I recently bought some Cream of Assam 2006 harvest (Satrupa Estate)
and I find that when brewed according to instructions (boiling water
for ~3 to 5 minutes) I would get bitterness almost overpowering the
sweet tabaco like taste. I tried decreasing the water temp by allowing
kettle to cool 2 minutes before brewing and brewing 3 to 3 1/2 minutes
too weak.

I found so far that a full boil and a 1 1/2 minute brew produced an
acceptable balanced brew. I want to shoot for outstanding does anyone
have any suggestions. I did do a search on the group but couldn't get
much info.

It seems that brewing instructions on more packages than not of
quality teas will often turn these otherwise good to great teas into
dreck making you wonder if they are any different than low quality mass
produced powder in tea bags. They usually say somthing to the effect
"add boiling water and brew forever" I have seen this on bags of high
quality chinese green teas that should be brewed at temps in the 170
deg F to 180 deg F range as well as others. Thanks to post on this news
group I was able to learn the proper temp range for these teas and they
are great when brewed according to the good advice of some of the
posters who have done it themselves.

I know every one has different tastes but a lot of these teas seem to
all have the same overpowering bitterness when brewed according to
package instructions except for a few black teas that I found came out
well with boiling water and long brew times.

My point is I hope to aviod re-inventing the wheel, is there a good
source of brewing information for the many different types of teas that
I can refere to or perhaps download so I can improve on rather than
re-invent the already invented. This newsgroup has been one of my best
sources by the way but I am thinking maybe a brewing encyclopedia that
discusses the most popular methods, tastes and flavours prefered most,
vs traditional and less popular. I found the gong fu posts facinating.

Any comments thoughts or good ideas are appreciated

What is your baseline reference for the taste of this tea? If it is a
new tea then you break it in like a new car. If it is a familiar tea
then expect problems with used cars. Of all the variables for Indian
teas I solve most problems by using more tea and less brewing times.
If a tea is that finicky then it could be the freshness. Not in the
sense of directly from the estate to you but exposed to the environment
somewhere along the line. Brewing parameters are more or less.
Everyone has a different bell curve. I just recently changed my
brewing technique for teas with multiple infusions. I now leave a
little soak for the next pot.

Jim

opother wrote:
> I recently bought some Cream of Assam 2006 harvest (Satrupa Estate)
> and I find that when brewed according to instructions (boiling water
> for ~3 to 5 minutes) I would get bitterness almost overpowering the
> sweet tabaco like taste. I tried decreasing the water temp by allowing
> kettle to cool 2 minutes before brewing and brewing 3 to 3 1/2 minutes
> too weak.
>
> I found so far that a full boil and a 1 1/2 minute brew produced an
> acceptable balanced brew. I want to shoot for outstanding does anyone
> have any suggestions. I did do a search on the group but couldn't get
> much info.
>
> It seems that brewing instructions on more packages than not of
> quality teas will often turn these otherwise good to great teas into
> dreck making you wonder if they are any different than low quality mass
> produced powder in tea bags. They usually say somthing to the effect
> "add boiling water and brew forever" I have seen this on bags of high
> quality chinese green teas that should be brewed at temps in the 170
> deg F to 180 deg F range as well as others. Thanks to post on this news
> group I was able to learn the proper temp range for these teas and they
> are great when brewed according to the good advice of some of the
> posters who have done it themselves.
>
> I know every one has different tastes but a lot of these teas seem to
> all have the same overpowering bitterness when brewed according to
> package instructions except for a few black teas that I found came out
> well with boiling water and long brew times.
>
> My point is I hope to aviod re-inventing the wheel, is there a good
> source of brewing information for the many different types of teas that
> I can refere to or perhaps download so I can improve on rather than
> re-invent the already invented. This newsgroup has been one of my best
> sources by the way but I am thinking maybe a brewing encyclopedia that
> discusses the most popular methods, tastes and flavours prefered most,
> vs traditional and less popular. I found the gong fu posts facinating.
>
> Any comments thoughts or good ideas are appreciated

Upton's tea catalog, free for the asking, has an overview in the
centerfold of tea brewing time and temperature.
opother wrote:
> I recently bought some Cream of Assam 2006 harvest (Satrupa Estate)
> and I find that when brewed according to instructions (boiling water
> for ~3 to 5 minutes) I would get bitterness almost overpowering the
> sweet tabaco like taste. I tried decreasing the water temp by allowing
> kettle to cool 2 minutes before brewing and brewing 3 to 3 1/2 minutes
> too weak.
>
> I found so far that a full boil and a 1 1/2 minute brew produced an
> acceptable balanced brew. I want to shoot for outstanding does anyone
> have any suggestions. I did do a search on the group but couldn't get
> much info.
>
> It seems that brewing instructions on more packages than not of
> quality teas will often turn these otherwise good to great teas into
> dreck making you wonder if they are any different than low quality mass
> produced powder in tea bags. They usually say somthing to the effect
> "add boiling water and brew forever" I have seen this on bags of high
> quality chinese green teas that should be brewed at temps in the 170
> deg F to 180 deg F range as well as others. Thanks to post on this news
> group I was able to learn the proper temp range for these teas and they
> are great when brewed according to the good advice of some of the
> posters who have done it themselves.
>
> I know every one has different tastes but a lot of these teas seem to
> all have the same overpowering bitterness when brewed according to
> package instructions except for a few black teas that I found came out
> well with boiling water and long brew times.
>
> My point is I hope to aviod re-inventing the wheel, is there a good
> source of brewing information for the many different types of teas that
> I can refere to or perhaps download so I can improve on rather than
> re-invent the already invented. This newsgroup has been one of my best
> sources by the way but I am thinking maybe a brewing encyclopedia that
> discusses the most popular methods, tastes and flavours prefered most,
> vs traditional and less popular. I found the gong fu posts facinating.
>
> Any comments thoughts or good ideas are appreciated