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Finum Reusable Stainless Steel Coffee and Tea Infusing Mesh Brewing Basket, Medium, Black?
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I'm assuming you want to drink a milk based tea. I'd buy an infuser basket and a few small samples of loose leaf chai, earl grey, darjeeling and assam and see what you like. I'm told Harney and Sons is pretty good for this stuff, but if you have a local tea shop (most cities do) try that out.
There's no one way to enjoy and get into tea so go with whatever sounds appealing.
See, Big Tea Bag got you brainwashed. Put one of these in a cup. Put in some tea. Add hot water. Wait five minutes. Dump tea leaves in trash. Rinse steeper. Done and done. Grown up tea with minimal effort.
Don't let Lipton tell you what to do. Loose your shackles and go loose leaf.
I don't actually have one of these (I use the Chatsford ones) but I think so. This Amazon page says
> Brewing Basket size M fits cups with diameters from 2.3 to 3.5-inches
which seems to imply "yes."
This looks identical to the Finum basket which is five bucks cheaper on amazon. I highly recommend it. It's the best infuser I've tried and I make loose tea every day.
Edit: Just weighed mine. 1 oz. with the top, 0.65 oz. without.
Never seen that. Does it hold the leaf in the water while boiling it? Or is there some mechanism that lowers and raises the basket?
You will get more control of your brewing if you use that thing as just a water boiler, and brew tea in a mug or pot with an infuser like this.
Welcome! If you are in the US, I think my go to teabag brand would probably be Twinings, probably either their English breakfast or Irish breakfast. 3-5 minutes at water just off boil should be fine depending on you tolerance for astringency. Play around with your steep times and see what you like.
If you find that tea is your, well, cup of tea, maybe consider getting an electric kettle (a lot more convenient), and then maybe even a mug infuser, and some loose-leaf tea.
Extremely fine wire mesh steeper, they are as fine as a piece of cloth and bend similar. If you don't powder your tea very fine nothing will escape. I got mine at the local tea store for a few bucks.
Here is one at amazon
Yes, but imo cold brew tea is better cold.
No. This won't improve brewing at all and you'll get tea dust everywhere.
Depends on where you are. I like Twinings for bagged tea. For loose leaf... dragon well and tieguanyin, can't really go wrong there, and then there are some really good cheap "golden needle" or "yunnan black" type teas. What-cha if you're British, yunnan sourcing if you're not... upton, adagio, and some others are all good for flavored teas too.
Get a basket infuser like this (that one's one of the nicer pricier ones, imo they're all the same so find one that suits you). Fill it with different amounts of leaves depending on how much tea you're gonna make. It should fit right into a mug or a thermos.
Pay close attention to brew time and water temperature. Those matter! At some point if you stick around you'll pick up the difference between Western and Eastern brewing styles. For now, stick to western (what you've been doing).
If brewing in a western style, consider an infuser basket, or disposable filter bags.
This is the type of basket I use:
These work well. After I use a press and squeeze out the remainder.
Finum Reusable Stainless Steel Coffee and Tea Infusing Mesh Brewing Basket, Medium, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I68NCS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_7CAJKE815HBAYDEZSJG2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Just wondering how this is better then a 16 gram reusable coffee filter...
I use this infuser. The lid doubles as a saucer for when I'm done steeping. I can reuse the leaves as many times as I want, and when I'm done, I throw them away, and rinse the infuser with water. It comes in two sizes. The medium works in most cups, the large is perfect for huge mugs.
I swear by these Finum basket strainers. I find the basket types easier to clean than the balls, and very fine mesh, so they don't let any dust slip through at the equator like a ball either. I've had mine for 2-3 years of regular use and no rusting, but they do have a bit of staining/residue.
Twinnings Irish breakfast should be available in most US grocery stores.
