"Top Spin" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 3 Feb 2005 23:01:15 -0600, "Bluesea" >
> wrote:
>
> >"Top Spin" > wrote in message
> .. .
> >>
> >> For black teas, my procedure is to pour 3 cups of tap water from the
> >> cold faucet into a 4-cup pyrex and bring that to a brief rolling boil
> >> in the microwave (about 6-7 minutes).
> >
> >WHOA! Stop right there 'cause you're scaring me. Are you aware that a
> >microwave oven can super-heat water beyond the 212F boiling point w/o it
> >ever creating a shimmer much less a bubble? And, if conditions are right,
> >it'll explode spontaneously and scald you.
>
> Naw. I've been doing that for 30 years. Never had one explore or even
> erupt. My microwave might be too wimpy. It's almost 30 years old as
> well. But the concern is touching. ;-)

Please don't be complacent about it. The microwave that exploded my water
was 24 years old and had never done it before.

> >If a brewing basket like a Teeli, you're okay.
>
> It's the plastic infuser basket that comes with the Chatsford teapots.

Okie-doke.

> It's a black tea and it was only in there for 3:30, so that wouldn;t
> be oversteeping, would it?

Maybe. I've got a Darjeeling that I won't brew over 3 min.

> On the other hand, I just tried another pot and this time I stopped at
> 3:00 and it was less astringent, so m,aybe 3:30 is too long. But I
> still don't like it that much.

You might experiment some more, reduce the time by 30 sec. each try, and
give up if you reach 2 min. and still don't like it.

Actually, since you have a brew basket, pull it out at 2 min, taste, put it
back in for 30 sec., taste again, continue until it tastes the best. You
already know what 3 min and over is like, so you don't need to go over 3
min. After that, brew at one stretch for the entire time that you determined
to be the best to make sure.

At the best time, also try differing amounts, a little bit more, a little
bit less and see what happens.

> I actually meant the not smoking part to suggest that my tastes are
> kinda bland and any strong flavors are off-putting to me at first.

Heh. I meant that not smoking will help you distinguish subtle differences
that smokers are likely to miss.

> Anyway, thanks for the tips.

Sure, that's what we do here .

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.