New to loose tea. Help with a kettle and infuser!
Up until now I brew tea using a pan to boil water then pour over a tea bag, simple and easy. However, I want to brew loose leaf since that’s where all the good stuff is at. I have a problem though, heating water to the correct temp is a struggle. I can get water to boiling point but when I measure the temp its always around 190, my thermometer is accurate, maybe I don’t heat my cup enough beforehand? To counter this I was looking at two tea kettles both around the same price point, which is better? I usually only brew around 2 cups or 16 oz, these are the two https://www.amazon.com/POUR-OVER-Coffee-Kettle-Built/dp/B018WDAQBE or https://www.amazon.com/Epica-6-Temperature-Variable-Stainless-Cordless/dp/B01G7OL9ZW Finally is the infuser, I plan on infusing loose Twinings tea, however, their tea leaves are very small and I worry some would fall through the strainer of the pot I am looking at, this one, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NVMC4I should I be good? Thanks for any help, I really appreciate it everyone.
Can’t comment on those. I use this and it works great. I have never actually measured water temperatures.
https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CPK-17-PerfecTemp-1-7-Liter-Stainless/dp/B003KYSLNQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1486722163&sr=1-1&keywords=Cuisinart+Variable+temperature+Kettle
I have the 450ml one and its perfect for greens, whites. Not recomended for pu’reh, herbals or blacks as it looses heat amazingly quickly. Get a gaiwan or Yixing for those, because you need to keep the heat in. I use a simple gaiwan.
I have the same teapot as the epica, with a different name on it, works great, water is always right temp and it was really inexpensive too, I dont know how well it holds up over time.
If I’m only steeping for 3 minutes and don’t care about keeping it warm for another cup would that be okay to use the Hario for black tea? I can’t imagine the heat loss would be that great in 3 minutes…? I guess I could wrap it with something to insulate? Also, it’s safe to pour boiling water in it? I’d pour a little just to preheat and then pour the rest of the water, but doesn’t boiling water shatter glass?
it’s tempered glass, Ive poured boiling water in it no problem. Tea is very temperature sensitive, you can brew any way you want but its going to alter the flavor. I was utterly shocked how different both a green and a black tasted when brewed at different temps.
Now I brew in a gaiwan and then pour the tea into that, but at that points its done brewing. And at that point heat loss is good, as the brewing is done and getting it cooler so that it doesnt burn your mouth is a good thing.
As for the electric kettle, I have the same one with a different name on it, its awesome!!!
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0177H1K0W/ref=twister_B01MRXMYK4?_encoding=UTF8&th=1
This is the gaiwan I have, they changed the pattern every few weeks so mine is different. It holds about 110ml of water. You brew then pour into the glass teapot to cool, its not traditional, but its fast and easy.
The basket in the teapot catches the leaves that fall through.
Thank for the advice! I’m slightly confused because 110ml of water isn’t enough to fill even one cup which is like 230ml? What are you supposed to do?
Okie thats pretty easy there are two ways to handle this. One if you get a smaller tea cup, I got a 150 ml teacup from world market for like 2$
Or you do multiple infusions and just pour them into the cup together. Since in a gaiwan like that, you are doing very short infusions, 30-60 seconds, its not a big deal and often shorter than doing a tea basket brew.
That you are combining infusions is only important if you are super serious or doing tastings. Im careful not to combine if im doing a tasting note, but if im just drinking tea because I need to wake up or im thirsty, just in the cup they go.
The reasoning is from watching the videos on it, is since you are shorter brewing at lower temperature, you get more of the good flavors and less of the bad ones. I saw an incredible jump in the quality and taste of my brews once I started brewing in a gaiwan, I was shocked how much better the tea tasted and thats when I seriously got hooked.
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