I strongly recommend getting an electric kettle if you don't have one, as that will save you more time than almost anything. From there, I recommend the following steps:
- Heat water
- put the bag in a mug
- pour hot water
- steep 3-4 minutes
- remove bag
- add milk or sugar if you want (optional)
- take a sip and scald your mouth because it still too hot
- wait until it cools
- drink
If you want to make use of looseleaf, I recommend getting a basket infuser and repeating basically the same steps above. In a lot of ways I really don't feel that it significantly increases the amount of time to make a cup of tea, but do whatever works for you!
I use one of these brew baskets (without the top) for when I don't have access to a coffee maker. I put the ground coffee in it and place it inside a coffee cup, pour hot water in the cup to the brim and let it sit for 4 minutes, then remove the coffee basket. To maximize bag space, I fill the brew basket with ear plugs and a pill container when I pack
https://www.amazon.com/Reusable-Stainless-Coffee-Infusing-Brewing/dp/B000I68NCS/ref=mp_s_a_1_9
People here are overcomplicating things. Tea is easy, way easier than coffee anyway. The following is for English-style black tea or oolong (oolong is somewhere in between black tea and green tea, but can be brewed the same way as black). Try starting with loose leaf Darjeeling if you're unsure what to buy.
- Some teabags are OK but loose leaf is better and cheaper. I use on of those brewing basket things. You want the leafs to have space to expand. Tea pots with a sieve in the spout also work well.
- About one heaped teaspoon per cup is a good place to start; this may look a lot compared to a teabag, but teabags contain very powdery tea, which is more compact and extracts better, so you'll need to use more loose leaf tea than powdery tea from teabags. It should still be cheaper anyway.
- Just use boiling water. Nobody's got the time to fucking check their water temp. Black tea and oolong are just fine with boiling water (most green tea isn't though).
- Steep for 3–5 minutes. Use a timer. If it's too watery/weak, use more tea or leave it for longer. If it's bitter, it was left too long.
- Try to add some milk to black tea and see if you like it.
Other cultures have other good ways of making tea, but this is probably the simplest and easiest, so just start with that.
I have this and really like it! I found it via the wirecutter review. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000I68NCS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_gwoaGbGRHN04Y
I have been drinking a lot of herbal tea lately from Mountain Rose Herbs. Overall the flavors are pretty light, but enjoyable. I've been feeling really relaxed in the evenings after drinking the Evening Repose blend. For a more flavorful herbal, I really like Boulder Blues from the Tea Spot.
What /u/Planet_side said, except I like this one better for the infuser basket. If you don't hate the idea of plastic.
Don't buy tea from a grocery store. Don't buy tea with pieces of fruit or flowers or spices in it.
Buy some black teas from India (Assam, Darjeeling, Nilgiri), some black teas from Ceylon (Nuwarya Elia, Kandy, Uva...). Those are tea-growing regions. Pick teas that say what estates they come from. Buy from a seller that specializes in these.
Buy some black teas from China. Keemun, Zhengshan Xiaozhong, Dianhong. Buy some green teas from China: Longjing, Huangshan Maofeng. Buy some China oolongs: Anxi Tieguanyin, Dahongpao, Fenghuang Dancong. Buy from a specialist seller of China teas.
Read the links. Look at the vendor list. Don't pick sampler packs, until you've found a specialist in something and you want to drill down into a style. Automod: activate!
Finum or Chatsford mug infuser basket. You can get them on Amazon for like $10. It's like a basket that fits into the mug: you put a few g of leaf into it, drop it in the mug, and pour hot water on the leaf.
For example,
https://www.amazon.com/Reusable-Stainless-Coffee-Infusing-Brewing/dp/B000I68NCS/
It's about as basic as tea gear gets, and someone who doesn't have one probably does not want a gongfu brewing contraption.
It's funny, I didn't even realize Finum made coffee filters, although that should have been obvious.
Instead I was referring to their very popular Finum basket infuser tea filter, which works perfectly for even very fine tea fragments.
I have the medium size at home (perfect for a single coffee-mug size)
and the large size at work (perfect for a travel mug)
Basket infuser. That, hot water, a mug, and some leaf.
Try steeping the leaf more than once, and if the result is worth drinking (to you), then don't throw it away after 1 steep. Probably it won't be, if you are brewing broken tea, but try it.
