Tealosophy › The Practice of Making Tea

Now that we have had a chance to introduce some simple brewing techniques we wanted to share some other tea preparation styles. We know that as we move away from familiar tea brewing methods your eyes might start glazing over. However, if you are already a tea enthusiast and want to get more from your tea experiences it might be time to experiment with Gong Fu Cha. This is my preferred method of tea brewing.  Gong Fu Cha loosely translates to “preparing tea with effort”. Whilst you may have visions of an elaborate and sophisticated tea spectacle Gong Fu Cha can be...

So, you are curious to try loose-leaf tea. You may be a conscious consumer interested to discover the origins of most things you eat and drink but have not yet been convinced to leave the perceived ease and convenience of a teabag. In your heart you know the world of tea is probably slightly better, you may have read the health properties of drinking loose-leaf tea or stumbled into a tea retailer and been enticed by the aromas of the tea leaves. Congratulations! Perhaps you are not experiencing all that tea has to offer but where do you go from here?...

So you intended to watch the water come up to temperature, you were waiting to see those little crab eyes (see my previous post), and next thing you know, you have been distracted, and the water is bubbling away. So how do we get this water back to a desirable tea brewing temperature? There are a few different methods you could use to cool your boiling water down. It really depends on how desperate you are to make your cup if tea. Here are a few suggestions. Instant Gratification   Come to the rescue, thermodynamics. Thanks to a little bit...

There is no doubt that water temperature plays a critical role in the tea making process. Water temperature impacts the taste and aroma of what you experience in the cup. Water that is too hot results in an unpleasant, bitter tasting tea. Too cool and you end up with a listless, thin tea. Whilst every tea enthusiast will have an opinion about the correct temperature for brewing specific teas this post explores the practical side, how to get the water to the desired temperature for brewing tea. We use some ancient Chinese wisdom to avoid the endless raging torrent of boiling water that...