FoodBanter.com - View Single Post

12/19/
04

> Well, I must admit I am surprised at some of the sarcastic replies.
> Especially when this newsgroup very often contains long threads about
> how to calibrate thermometers to within 0.1 degrees for ideal brewing
> of rare green teas.
>
> Thank you Warren and Derek, though.
>
> Maybe my post was too long to read and turned a lot of people off, so
> here's a quick summary:
>
> When using an infuser basket, is it ideal to have the water level so
> high that the entire basket is filled to the brim, or is it simply
> enough to make sure that the tea leaves themselves are covered in water
> (excluding the ones that float, which will always float no matter how
> high the water level is)?

It is probably best to let the leaves swim and float as freely as possible,
which is why I favor putting the leaves directly into the pot and using a
strainer when the tea is decanted into another vessel. If you want to avoid
the mess of leaves in the pot, use a nice deep infuser basket. Chatsforth
teapots come with them.
>
> That's the main issue. The space for the leaves to unfurl and be
> exposed to water does not change with the water level since that's a
> function of the infuser dimensions. The only difference here is that
> there isn't that much water *on top* of the leaves -- but so what?
> Should that really make a difference?

Since the leaves expand, make sure there is at least enough water to
maintain coverage, as it were. Get a pot that yields the amount of tea you
want.
>
> I'm hoping someone who knows about this sort of stuff will post a
> sincere reply. I'll continue to experiment, but it would be nice to
> hear some sort of authoritative answer based on science (or something
> approaching that).

I use a thermometer, a gram scale accurate to a tenth of a gram, and teas
that are worth the trouble. Your orginal post was kind of long, and you
imbedded your question in the middle, so I skipped over it. Ultimately,
those who advised you to simplify were speaking honestly. My advise, for
what it's worth, is to put the leaves directly into the pot. I do think it
yields a better result, and it allows you to enjoy the beauty of the leaves
dancing in the waster, which, to me, counts for a lot.

Michael
>