I use, and really like, this brewing basket. I like it so much in fact that I keep one at home and one at the office. I'd be curious to hear other's thoughts on it, as I've only recently begun getting into drinking tea. Finum Brewing Basket
Ok, that provides a great starting point. Either get a basic, unflavored, tea sampler with classic black teas and maybe a jasmine green tea or go with the herbal sampler.
Since they both consume plenty of coffee, they'll be used to bolder flavors and are fine with higher caffeine (like in those breakfast blends). They also probably already have favorite cups. lol
If you and your family want to venture into loose leaf teas eventually, this finum infuser with any mug is about as hassle free as one can get.
For some easy mug infusing, a brewing basket like this is a nice thing to have. Brewing tea this way is about as easy as throwing in a teabag, and you can use any tea you like.
I use this tea strainer everyday now. Works perfectly for mugs. I even brew for 2 people each time, just gotta steep the leaves twice. Currently $9, though every time I've bought it, it's been between $6-$7. I'll use teapots still too sometimes - but I find myself using this 98% of the time
Finum Brewing Basket, medium , black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I68NCS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_1Nakyb6X68Z5F
Teavana has a 2oz minimum per over priced tea (often mid range quality at best). If you want to pay that much, it's up to you. All samples they offer in store for you to try will be made with a lot of leaf and sugar. Their instructions tell you to use a lot less leaf.. They tend towards a lot of flavored teas - like Starbucks tends towards selling highly flavored coffees. (Starbucks owns Teavana)
An easy to use introductory infuser is one like a Finum that will work for any in-cup steeping you want to do. It's easy to clean, can be put in a dishwasher, and it gives a good amount of room for leaves to expand. (my husband uses one) But the plastic on it can pick up flavoring off of flavored teas.
If you want Assam and more traditional black teas, Upton tea (online vendor) has some. These aren't my preferred teas, so someone who likes them will have to weigh in whether Upton's offerings are good. Shipping is a flat $4.95 and they have samples of everything they sell. I think they also sell Finum baskets for a reasonable price.
This is the one I use and I adore it. It fills up an average size mug so your leaves have plenty of room to expand. The mesh keeps all particles out of my cup, and the cover acts as a convenient spot to keep the leaves when not in use so you don't get your countertop/desk wet.
Here's something I wrote in a similar post from the day after this one:
I'm lazy and don't use as many spices in my black tea "chai" as you do, but I have several versions of "Pumpkin Pie Spice" that have many of the same spices. I just sprinkle in one of the PPS's, and use a milk frother to mix the very dry powdered spices pretty easily. Sometimes I'll add another spice if not in the PPS, like cardamom, more ginger, etc.
Before I went low carb, I'd add milk and sugar to each strongly brewed** cup of black tea. Now I sometimes use milk or cream, sometimes not, and add only a tad of sugar (unfortunately can't tolerate any of the alternative sweeteners), and also add coconut oil sometimes (don't particularly like butter in this as I would in BPC).
Great flavors, and has always made me feel almost like I'd "eaten" a snack!
** I steep a fair amt of tea leaves in a mesh tea basket, for about 5 min with 3/4 cup of very hot water:
http://amazon.com/Finum-Brewing-Basket-medium-black/dp/B000I68NCS (I have the "large" one)
> How do the infusers work with the dunking?
Just pour the hot water over it and let it sit (OK, sometimes I will dunk mine once or twice if some leaves didn't get wet, or there's a lot of foamy scum floating on top). When it's done, pull the infuser out and let it drip back into the mug/pot/whatever until it pretty much stops dripping.
> It says you can have multiple infusions so do you...
Not all tea is really suited to that. Sometimes 1 infusion pretty much gets all the good stuff out. Ususally it's tea in big pieces or whole leaves that is good for this. As you say, just set the used leaf aside in the infuser and use it again with fresh hot water.
> which infusers would you recommend
Ones that are basked-shaped, with fine mesh, and big enough to let the leaf unfold/unroll/expand. Something like this.
