> I've thought of roasting tea at home, especially as I've got half a pound
of
> stale gunpowder green that wasn't very good in the first place. Anyone
other
> equipment/procedure recommendations? I was going to use either a
> toaster-oven or a heavy frying pan, as some use for home-roasting green
> coffee beans.

Inspired as usual by this group, I just cooked up an ounce or so of the
gunpowder, a disappointing tea from a fairly famous local vendor that has
been sitting around (airtight) for a year or so. I used a small
stainless-steel pan, preheated on an electric stove to burn off any
residues. Poured in the tea, stirred almost constantly to keep things even.
A white vapor was emitted continuously during the two minutes or so that I
cooked it; perhaps that was mostly caffeine. (I let a little condense on a
cold spoon and tasted it, but couldn't be sure.)

Smell was wonderful. The resulting leaf smelled a little smoky - nothing
like a Lapsang - and made a brownish brew. Much better than the original on
all four steeps: less astringent, and not much less green-tea flavor
(perhaps because there hadn't been much to start).

Now I'd like to try a highly fermented but low-roasted oolong. Might be a
good way to get a fresher tea experience at moderate cost. Any
recommendations?

-DM

Cameron Lewis wrote:
> I don't know if you use yixing pots or not, but I've found that
> lightly roasting oolongs inside of a pot is among the surest ways to
> marry tea to pot.

Great idea! I have a few pots that I wouldn't risk in this way as they have
an exquisite surface finish, but most of my Yixings are pretty cheap.

> I just fill the pot in the same manner as if I was
> making some gongfu cha, wrap it in foil and bake at no higher than
> 250F for an hour or so.

Interesting - I'll wager that this produces a significantly different result
from pan-frying. Working the numbers, it's probably anoxic - all the oxygen
may be consumed by various reactions, and won't be replenished under these
conditions. Some moisture and other volatiles (caffeine?) are probably
retained as well, vs. the open-air approach. Care to try a direct comparison
building on your casserole experience?

-DM

Cameron Lewis wrote:
> I don't know if you use yixing pots or not, but I've found that
> lightly roasting oolongs inside of a pot is among the surest ways to
> marry tea to pot.

Great idea! I have a few pots that I wouldn't risk in this way as they have
an exquisite surface finish, but most of my Yixings are pretty cheap.

> I just fill the pot in the same manner as if I was
> making some gongfu cha, wrap it in foil and bake at no higher than
> 250F for an hour or so.

Interesting - I'll wager that this produces a significantly different result
from pan-frying. Working the numbers, it's probably anoxic - all the oxygen
may be consumed by various reactions, and won't be replenished under these
conditions. Some moisture and other volatiles (caffeine?) are probably
retained as well, vs. the open-air approach. Care to try a direct comparison
building on your casserole experience?

-DM

The casserole method and this are the same, I just forgot to mention
that I wrapped the pot in foil first. Roasting in the teapot
definitely removes some moisture (the leaves are bone dry after),
though I have no idea of the effect on caffeine. As far as joining
tea and teapot goes, this is best done right after finishing the
boiling phase of teapot break-in. I use foil because I wanted to
reduce the oxygen content and I think that some vapourised volatile
compounds make it through the clay and are forced to adhere to the
pot's surface as it cools. This makes for a rather pretty and durable
sheen.

I've never tried pan-firing any stale tea before. It seems a much
riskier proposition in terms of oxidation (to the point of charring or
burning). I might give it a try with some old chun mee I have kicking
around.

Cameron

"Dog Ma 1" (reply w/o spam)> wrote in message >...
> Cameron Lewis wrote:
> > I don't know if you use yixing pots or not, but I've found that
> > lightly roasting oolongs inside of a pot is among the surest ways to
> > marry tea to pot.
>
> Great idea! I have a few pots that I wouldn't risk in this way as they have
> an exquisite surface finish, but most of my Yixings are pretty cheap.
>
> > I just fill the pot in the same manner as if I was
> > making some gongfu cha, wrap it in foil and bake at no higher than
> > 250F for an hour or so.
>
> Interesting - I'll wager that this produces a significantly different result
> from pan-frying. Working the numbers, it's probably anoxic - all the oxygen
> may be consumed by various reactions, and won't be replenished under these
> conditions. Some moisture and other volatiles (caffeine?) are probably
> retained as well, vs. the open-air approach. Care to try a direct comparison
> building on your casserole experience?
>
> -DM