Hi again all,
For Christmas my daughter bought me a Brown Betty tea pot, which I
wanted, and two packages of unflavored white tea, which I didn't. How
do you make this tea? Every time I make it it seems very bland and
flavorless. How can I make it so it has some flavor? Kitty

It needs some skill to brew white tea
1) hot water should not be too hot , 75 degrees will be fine.
2) put a tea spoon of tea ( 5 gr) into a cup
3) pour 1/4 of hot water into the cup and wait for 2 min
4) after 2 min, fill up the cup with hot water.
5) wait for another 3 min .
you will tast a good white tea



"Kitty" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hi again all,
> For Christmas my daughter bought me a Brown Betty tea pot, which I
> wanted, and two packages of unflavored white tea, which I didn't. How
> do you make this tea? Every time I make it it seems very bland and
> flavorless. How can I make it so it has some flavor? Kitty
>

thanks, I'll try that now. I don't know how to measure 75 degrees.
I have been trying to pour when the kettle starts to make noise. I
hope that is about right. I don't have a candy thermometer. I looked
all day. LOL Kitty

/27/06


> It needs some skill to brew white tea
> 1) hot water should not be too hot , 75 degrees will be fine.
> 2) put a tea spoon of tea ( 5 gr) into a cup
> 3) pour 1/4 of hot water into the cup and wait for 2 min
> 4) after 2 min, fill up the cup with hot water.
> 5) wait for another 3 min .
> you will tast a good white tea

There is another school of thought regarding white tea: Steep it at a far
lower temperature for more time. The resulting brew might change the water
very little, but the aftertaste will be very pleasing. According to this
concept, the white tea will affect the water without actually adding much
flavor. Your two part method is very interesting. How are the results
different/better than starting with a lower temperature? (Not that I doubt
you; I'll try it the next time I get my hands on some decent Yin Zhen.)

Michael

Just realized: 75 degrees **C**. Sorry. That's more like 160F.
I was responding to a misreading of 175F. Anyway, I'd still
try at 130 or 140F for a longer time, just to see what happens.

Michael




/27/06


> It needs some skill to brew white tea
> 1) hot water should not be too hot , 75 degrees will be fine.
> 2) put a tea spoon of tea ( 5 gr) into a cup
> 3) pour 1/4 of hot water into the cup and wait for 2 min
> 4) after 2 min, fill up the cup with hot water.
> 5) wait for another 3 min .
> you will tast a good white tea

There is another school of thought regarding white tea: Steep it at a far
lower temperature for more time. The resulting brew might change the water
very little, but the aftertaste will be very pleasing. According to this
concept, the white tea will affect the water without actually adding much
flavor. Your two part method is very interesting. How are the results
different/better than starting with a lower temperature? (Not that I doubt
you; I'll try it the next time I get my hands on some decent Yin Zhen.)

Michael

White tea has an ephemeral taste. Till you know what it is, brew it
with boiling water and lots and lots of leaf letting it stew in the pot
for at least 5 minutes. It can take the abuse. There is no such thing
as a astringent bitter overbrewed white tea. The white tea that cries
out for a glass pot is Yinzhen. It will look like stalactites in the
water. One of my favorite anytime teas is a white tea called SowMee.
It is cheap and easily found in Chinatown. It makes a mushy pot of
tea. It looks like autumn leaves after a rain. The other white tea is
called BaiMuDan. It contains hair particulate which adds a nice foam
to the cup. I especially like a White tea when I'm tired of everything
else.

Jim

PS Damn that tetanus shot hurts. You never know when a remodeler will
need an extra hand besides the one that hands them the check at the end
of the week.