Use this. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I68NCS/ref=twister_B002WB12XE?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 Finum brewing basket. I use it at work and when I am out and about and have a limited space for storing things in my backpack. Combined with an alcohol or propane stove for heating water when camping, you should be pretty much good to go.
Upton tea is my favorite US based retailer. They offer samples of just about all of their teas.
Stay away from tea balls, they don't allow the tea to expand properly. I'd recommend something like this http://www.amazon.com/Finum-Brewing-Basket-medium-black/dp/B000I68NCS
I use a Finum brewing basket to make single cups at work. Very similar flavor and extraction to French Press. You can find them on Amazon. I use medium size as it fits in a mug perfectly. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I68NCS/ref=twister_B002WB12XE?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Uhhh quick question if you don't mind. I'm looking at getting a loose tea filter that I can put in a mug. Does that sound good? Specifically, I'm looking at this one: http://www.amazon.com/Finum-Brewing-Basket-medium-black/dp/B000I68NCS/ I assume this would work well. It seems to be rather commonly suggested by blogs, etc so I figured it was a good starter item since it's cheap.
> ingenuitea tea maker
I had one of those, and the same thing made by Teavana, and they fell out of use in favor of a simple Finum tea strainer: Amazon link
What tea have you had before and liked? Maybe I can give you some recommendations. I did my first order from adagio and rather liked it. Adagio is a good first website, as it does a good job making all the types of tea not seem overwhelming.
In order to start brewing, you're gonna need a way to heat up water, a brewing vessel, and some leaves. The way to heat up water can be as simple as the microwave or as complex as a zojirushi water dispenser. I'd recommend a stove-top kettle with a food thermometer or a variable temp electric kettle. As for the brewing vessel, it depends on how many people you're brewing for. I would recommend starting with a cup infuser like this, but there are plenty of ways to brew tea. And the leaves can be bought in many stores online or in person. If you're lucky enough to live close to a tea shop, I'd advise you to take a trip over, but I'd probably avoid teavana until you know a little more and can avoid their sales techniques.
Skip the tea ball, it doesn't have nearly as much room to expand as as you said, it gets really hot.
Go with something like a brew basket.
http://www.amazon.com/Finum-63-421-50-00-Brewing-Basket/dp/B000I68NCS
The top serves as a place to set your basket as you let it drip out before you dump it. It is durable and if it starts to get nasty a nice soak in half boiling water, half white vinegar cleans it right up. Because you're not hanging it in the waste basket, no worries about it getting tossed out.
I've had mine for 3 or so years now and it is STILL going strong. I usually use it 5-10 times a day. They were cheaper when I got mine, but still, for $10 it is a great deal (they also have a lot of other products if you want something else similar).
I have a teapot that looks like that, mine is a bit taller (using face for scale) and I often use my medium fineum brew basket in it. Quite a good fit and the infuser is the finest filter I have come across, you have to leave the lid open or pop it off and set it on top since the fineum has plastic wings so it sits above the tea pot's rim but it's quite ideal.
I bought this when I was in a dorm and had to conserve space. It works great and I've had no problems with it!
The other basket appears to be a Finum Brewing Basket which also has a lid that doubles as a saucer.
Personally, I use one of these when brewing my tea.
I have 2 "favorites" (read: can't afford to try past what I already own) teas that I typically drink, which is Irish Breakfast and Cocomint (which is a rooibos, so I'm not sure if it can actually be called tea). For what teas you should go for, it would help to know what your tastes are (this can be considered a catch-22 as you can't really know what you like/don't like until you've tried it).
Are you looking for earthier teas, caffeinated teas, black tea, green tea, red tea, etc?
One suggestion I can offer is to find a local tea house. The one near me offers really cheap cups of tea which allows you to sample many teas in a relatively short amount of time. Plus, if you do find one tea you really like, they will most likely be able to offer up other flavors that are similar (kinda like the Pandora of teas!).
