, yes mine to! it’s a balancing act… my tea happiness vs that of my wallet!
Just curious, when you use filtered water what are you using? I always use tap water, but I never considered that using water that goes through a brita might produce a better taste.
Yep, a Brita pitcher filter in my fridge is how I filter my water. I dislike the way tap water tastes here when it warms up (it’s fine cold), and the Brita fixes that. My assumption is that it’s better for brewing teas (particularly straight, lighter-flavoured teas) than unfiltered water. To be honest though, I’m not sure about that – I actually just posed a question on Verdant Tea’s website (on an article about water for tea) regarding water quality & filtration, as I would like to know!
Actually, http://verdanttea.com/the-first-ingredient-in-tea/
David Duckler has already replied to me :) So informative! I should probably go replace my filter now though – just occurred to me that I haven’t since early January! Whoops!
I’ve read about that. It’s funny because I hate drinking tap water. It tastes like pools smell especially when its warmer. I keep telling Dylan you need to drink spring water, minerals taste good. I guess it makes sense it would make tea better too.
Krystaleyn – Oh… Oops. I haven’t changed my filter in about that long either. That could explain the less-than-stellar results with my fave greens lately.
Oh my, that sounds tricky, trying to manage water quality and hardness! I’m glad I live in an area that has pretty good tap water (and I can get lovely water fresh off the mountain 15 mibs drive away from my house!)
smartkitty – Haha, even though I signed up for Brita’s filter change reminder program, I still forget (such is what happens when you read reminders at work). But I changed it yesterday, go me!
TassieTeaGirl – I was a big fan of my hometown’s tap water. When I drank filtered stuff there it was more because it was colder having been in the fridge. Here in Guelph though, the water is considerably harder and like Missy says, tastes/smells like a pool (so heavy chlorination?) when warm, and that makes me gag.