I tried the loose traditionally stored puerh today for real, with this setup:
I know a few of you use a water dispenser like this one. My question to you — how on Earth do you control the pouring???? Because I find it extremely difficult, and the water always come out a little too quickly/strongly, and the water sort of spills everywhere. I can hold it up to the spout, but then I run the risk of having it splatter on my hands, which is not pleasant either.
Anyway….
This is the puerh I drank.
This is infusion 2
This is around infusion 8 or 9
The puerh is not bad. It’s got some Chinese medicine taste, and very good chaqi. The leaves are big, and I actually thought it’s not a bad value for the quality of aged puerh that it is. It’s not a fantastic puerh, but if you need a cheap, aged puerh fix….. it will do the job.
Maybe I should go buy a little more. It’s really quite cheap….
And of course
Merry Christmas!
12 responses so far ↓
xcasper54x // December 25, 2006 at 11:46 pm |
I’ve wondered the same thing about that water dispenser. Seems like it would be a pain in the ass. I guess you could put the water into a pitcher before pouring it into the gaiwan/teapot, but that makes it seem less convenient.
stevendodd // December 28, 2006 at 3:29 am |
Is that dispenser the kind you leave on all the time that keep it hot or is it just a quick-boiler with heavy dispenser? Those might be convenient for making some noodles but seem to be overkill. I can wait three minutes for a quick boil in an electric kettle.
longstem // December 28, 2006 at 8:43 am |
I think Mike Petro uses one. Perhaps you should ask him. He’s mentioned these devices on his forum.
imenstudio // December 29, 2006 at 3:29 am |
I tilt the gaiwan about 15 degrees with the wall as close to the nozzle as possible, rim of the cup about 1 cm above the nozzle, then press the dispense button briefly like 1/2 second, then straighten the gaiwan, continue to dispense with water dropping right at the water edge till full. At the first dispense, a small amount of water slides to the bottom along the wall of gaiwan reducing splashing, the amount of water is so small, it won’t create a big splash either. You can also dip the cup a little as you stop dispensing to further reduce the force of running hot water. After a small amount of water settled at the bottom of the cup, this layer prevents large splash from the second dispense, to further reduce splashing by having water running along the water edge, wall of the gaiwan also shields half of the splashing. You can repeat the short dispense a couple times till you are comfortable with the flow. It takes some practice, but it’s worth the 2 extra seconds to save your hand.
longstem // December 29, 2006 at 10:46 am |
Are you able to effectively fill a small pot (i.e., 150ml)?
imenstudio // December 29, 2006 at 7:20 pm |
Filling a pot as small as 70ml is similar to a gaiwan, it’s actually easier with a pot because the curvy top shields splashing. The one thing you want to avoid is hitting the middle of a flat surface, be it the bottom of gaiwan or pot, which creates splashing in every direction with the most impact. The key is to redirect the water flow when and after the water hits the pot. When filling a pot, I would do the short dispense(s) with water landing at the bottom edge where the wall and bottom come together by tilting the pot, the curvy top shields any small splash well. Then dispense by moving the nozzle as close to the side of the pot as possible without burning your hand, usually this creates a whirlpool motion in the pot which reduces large splashes.
MarshalN // December 29, 2006 at 9:52 pm |
Doesn’t all that take away a lot from the ability to control how much water, how fast, etc? After all, the water dispenser dispenses at a pre-set speed.
I’m only using this for now because I’m stuck here in Hong Kong, and don’t feel like investing in a water boiler. That would be much more preferable though…
imenstudio // December 30, 2006 at 3:04 am |
I don’t really understand what do you mean by control of how much water and how fast. The amount of water would be as much as it takes to fill the pot right? As for speed, it is preset, but the technique is to work around the preset speed to minimize the splash and not getting burn, whether for tea making or not. Many Chinese families that I know of use a boiler for mostly non-tea related stuff.
longstem // December 30, 2006 at 11:36 am |
Maybe you could develop Gong Fu Hot Water Dispensing! 😉
MarshalN // December 30, 2006 at 12:54 pm |
What I mean is that the speed of how fast you pour the water into the gaiwan makes a difference in how the tea comes out on the other end. For certain teas in certain situations, a slower pour is preferable than a fast one. I’d classify these water-dispensers as “fast pourers”, so if you need a slow, gentle pour… it’s nearly impossible.
imenstudio // December 31, 2006 at 2:50 am |
To my understanding, that would be an entirely different topic. These boilers are made for convenience and for multiple purpose, Kungfu tea could have been the last in the engineer’s mind when they design this thing. It’s great for baby formulas, instant cereals, green tea, herbal tea, ginsing, hot chocolate, instant coffee, or just plain hot water as many older Chinese drink daily, list can go on forever. Consider the fact that how many people practice kungfu tea even in China/Taiwan, that’s why the invention of electric kettle for that purpose for that small group of people. I personally use open flame boiler daily.
sjschen // December 31, 2006 at 5:09 am |
I get what you mean by the “fast pour” thing, and it does get annoying. Once you press that “give water” button the boiler spits out hot water in a rapid stream that really churns up everything and has a tendency to cause water to spill out in a small cup.
I typically dispense the water from the boiler first into larger vessel (750ml vaccum flask), which allows for a controlled pour into the Gaiwan or small yixing teapot.