Some like having the tea leaves float, others use an infuser. It's really your preference. I would suggest this. I use it quite a bit when making tea for myself. Word of advice, tea places like Teavana (while having some fantastic tasting stuff) are incredibly expensive/overpriced. There are much smaller shops that sell loose leaf at perfectly reasonable prices. Davids TEA and Adagio are my personal favorite online tea shops.
This is kind of the same thing, but slightly cheaper and looks nicer, it sits nicely on top of my mugs ( I use the medium sized one), plus the lid thing can be used to catch water when your done infusing, something the tea balls can not do. It also allows tea leaves to expand, which is why most people use tea balls.
This is greenwashing at its finest, they are only compostable in a municipal facility so if your area doesn't collect compostable waste and you try stick them in your compost heap they aren't going to break down. Buy a brewing basket, I've had mine for over 5 years and it's still going strong, one cup at a time.
I don't see any reason to use an infuser with a teabag, unless you are noticing any particulate getting through the teabag. I use this infuser because it has one of the finest meshes of any I have used. I have this teapot in both the 680ml and the 450ml size. It actually is an almost perfect fit for the infuser above.
First of all, if you're concerned about getting all of the flavor out of tea, you need to be brewing loose leaf, not bagged. Bagged teas are fine sometimes, but they have a fraction of the flavor of a good loose leaf tea. All you need to brew loose tea is hot water and a strainer to get the leaves out of the water. I use a brewing basket from Finum. you can buy it on Amazon, and Upton Tea sells it for a few dollars cheaper, but they charge shipping, so if you're not getting tea too, it's about the same. A lot of other tea shops also sell infusers, so you can probably add one to your order and get it all at once!
If you're shopping from Adagio, as /u/saltyteabag recommended, I suggest their Spiced Apple Chai, if you like apple cider type flavors. Brew that up and add some milk and a touch of honey and that's one of the most delicious drinks there is.
For regular tea (no flavors), I usually prefer Oolongs. Adagio has a good selection of those as well.
For a cold, what I like is some gunpowder green tea with peppermint and honey.
I just throw a spoon of tea and a spoon of peppermint leaves in a cup, drizzle with honey, and add hot water. Most of the leaves will sink to the bottom, and those that don't aren't bad to drink. That's one of my favorite ways to drink tea and relax. It's called "grandpa style" and it's mentioned in the FAQ in the sidebar (which I definitely recommend reading). It's easy and there's not a lot to mess up.
I get my peppermint leaves from Mountain Rose Herbs, as it's cheaper than buying it from some tea places, but Adagio has peppermint tea, and that would work fine.
The gunpowder green tea I used to get from Twinnings, but my local grocery store stopped carrying it. I got my last batch from Upton Tea, but Adagio also has gunpowder green tea.
Oh, I guess I linked the large size for one. Here's the medium.
I really like this for one quick cup http://www.amazon.com/Finum-Brewing-Basket-medium-black/dp/B000I68NCS
Either one like the steel basket that /u/DaoNayt points at, or one like this.
I'm in the UK too, and depending on my mug, or time I will switch between a strainer similar to this: this plastic one or this: gravity fed one though I prefer the second. Both are good at keeping dust out of your mug. I know plastics get a bad rep, but I'm not treating them as disposable, and they don't impart any flavour.
For amounts, it's hard to say as different blends use larger or smaller leaf, so 1tsp of breakfast blend will not be equal to Assam for example. My usual is roughly 1tsp to a regular mug, or one and a half to sports direct size one.
If you're not feeling ready to dive straight into buying a gaiwan set, then the advice /u/Trapper777_ is a great alternative way to get a similar experience. You can also use an in-mug tea strainer as a simpler router, like this: https://www.amazon.com/Reusable-Stainless-Coffee-Infusing-Brewing/dp/B000I68NCS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=GF1EDQY8IGYK&keywords=finum+tea+infuser&qid=1664317702&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIxLjg5IiwicXNhIjoiMS45MiIsInFzcCI6IjEuNjYifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=finum+%2...