Kitty wrote:
> Hi again all,
> For Christmas my daughter bought me a Brown Betty tea pot, which I
> wanted, and two packages of unflavored white tea, which I didn't. How
> do you make this tea? Every time I make it it seems very bland and
> flavorless. How can I make it so it has some flavor? Kitty

Space 4/28/06


> White tea has an ephemeral taste. Till you know what it is, brew it
> with boiling water and lots and lots of leaf letting it stew in the pot
> for at least 5 minutes. It can take the abuse. There is no such thing
> as a astringent bitter overbrewed white tea. The white tea that cries
> out for a glass pot is Yinzhen. It will look like stalactites in the
> water. One of my favorite anytime teas is a white tea called SowMee.
> It is cheap and easily found in Chinatown. It makes a mushy pot of
> tea. It looks like autumn leaves after a rain. The other white tea is
> called BaiMuDan. It contains hair particulate which adds a nice foam
> to the cup. I especially like a White tea when I'm tired of everything
> else.
>
> Jim

Aha! Bai Mu Dan has some buds and some adjacent leaves. Sow Mee -- I'm not
sure this isn't Shu Mei -- is all leaf without bud. Yin Zhen is pure bud, no
leaf. I was talking earlier about the latter. While I don't think Bai Mu Dan
is impervious at all to oversteeping in too hot a temperature, it is
certainly more forgiving than Yin Zhen. Yin Zhen and Bai Mu Dan are
completely different animals to my taste. Try them both. I'd leave the Sow
Mee/Shu Mei (or is that Dim Sum?) alone. It's not very good, but this is
clearly a matter of different strokes for different folks. And ephemeral is
certainly the right word.

Michael

actually , there is not much choice for white tea, Bai Mu Dan, Shu Mei and
Silver Needle, and i strong recommend white tea- Silver Needle, it tastes
completely different to the other kind of tea.


"Michael Plant" > wrote in message
...
> Space 4/28/06
>
>
> > White tea has an ephemeral taste. Till you know what it is, brew it
> > with boiling water and lots and lots of leaf letting it stew in the pot
> > for at least 5 minutes. It can take the abuse. There is no such thing
> > as a astringent bitter overbrewed white tea. The white tea that cries
> > out for a glass pot is Yinzhen. It will look like stalactites in the
> > water. One of my favorite anytime teas is a white tea called SowMee.
> > It is cheap and easily found in Chinatown. It makes a mushy pot of
> > tea. It looks like autumn leaves after a rain. The other white tea is
> > called BaiMuDan. It contains hair particulate which adds a nice foam
> > to the cup. I especially like a White tea when I'm tired of everything
> > else.
> >
> > Jim
>
> Aha! Bai Mu Dan has some buds and some adjacent leaves. Sow Mee -- I'm not
> sure this isn't Shu Mei -- is all leaf without bud. Yin Zhen is pure bud,
no
> leaf. I was talking earlier about the latter. While I don't think Bai Mu
Dan
> is impervious at all to oversteeping in too hot a temperature, it is
> certainly more forgiving than Yin Zhen. Yin Zhen and Bai Mu Dan are
> completely different animals to my taste. Try them both. I'd leave the Sow
> Mee/Shu Mei (or is that Dim Sum?) alone. It's not very good, but this is
> clearly a matter of different strokes for different folks. And ephemeral
is
> certainly the right word.
>
> Michael
>

Michael Plant > writes:

> Space 4/28/06
>
>
> > White tea has an ephemeral taste. Till you know what it is, brew it
> > with boiling water and lots and lots of leaf letting it stew in the pot
> > for at least 5 minutes. It can take the abuse. There is no such thing
> > as a astringent bitter overbrewed white tea. The white tea that cries
> > out for a glass pot is Yinzhen. It will look like stalactites in the
> > water. One of my favorite anytime teas is a white tea called SowMee.
> > It is cheap and easily found in Chinatown. It makes a mushy pot of
> > tea. It looks like autumn leaves after a rain. The other white tea is
> > called BaiMuDan. It contains hair particulate which adds a nice foam
> > to the cup. I especially like a White tea when I'm tired of everything
> > else.
> >
> > Jim
>
> Aha! Bai Mu Dan has some buds and some adjacent leaves. Sow Mee -- I'm not
> sure this isn't Shu Mei

Shou Mei.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

Lewis Perin wrote:
> Michael Plant > writes:
>
> > Aha! Bai Mu Dan has some buds and some adjacent leaves. Sow Mee -- I'm not
> > sure this isn't Shu Mei
>
> Shou Mei.

