I have been brewing puer a short time and I am interested in how others
brew.
Using gongfu style, I use 3 gr.tea to 4 oz.water. One minute rinse.
First infusion 3 min., second infusion 3:30 min, third infusion 4 min.,
fourth -- about two hours.
I like the flavor of the first, second and third as they are strong.
The fourth is much weaker.
Does this sound right? I have read that brewing times were 30 sec. to
one min. then increasing approx. 30 sec.each additional infusion. For
me this would be a very weak tea. In the end it comes down to
individual tastes but I'd like to hear from veteran brewers.
Please comment.
Cale

On 12 Oct 2005 22:45:50 -0700, "cale" >
wrote:

>I have been brewing puer a short time and I am interested in how others
>brew.
>Using gongfu style, I use 3 gr.tea to 4 oz.water. One minute rinse.
>First infusion 3 min., second infusion 3:30 min, third infusion 4 min.,
>fourth -- about two hours.
>I like the flavor of the first, second and third as they are strong.
>The fourth is much weaker.
>Does this sound right? I have read that brewing times were 30 sec. to
>one min. then increasing approx. 30 sec.each additional infusion. For
>me this would be a very weak tea. In the end it comes down to
>individual tastes but I'd like to hear from veteran brewers.
>Please comment.
>Cale

Hi Cale,

First, as you have said, it is very much a matter of personal taste. I
used to brew very long and strong also, particularly black puerhs.
Recently however I have discovered that the longer steeps were masking
other more delicate flavors that I had never even noticed before. I
now brew at a ratio of 1g of leaf to 20ml (5-6g to 4oz), a 20 sec
rinse, let it rest a minute to allow the leaf to hydrate, then 20-30
sec steeps, starting with the third I increase the time by 20-50% each
successive steep. On some tea, one particular half-cooked 20 year old
mushroom comes to mind, I use almost instantaneous steeps for the
first 5-6 rounds. On that particular tea I found that longer steeps
totally ruined the flavor where short steeps brought out a nice aged
flavor.

I have a lot of links to other gongfu methods listed here
http://www.pu-erh.net/howtobrew.html

Mike Petro
http://www.pu-erh.net

Mike 10/13/05


> On 12 Oct 2005 22:45:50 -0700, "cale" >
> wrote:
>
>> I have been brewing puer a short time and I am interested in how others
>> brew.
>> Using gongfu style, I use 3 gr.tea to 4 oz.water. One minute rinse.
>> First infusion 3 min., second infusion 3:30 min, third infusion 4 min.,
>> fourth -- about two hours.
>> I like the flavor of the first, second and third as they are strong.
>> The fourth is much weaker.
>> Does this sound right? I have read that brewing times were 30 sec. to
>> one min. then increasing approx. 30 sec.each additional infusion. For
>> me this would be a very weak tea. In the end it comes down to
>> individual tastes but I'd like to hear from veteran brewers.
>> Please comment.
>> Cale
>
> Hi Cale,
>
> First, as you have said, it is very much a matter of personal taste. I
> used to brew very long and strong also, particularly black puerhs.
> Recently however I have discovered that the longer steeps were masking
> other more delicate flavors that I had never even noticed before. I
> now brew at a ratio of 1g of leaf to 20ml (5-6g to 4oz), a 20 sec
> rinse, let it rest a minute to allow the leaf to hydrate, then 20-30
> sec steeps, starting with the third I increase the time by 20-50% each
> successive steep.

> On some tea, one particular half-cooked 20 year old
> mushroom comes to mind, I use almost instantaneous steeps for the
> first 5-6 rounds. On that particular tea I found that longer steeps
> totally ruined the flavor where short steeps brought out a nice aged
> flavor.

Cale and Mike,

This, if I might add, is because between the steeps the wet leaves continue
to release their goodness, even though they are not water soaked. When you
add the water, the released flavors are imparted to the water almost
immediately.

In a really general sense, so many Pu'erhs, so many approaches and
parameters, so little time. In other words, you'll need to experiment
somewhat with every new one you try. That's my opinion. For specifics, I
rely on Mike.

Michael

>In a really general sense, so many Pu'erhs, so many approaches and
>parameters, so little time. In other words, you'll need to experiment
>somewhat with every new one you try. That's my opinion. For specifics, I
>rely on Mike.
>
>Michael

I subscribe to the general school of: if you want a stronger cup use
more leaf *NOT* more time. More time tends to bring out undesirable
elements in many teas, for example the tannic acid in reds(blacks).

Mike Petro
http://www.pu-erh.net

Mike 10/13/05


>
>> In a really general sense, so many Pu'erhs, so many approaches and
>> parameters, so little time. In other words, you'll need to experiment
>> somewhat with every new one you try. That's my opinion. For specifics, I
>> rely on Mike.
>>
>> Michael
>
> I subscribe to the general school of: if you want a stronger cup use
> more leaf *NOT* more time. More time tends to bring out undesirable
> elements in many teas, for example the tannic acid in reds(blacks).
>
> Mike Petro
> http://www.pu-erh.net

Mike, that's a great point, and I agree completely. Glad you mentioned it.
If the tea is truly expensive and you don't want to waste any, use a smaller
brew vessel.

Michael

To Mike and Michael - Thank you. That is exactly the kind of
information I was looking for. I will follow suggestions and
experiment.
Cale

To Mike and Michael - Thank you. That is exactly the kind of
information I was looking for. I will follow suggestions and
experiment.
Cale

To Mike and Michael - Thank you. That is exactly the kind of
information I was looking for. I will follow suggestions and
experiment.
Cale

>Using gongfu style, I use 3 gr.tea to 4 oz.water. One minute rinse.
>First infusion 3 min., second infusion 3:30 min, third infusion 4 min.,
>fourth -- about two hours.


I like longevity in my brewings/tea tastings. I put about 7 grams of
tea into a gaiwan or pot and go from there; more close akin to Chinese
gongfu style. Extremely short brewing times, but you can get 8-10 (or
more depending on the quality of your tea) good brews. If you're
really good, you can keep the same flavor at nearly every brewing.
Thus "gongfu".