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I’ve been reading this crazy serious tea blog, recently, and I noticed that the author doesn’t steep in pots, he steeps in wide, open bowls. Well, I don’t have hand made, local clay, wire fire glazed tea bowls. But I do have huge, wide, Pyrex™ measuring “cups” that are at least very open and heat resistant. So I have been trying to make tea in those and see how that goes. If nothing else, the clean up is much easier than a tea pot ;-) I have, in the past, used my spherical Bodum™, with the plunger arrangement removed, for this purpose, but the glass is so thin I find there’s a lot of heat lost even in just a couple minutes, and if I’m doing a 15 minute pu-erh steeping, the water can be down to drinking temperature by the time the steep is done. The Pyrex™ is much heavier and should hold the heat better.

It could be completely psychosomatic, but this genmaicha seems to have “woken up” substantially from this steeping approach. I can taste a lot more of the deep green of the tea underneath the very strong roast of the rice which I have mentioned in the past that this variety has. Usually the roast completely overpowers the actual tea, but right now I think I can taste both about equally.

I have also done two steepings of the decaf Darjeeling from TG with this method and the results seemed much bolder, as well.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec
~lauren.

I cannot believe it! Another Pyrex Method tea-ist! Me, too!

Jim Marks

Yes, so far I’m really liking this approach. After this tea, I did my TG Formosa Superior Choice this way and really liked the results.

This is definitely a stand-in method for me, though. It just means at some point I’ll be spending too much money on ceramic steeping bowls. ;-)

teabird

I’m intrigued – do you cover the “bowl” somehow? I’d be worried about losing heat through the surface of the water/tea

Kristin

Send me a picture of the bowl and maybe I’ll make you one next time I am at the pottery wheel. :)

Jim Marks

@Tea Bird ~ yeah, I put a plate on the top.

@Kristin ~ the ideal would be something like the item in the center foreground here, but larger (and it doesn’t need a saucer, just the bowl, and cap). basically just wide and open, but not a flat bottom, and with flat sides.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/RjHPbIOPmac/S2vVanNBOlI/AAAAAAAAEzk/aBXMoEZCFXc/s1600-h/DSC0448s2.jpg

Kristin

Oh, ok. That’s more like a mug without a handle. That part I can do. Not sure about the lid. I’ve tried in the past and not been too successful with lids, but I’m sure it’ll be fun to try.

Jim Marks

To my mind, a mug has a flat bottom. Like a cappuccino bowl, I guess, but more like a bowl, bowl.

I mean, the truth is, I haven’t put any effort into finding something, yet.

~lauren.

The reason I defaulted to the Pyrex Method was in trying to cool some boiled water for use with greens! Most of my teaware seemed geared for insulation and I needed something to dissipate the heat (I don’t know why I don’t use the cooling down w/ adding cold water to boiled water method – just didn’t think to do that at the time, I guess). Once steeping begins, I, too, cover with a (stoneware) plate.

Jim Marks

We have one of those ice makers in our freezer door, so I use the cubes and a digital thermometer to get water down to steeping temperature quickly for doing delicate whites and greens.

Jim Marks

@Kristin ~ I think the real solution is to just find a tea pot with a really, really wide open top that isn’t designed for a steeping basket.

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~lauren.

I cannot believe it! Another Pyrex Method tea-ist! Me, too!

Jim Marks

Yes, so far I’m really liking this approach. After this tea, I did my TG Formosa Superior Choice this way and really liked the results.

This is definitely a stand-in method for me, though. It just means at some point I’ll be spending too much money on ceramic steeping bowls. ;-)

teabird

I’m intrigued – do you cover the “bowl” somehow? I’d be worried about losing heat through the surface of the water/tea

Kristin

Send me a picture of the bowl and maybe I’ll make you one next time I am at the pottery wheel. :)

Jim Marks

@Tea Bird ~ yeah, I put a plate on the top.

@Kristin ~ the ideal would be something like the item in the center foreground here, but larger (and it doesn’t need a saucer, just the bowl, and cap). basically just wide and open, but not a flat bottom, and with flat sides.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/RjHPbIOPmac/S2vVanNBOlI/AAAAAAAAEzk/aBXMoEZCFXc/s1600-h/DSC0448s2.jpg

Kristin

Oh, ok. That’s more like a mug without a handle. That part I can do. Not sure about the lid. I’ve tried in the past and not been too successful with lids, but I’m sure it’ll be fun to try.

Jim Marks

To my mind, a mug has a flat bottom. Like a cappuccino bowl, I guess, but more like a bowl, bowl.

I mean, the truth is, I haven’t put any effort into finding something, yet.

~lauren.

The reason I defaulted to the Pyrex Method was in trying to cool some boiled water for use with greens! Most of my teaware seemed geared for insulation and I needed something to dissipate the heat (I don’t know why I don’t use the cooling down w/ adding cold water to boiled water method – just didn’t think to do that at the time, I guess). Once steeping begins, I, too, cover with a (stoneware) plate.

Jim Marks

We have one of those ice makers in our freezer door, so I use the cubes and a digital thermometer to get water down to steeping temperature quickly for doing delicate whites and greens.

Jim Marks

@Kristin ~ I think the real solution is to just find a tea pot with a really, really wide open top that isn’t designed for a steeping basket.

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