Frequent Asked Questions: Water Temperature

A lot of people have asked me some very good questions about tea. Many of their questions have been similar, so I thought it would be good to post my answers on the blog, since you might be curious about these questions as well.

One of the most asked questions is about water temperature. "What temperature should I use to brew my tea?"

My answer is to try out different ones and figure out what you think will make the most delicious tea. However, ANY GOOD OOLONG TEA CAN HANDLE BOILING WATER. I am not suggesting that you always have to brew tea with boiling water, or that you have to use a boiling temperature at all. I notice I often use non-boiling water to make my Taiwanese Oolongs because boiling water burns my tongue.

I heard that there is some debate over water temperature for Taiwanese Oolongs. Some people strongly believe that Taiwanese Green Oolong can't take boiling water. That's not what I see in Taiwan. Most Taiwanese people I've met use boiling water. Some people use a very specific temperature for Oolongs and insist that theirs is the only correct temperature. I respect their decisions for their own tea, but they shouldn't say other people are wrong. Each person should brew the way that makes the tea taste best for themselves.

I often hear this statement when I visit farmers and tea people in Taiwan, " Tea is alive. We have to be flexible with it". Weather changes all the time, so how can we use the same method to make our teas?

Try out different temperatures! You will be surprised to see what the same tea can offer you.

Feel free to comment on this. And if you have more questions about Taiwanese Oolongs, send them to me.

Delicious Summer Iced Tea

Many people have stopped by and told me that they are not drinking as much tea during the summertime. What? How can one stop drinking tea?

A good iced tea is one of the best things to help quench the thirst and it's so refreshing!

For the July 4th BBQ party(it was hot in Seattle that day), I made two iced teas and nobody asked for soda or other drinks like that. Really delicious! Here are the recipes:

Jasmine Tea Lemonade: For one glass of lemonade, use one full tablespoon of honey (mix it well with hot water first) and about an ounce of lemon juice. Mix them well with pre-brewed Jasmine Green Tea and pour the mixture over ice. It's a great drink!

Cranberry and Oriental Beauty (AKA Cranberry Beauty): Use a handful of Oriental Beauty Oolong for about one gallon of water. Cold brew the tea overnight. It's very yummy just the way it is. But if you want to add some flavor to it, mix the tea with some cranberry juice (you might want to add sugar to this because cranberry juice can be very tart).

Both of the iced teas are delicious and one can taste all the ingredients, especially the tea! We carry a special higher-roast Oriental Beauty that was made especially for iced tea.

If you want something more simple, just brew some Dragon Well or Silver Needles and pour the tea over ice. It's so refreshing!

Brewing Da Yu Ling High Mountain Oolong Tea

When I was in Taiwan in May searching for Oolongs, I didn't notice that some of this past season's tea has a slight bitter taste in the back of my tongue. After I brought them back to Seattle, that mild hint of bitterness appeared in some of the new teas. I don't know why they had such a change. Perhaps just like humans, tea can change in new environments, too.

Many customers have tried this spring's Da Yu Ling and they've commented that this Da Yu Ling is sweet and complex, but not bold. They generally like this tea. A regular customer bought a bag of the Da Yu Ling, and after he tried it twice at home, he came to tell me that the tea had some bitterness to it. I was having tea with some friends at the teashop at that time and he didn't want to sit down to try the tea that I was brewing. I asked him to come back again and to bring the regular pot he uses for high mountain teas and with that pot, we could brew the tea together. He gladly accepted the invitation.

My customer showed up with his pot later in the week. He brewed the tea in his pot the way he is accustomed to and I brewed the same tea in a gaiwan. The first three infusions from his pot were overwhelmingly bitter. He tasted mine and told me that the bitterness was there, but it was not offensive. I laughed and said,"no wonder you didn't like this tea. It's too bitter the way you brew it!" He justified by saying," I think this tea is interesting. The flavor changes throughout the infusions and it can last for 7 infusions. This tea is not boring at all. I just don't like the first three brewings." I laughed again and told him that it was not good enough. He was very intrigued by the tea's different taste when brewed in a gaiwan compared to his pot, though. My point was to ask him to give this tea a chance.