A larger chamber and strainer, to give the tea more room to move and expand would improve the process. Especially with some types of tea that have larger pieces of leaf (or even entire leaves), it's important to have room for them to fully expand and to move within the liquid. However, if you were to stick with brewing in a mug or mug-sized vessel, something like this https://www.amazon.com/Reusable-Stainless-Coffee-Infusing-Brewing/dp/B000I68NCS/ref=sr_1_2?crid=XEXMILHYLPC5&keywords=finum+tea+strainer&qid=1661379118&sprefix=finum+tea+strainer%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-2
or something like this https://www.amazon.com/FORLIFE-Brew-Mug-Extra-Fine-Infuser/dp/B001JPA3Y8/ref=psdc_284507_t3_B000I68NCS?th=1
are superior to the teaball method where there's very little space, and only a tiny amount of tea with smallest pieces of leaf are really going to work.
But I love the look of this, and the cleverness of the mechanisms, the programming you've done, etc. is all smashingly cool!
Question: I've been looking into getting an infuser basket for a bit now, and it seems like there's two general ways to go for on the cheap, mesh (like in a reusable coffee filter) and perforated metal (like a tiny colander). Is one better/preferred over the other?
I'm looking at the Finium (mesh) and the Oxo (perforated) on Amazon.
Depends on what kind of tea. If the leaves are large enough, just put some in a cup, add hot water, and drink, refilling as necessary. It's often called grandpa style.
If you don't want to do that (or the leaves are too small for it to be convenient), either get an in-mug brewing basket (Finum is good) or a brew cup (I really like this Hario one and use it at work).
Canadian living in the US here, I order my daily tea from here: https://www.teapalace.co.uk
It's not cheap but I make a big order once or twice a year and enjoy it most days. My fav is their Earl grey with blue flowers and some summery blends with strawberries but every taste is different.
Also can't recommend these enough. Great design, have lasted me over a decade, loose tea for the win: Finum Reusable Stainless Steel Coffee and Tea Infusing Mesh Brewing Basket, Medium, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I68NCS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_TTKN4PJ0VQB1TJ1D8S4K?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
In terms of the tools needed for the tea:
- The bare minimum is having a kettle to heat the water, and cups to drink it.
- Adding from that, you can either have a communal vessel (such a teapot, in which case everyone would drink the same tea), or let each person brew their own tea. Both options are normal and acceptable for an english tea party. Individual brewing is easy if you have teabags, but if you are going for loose leaf then you have to provide a strainer for each person as well.Additionally, if your teapot infuser does not have an ultra-fine mesh (such as this Finum tea basket), you may want to consider getting a small strainer to catch small particles that will fall through. These tiny particles would sit at the bottom of your cup, and continue infusing, usually with the outcome that they will bitter the tea.For any type of infuser (regardless of model or whether it goes in the cup or the teapot), it is generally preferred to have something wide and tall (such as a basket infuser) that provides plenty of space for the tea leaves to swell and unfurl. This will provide an optimal flavour release. There is absolutely nothing wrong with smaller infusers (such as ball infusers), but they don't leave quite as much room for the leaves to fully expand and have a good water flow between them.
- To sweeten the tea, you can use anything you like - honey, sugar, agave, stevia... whatever rocks your boat.
- Some guests prefer to have their tea with milk or lemon, so I would put a small pitcher of milk and a few lemon wedges (which also have the bonus of looking very pretty in the table spread!). Generally, milk pairs best with black teas, and lemon with green and blacks - but this is really up to the drinker.Vegetal milks will work as well as regular milk, but do keep in mind that they will sweeten the taste.
- If you live in an area with heavy water, you could consider using bottled mineral water for your brews. It will help improve the flavour profile of the drink.
​
In terms of the food and complements:
- The world is yours! You can do whatever you like best, there will never be a wrong way to do it. A usual english tea party will have small portions of various finger foods, which make for a fun experience as you get to try plenty of flavours with your tea. The traditional way to arrange these trays is with salty foods and sandwhiches in the bottom tray, scones with cream and marmalade in the middle, and sweets at the top. Cheese boards are also a nice and very asthetic option to consider. I personally think that tea and nuts pair very well, and I love having some nuts and bread with my teas.A fun thing you could consider is having different teas for the meal and for the dessert - much like you would have different wines.
