Hi -

Missed you this time of my visiting NY and Tea Gallery.
The idea of mineral water being added to already brewed tea is very
interesting. The majority of the replies seem to miss the fact that seem the
most important to me - that opposite to adding minerals during brewing this
method cannot influence the extraction. So, it may improve 1. taste
mediation or (my current thinking) 2. increase dissoacoative properties of
water as a solvent and thus prevent the formation of chemical complexes and
therefore help "presenting" the extracts to the tastebuds in a better way.
Or both.
One way or another - it would be interesting to study the chemistry and
biomediation of these post-brew additives. May also be a serious
contribution not only to tea but to drinks in general and may be even food.

Good job, DogMa xian sheng.

Sasha.


"DogMa" > wrote in message
...
> This post concerns water and tea. Allow me to begin with an analogical
> digression.
>
> Several decades ago, as a pre-professional nerd, I read that sugar is
> critical in many foods not as a source of sweetness per se, but as a
> flavor potentiator like unto salt or MSG. This seemed possibly relevant to
> the consuming problem of rapid flavor decay in so-called Juicy Fruit gum.
> So I took a wad of post-sapid chicle, wrapped it around a pinch of table
> sugar, and was astonished to find it entirely revivified. Fortunately for
> Wrigley's fortunes (and my remaining teeth), I was too lazy to make this a
> regular practice, and none of my cohort expressed interest in such a
> life-extension methodology.
>
> Back to tea: I keep being disappointed on home-brewing rare and fine
> wonders that delighted in-store or at others' homes. Water is clearly a
> factor, most likely due to absence of needed solutes rather than presence
> of contaminants. But I'm too lazy and cheap to schlep gallons of bottled
> solvent, and also (after several years in the UK) averse to de-scaling the
> kettle. So of late, I've been trying some post-brew experiments. These
> have taken the form of adding a dash of bottled water to the gaiwan before
> dousing with hot tap water. I use mineral rather than spring water, to get
> a good slug of ions in the small addendum.
>
> This has worked pretty well. So far, I've used Gerolsteiner, which may not
> be an optimal mineral balance. (It is, however, the only one available
> here in the woods.) It's still less than convenient, and makes it that bit
> harder to control brewing temperature.
>
> So recently I've tried adding mineral water to the finished brew. This
> goes against common wisdom about the effect of various solutes (including
> oxygen) on extraction chemistry. -Common wisdom, I might add, absent
> widely published evidence. Thus far, the effect has been just as
> beneficial. Today, for example, I brewed a sample of Old Dong Ting from
> NYC's wonderful Tea Gallery. (Disclosu commercial connection; I spend
> money there at every opportunity.) This exquisite tea went "flat" after
> just three steeps in tap water. Adding a few ml of mineral water to the
> poured cup added/restored multiple layers of sweetness, fruit, complexity.
> And seemed to smooth over hints of roughness, somehow bringing the
> smoke/roast into better balance with more intrinsic leaf notes. (Kind of
> like the difference between 10- and 15-year-old Laphroaig, for those of
> that persuasion.) I took out five more very tasty steeps before going out
> to grease the Kioti.
>
> Now, here's the punch line: the bio-effect of a little added mineral water
> seemed to persist. I alternated "spiked" and tap-water brews, rinsing the
> cup between, and found them almost indistinguishable. Perhaps this
> shouldn't be surprising: calcium is a dominant mediator of cellular and
> neural activity, and charging the taste buds and proximal tissue with
> divalent ions might have a persistent effect. Any biologists here able to
> comment?
>
> Anyway, the provisional conclusion: a very small addition of minerals can
> apparently have a profound, persistent and positive effect on perceived
> quality in brewed tea, without much effort. Your mouthfeel may vary.
>
> -DM