Alone in the teashop one afternoon, I found that I was in the mood to drink Da Yu Ling. I took out a yixing pot and put in a lot more tea leaves than usual. I brewed it for about 20 to 25 seconds (I noticed that customer timed his tea 20 to 25 seconds). It was really good! I wish he was there at the time to try the tea. It had full body and was full of flavors. The slight bitterness was there, but it was not offensive at all. I enjoyed that tea until the last drop of many brewings.

My customer came again afterwards. I asked him if he could bring his pot over so that we could brew the same tea in two different pots, and he accepted the second invitation again.

This time, we were pretty scientific about the brewing. We measured the pots and the leaves. My pot is just little bit smaller than his. He used around 10.2 grams of tea and I used 10 grams. He timed the 20 seconds of brewing time and I added two to three more seconds. It turned out again that the tea from my pot was not as bitter as his. He insisted it was still too bitter and I respected what he was tasting. I told him with a sincerity that I liked the tea. I told him that in Taiwan, many people brew tea even stronger than what we did that day, and they would brew it to just the "right edge". Their tea tastes bitter, but it was normally full body and the Hua Gan(sweetness turns back to the throat) and a sweet taste will appear at the mouth. People like interesting changes like this. He told me it was the first time he ever heard of Hua Gan and he couldn't "sense" it. But it was interesting for him to learn new things.

Taiwan Tea Tour 2010!

As some of you already know, I am going to lead a tea tour to Taiwan next May. We will be visiting Pinglin (Baozhong tea), Muzha (Tiequanyin), Alishan Mountain, taking tea classes from some of the most famous Taiwanese tea experts, eating delicious food and doing many more fun things.
The itinerary is posted on Floating Leaves Tea website HERE

Check it out!

I look forward to taking you to my homeland: Taiwan!


*All the pictures are from one of the 2007 Taiwan Tour members: Jim Molnar

Favorite Moments of the Trip

I was very happy that I could make it to Taiwan with Konghai. It was really nice to see my mother and my family. It was their first time seeing Konghai and they adored him! My mother even made the effort to take extra days off from her work to go to Dong Ding mountain with us.

It was hard for her to to leave part with us so soon, but we promised we would go back to visit next year.

I saw my best friends from high school. One of them came with us on our trip to Dong Ding and we got to spend half a day together. Even though it was only half a day, we both found our friendship to be strong. It will never die off and we care for each other. I saw my other friends in Taipei, got to hang out with them, and one of them was very generous to let me stay at her place.

I was very grateful to the farmers and tea people I met on this trip. I met the Dong Ding farmer and the Tieguanyin farmer for the first time. Both of them and their wonderful wives spent a lot of time with me and I can't wait to see them again next year to learn the arts of their tea.

And I really enjoyed seeing my old tea friends and mentors, like farmer Chen, Mr. Tsai and Mr. Lui. I have known Chen and Lui for five years, and Tsai for more than 10 years. It was very relaxing to be with them. They have all had their tea business for many years. I like to be at their establishments, not only to drink good tea, but also to see people come and go. It doesn't seem like time is really an issue for anyone.

I enjoyed learning tea from them, too. Most of the farmers and tea people are not very good at explaining things. They teach by telling me to "experience" tea. This is so different from the logical way of learning. I was frustrated in the beginning, but later, I learned to appreciate this method. If I can't taste the tea, it doesn't matter how many facts I learn about the tea. I knew that I had breakthroughs in my learning when I heard such statements as : " Hey Miss Tai, I am going to brew a tea that will make you smile," or "Miss Tai, the tea that we are going to drink is the taste of heaven."

And food! It was delicious as usual.

I love Taiwan! Good people, good tea and good food! I can't wait to go back there again.