I just bought seven ounces of this for $3.29 at Ranch 99 Market in
Shoreline, WA. FooJoy brand.
It's pretty much like the loose-leaf "White Tea with Cantaloupe" from
Zhena's Gypsy Tea that I bought at a T.J. Maxx, but that was 2.5 ounces
for about four or five bucks. And without the cantaloupe flavoring.

It doesn't really look very white, though. It looks like an assortment
of green-to-greenish-brown leaf and twig pieces.

Has anybody tried the "peony white" from CoffeeBeanDirect.com yet?
I've got my eye on it, seriously considering ordering a bag.


stePH
--
in cup: blend of Vietnamese green and FooJoy "Mao Feng" green.

That's the standard Shou Mei found in Chinatown. It's the same as the
Sunflower Fujian CNNP SowMee you see occasionally. It is White tea
leaves and not the Yinzhen bud. For practical purposes don't consider
the two the same. Don't be afraid to mush up a pot with SowMee for the
sweet toasty flavor mentioned on the box. BaiMuDan or White Peony is a
mid season transition from bud to leaf. The bud is more dry and the
hair creates a dust. I'd spend my money on a Yinzhen or save it on a
SowMee. If you like a froth that tickles the throat then BaiMuDan.

Jim

stePH wrote:
> Lewis Perin wrote:
> > Michael Plant > writes:
> >
> > > Aha! Bai Mu Dan has some buds and some adjacent leaves. Sow Mee -- I'm not
> > > sure this isn't Shu Mei
> >
> > Shou Mei.
>
> I just bought seven ounces of this for $3.29 at Ranch 99 Market in
> Shoreline, WA. FooJoy brand.
> It's pretty much like the loose-leaf "White Tea with Cantaloupe" from
> Zhena's Gypsy Tea that I bought at a T.J. Maxx, but that was 2.5 ounces
> for about four or five bucks. And without the cantaloupe flavoring.
>
> It doesn't really look very white, though. It looks like an assortment
> of green-to-greenish-brown leaf and twig pieces.
>
> Has anybody tried the "peony white" from CoffeeBeanDirect.com yet?
> I've got my eye on it, seriously considering ordering a bag.
>
>
> stePH
> --
> in cup: blend of Vietnamese green and FooJoy "Mao Feng" green.

Nothing wrong with different strokes. If I had to drink one tea for
the rest of my life it would be SowMee. It's the only tea I can think
of with a refreshing taste. It is the most honest tea I've ever
tasted. It is more nutrients than taste. It is the Gatorade of teas.
One day it struck me. Simple teas taste great. This is the best of
the simplest. It has the singularity of aroma and taste. It can't
fool anyone. What you smell and taste is what you get. Honestly you
can't appreciate this tea till you down lots of pots of everything
else.

Jim

Michael Plant wrote:
....Jim deletes Jim...Jim delete Michael...
> Space 4/28/06
>
>
> > One of my favorite anytime teas is a white tea called SowMee.
> > It is cheap and easily found in Chinatown. It makes a mushy pot of
> > tea. It looks like autumn leaves after a rain.

>
> I'd leave the Sow
> Mee/Shu Mei (or is that Dim Sum?) alone. It's not very good, but this is
> clearly a matter of different strokes for different folks. And ephemeral is
> certainly the right word.
>
> Michael

>For Christmas my daughter bought me a Brown Betty tea pot, which I
>wanted, and two packages of unflavored white tea, which I didn't. How
>do you make this tea? Every time I make it it seems very bland and
>flavorless. How can I make it so it has some flavor? Kitty


Could be that you just got some bad white tea.