I had been wanting to request more samples from Teavivre but I kind of felt guilty about it and I thought I’d drink up some of my other teas first anyway. BUT Angel from Teavivre sent me a message on Steepster saying she was sending me some samples anyway! Well, if they are offering, I will certainly not say no! So THANK YOU for the amazing generous sample package! I always love Teavivre’s teas, so this will be fantastic. Tan Yang’s are the next tea I HAD to try, thanks to the reviews I’ve seen here on Steepster. The descriptions of Tan Yangs sounded like they’d be my new favorite.
I wanted to follow Teavivre’s steep instructions: This means 185 degrees with FOUR teaspoons of tea for 8 ounces with 1-3 minute steeping times. So I used three teaspoons of these lovely mostly golden yellow wirey leaves (which is probably the most leaves I’ve ever used for any tea).
First steep // A minute thirty seconds. I let the water cool a while after boiling. Sadly, I have no way to tell what temp my water is. The flavor is divine, but it seems like the water was cooled too long for a black tea. But I will certainly follow Teavivre’s instructions at least for the first batch of leaves since they kindly sent me the samples. This is so good, but I wish I knew why this was called a Tan Yang. I’m going to take a guess that it’s because this tea is from Tanyang Village? It seems like a lighter Yunnan tea. I know Yunnans come from Yunnan. But this is a Fujian tea (and from the few teas I’ve had that I’ve known are from there, they seem like they have charcoal accents.) Anyway, the flavors here: a bit of smoke somehow (is that the Fujian?), sweet potato, honey, molasses… but on a lighter scale, probably because the steep temp is so low.
Second steep // Hotter & two minutes. This one had a deeper flavor, but still very similar to the first cup. I must have steeped it just the right way with the increase in time & temp to get it that way. I definitely suggest using three teaspoons for this one since I can see how it would be way too light tasting with only one teaspoon. Very good!
Third steep // Just boiled for 4 minutes. Cup number three had a slight flavor that reminded me of what I would call the Fujian flavor: something like charcoal. But it is just enough to be intriguing… not overpowering. The cup color is now a deep red rather than orange. More malty goodness!
I always thought that the few Fujian teas I’ve tried were so charcoal-like that they were my least favorites. But I’ve learned that not all Fujian teas are the same. I guess every tea IS my cup of tea! Oh no!
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“Sadly, I have no way to tell what temp my water is.”
Here’s an inexpensive fast-reading solution you may wish to consider: http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/36677-davidstea-thermometer-and-timer
This is actually the next tea I’ll be drinking this morning!
Oh thanks, looseTman, I didn’t know that existed. Also I appreciated you mentioning in yesterdays tasting note that 8 grams of tea is 3 teaspoons. :D
You’re welcome. The DAVIDsTEA thermometer/timer is cost-effective and very handy for brewing western style.
A more convenient but more $$ method would be a variable-temperature kettle. Here’s one example: http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/39130-bonavita-1-liter-variable-temperature-digital-electric-gooseneck-kettle – very helpful for Gongfu brewing.
8 grams of tea is 3 teaspoons is correct for Bailin Gongfu. However, the same weight of a larger leaf tea might have a larger volume – more teaspoons. I just purchased one of these to eliminate the uncertainty and to insure brewing consistency.
http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/37731-my-weigh-durascale-d2-660-digital-scale.
Thanks for recommending ZTL EG Cream. We’re enjoying it.
Wow, tea can be a science, I guess! I just have a mug. haha. Yes, I knew that meant 3 tsps of the Bailin Gongfu and other teas would be different. But it’s nice to have a ballpark guess now. Also, I realized because of this that I may have underleafed many of my Teavivre samples, so it’s my mission to steep those correctly pronto. (Like this tea needed 3-4 teaspoons and I previously would have thought that was too much.) I’m very happy you liked Zentealife’s EGC! They are one of my favorite tea places!
I probably should get a scale someday too – I am probably underleafing and overleafing all the time. I tend to just use my “perfect” teaspoon, which I think is about 1.5 of a regular teaspoon, and is totally inconsistent with various tea densities. :P
I purchased a scale because some tea suppliers specify grams instead of teaspoons and I have no experience estimating grams of tea. I’m also not a big fan of ambiguous terms scant, generous, heaping, 1-2 tsps., etc. With the cost of some of the better teas, I don’t want to waste tea with an incorrect guess that yields weak or overly leafed tea – obviously something to be avoided. However, I suspect some very experienced tea lovers are able to accurately estimate grams.
“Sadly, I have no way to tell what temp my water is.”
Here’s an inexpensive fast-reading solution you may wish to consider: http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/36677-davidstea-thermometer-and-timer
This is actually the next tea I’ll be drinking this morning!
Oh thanks, looseTman, I didn’t know that existed. Also I appreciated you mentioning in yesterdays tasting note that 8 grams of tea is 3 teaspoons. :D
You’re welcome. The DAVIDsTEA thermometer/timer is cost-effective and very handy for brewing western style.
A more convenient but more $$ method would be a variable-temperature kettle. Here’s one example: http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/39130-bonavita-1-liter-variable-temperature-digital-electric-gooseneck-kettle – very helpful for Gongfu brewing.
8 grams of tea is 3 teaspoons is correct for Bailin Gongfu. However, the same weight of a larger leaf tea might have a larger volume – more teaspoons. I just purchased one of these to eliminate the uncertainty and to insure brewing consistency.
http://steepster.com/teas/teaware/37731-my-weigh-durascale-d2-660-digital-scale.
Thanks for recommending ZTL EG Cream. We’re enjoying it.
Wow, tea can be a science, I guess! I just have a mug. haha. Yes, I knew that meant 3 tsps of the Bailin Gongfu and other teas would be different. But it’s nice to have a ballpark guess now. Also, I realized because of this that I may have underleafed many of my Teavivre samples, so it’s my mission to steep those correctly pronto. (Like this tea needed 3-4 teaspoons and I previously would have thought that was too much.) I’m very happy you liked Zentealife’s EGC! They are one of my favorite tea places!
I probably should get a scale someday too – I am probably underleafing and overleafing all the time. I tend to just use my “perfect” teaspoon, which I think is about 1.5 of a regular teaspoon, and is totally inconsistent with various tea densities. :P
I purchased a scale because some tea suppliers specify grams instead of teaspoons and I have no experience estimating grams of tea. I’m also not a big fan of ambiguous terms scant, generous, heaping, 1-2 tsps., etc. With the cost of some of the better teas, I don’t want to waste tea with an incorrect guess that yields weak or overly leafed tea – obviously something to be avoided. However, I suspect some very experienced tea lovers are able to accurately estimate grams.