Unlearning dogmatic tea rules
I’m glad that many of you seem to understand that the rules of tea are not actually rules and that tea is a personal experience, but what I’m asking is to remember a time when that wasn’t the case. Maybe you knew all along but most people (like SooTea said) start off apeing rules they’ve seen (and many places do pitch them as Rules)
I think it might depend on your attitude to recipes – are you a person who always did exactly what it said, or are you one who has always changed them a bit.
Or equally, if you grew up seeing other people making it in a variety of ways, you’re less likely to even read what the vendor says at all – familiarity.
I don’t consider myself very creative when it comes to cooking. I tend to follow recipes and don’t love having the pressure of making substitutions. The only thing I do regularly when following recipes is to spice more heavily than the recipe calls for since many recipes spice for the blandest taste, which was a trick I learned in college when cooking for a co-op full of people.
That said, I’m also not afraid to fail while cooking, even to the point of ending up with something inedible. So while I’m grateful to have guideposts for steeping because they’ve helped me to learn about different teas and arrive at my own preferences, I try to keep in mind that the worst that can happen is I make a subpar cup of tea — whether I’m following a “rule” or branching out on my own.
Sort of the opposite direction, but same vibe:
I grew up with the lower range tea bag boiling water and let it sit longer for stronger method as the norm instructed into me for ages. At my dads it was that and honey almost always and at my maternal great grandmother’s it was same but with milk and sugar where the tea was almost lost lol.
I learned more about making tea and became/am a stickler for follower of the loose leaf “rules” and am glad for that, but once getting those down have felt sure enough of myself to use what I learned to fiddle around and find my own way to individual teas and especially on-the-go methods I like.
But! Though I’ve been deeper into tea for over a decade now, I still have a head pause every time I want the tea stronger and my system just auto goes to letting it sit longer and remind myself that it (most of mine) gets bitter and to just add more lol.
It’s been ages and I can’t seem to drop that “rule” from my youth.
Properly on topic:
I use a standardized plant to water ration for my tasting notes but once I get a feel for or recognize a tea I personally tend to like a lot of black teas stronger than average.
I totally agree that if you like stronger tea you should be drinking stronger tea. Personally i love a puerh that will knock other people off their feet but i like a gentler oolong brewed many times
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