- About the table arrangements and decoration, this is entirely up to you - literally no rules at all here. You can use all the name placards and aprons you like, and decorate the table as you please. I'd personally provide the following for each guest: a tea cup, saucer, tea spoon, plate (or two plates - one for mains and one for desserts for that extra fanciness. Please note that if you have a traditional english food tray like the one I described above, then a single plate works for both salty and sweet) , knife and fork (regular and dessert, if you feel extra fancy), a napkin, tea infuser (as needed) and a surface to place it, a surface to place used teabags (as needed).
I hope you found this somewhat useful! Please do post pictures of the tea party, I am sure it will turn out lovely!
I swear by these Finum infuser baskets. Extremely fine mesh and easy to clean.
I decided to try Puerh tea for the first time and ordered this introductory set from Crimson Lotus. I mainly use a cup filter similar in style to this. Looking around, I see that I should be using boiling water to brew my puerh, but can anyone say how much tea I should use for each style of puerh and for how long it should be brewed?
I decided to try Puerh tea for the first time and ordered this introductory set from Crimson Lotus. I mainly use a cup filter similar in style to this. Looking around, I see that I should be using boiling water to brew my puerh, but can anyone say how much tea I should use for each style of puerh and for how long it should be brewed?
Finum strainers have some of the finest mesh of any basket infuser I have used.
Some gongfu strainers have a cloth mesh in them which is extremely fine as well.
Try to find a basket infuser that can fit into a mug. Like for example
Finum Reusable Stainless Steel Coffee and Tea Infusing Mesh Brewing Basket, Medium, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I68NCS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_a-9JDbWTCJ18P
Teasource is a great company you can order loose leaf tea from. Their basic stuff (earl grey, breakfast teas, simple oolongs) is like $6-10/4oz and the nice stuff goes to like $20/4oz.
I like very black teas like some Assam blends for mornings, and greener-oolongs in the afternoons with honey.
And also Harvey and Son’s “Paris” is my favorite bagged tea. Only floral black tea blend I like
Idk if you have a strainer for loose leaf already but they are cheap online and can take you to new places tea-wise. Nice metal ones with really small holes are best
Finum (63/421.50.00) Brewing Basket, medium , black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I68NCS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_EeXWAbHYC1EG4
Tea Infuser,Tea Strainer,2 PACK 304 Stainless Steel Water Filter with Double Handles for Hanging on Teapots, Mugs, Cups to steep Loose Leaf Tea and Coffee,Cold Brew Coffee Maker. FDA Approved. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075KK731Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_TfXWAb6P870HT
Skip the single-serving pot and get a mug with a lid, of which Amazon has a huge variety. You might also want a basket infuser with that.
THIS Finum brewing basket is decent (similar to the MSR version).
Try teas from different origin countries. Try the different major categories of tea (ignore "yellow tea" for the time being, if you're on a budget). Read the FAQ. Look at the vendor list. Avoid buying from vendors who have lots of stuff that's all very similar in price. Get a mug infuser. Get a cheap scale.
It doesn't have to be expensive.
I think a Finum basket should work pretty well.
We have a few that are great but aren't made anymore. I think this is sort of the successor:
http://www.amazon.com/Finum-Brewing-Basket-medium-black/dp/B000I68NCS
I wish they made it with a metal rather than plastic frame, though.
I'm curious about this one--if you try it let me know how well it works:
I use this lightweight tea basket you can get for eight bucks on Amazon. Makes fantastic, french press quality coffee with vastly reduced mess.
this is why i use a removable basket filter in my large teapots, or otherwise use a very small teapot that only will fill one cup.
If you are using a lot of flavored teas you may want to look into something like this- http://www.amazon.com/Finum-Brewing-Basket-medium-black/dp/B000I68NCS
and if you are drinking a lot of unflavored whole leaf teas, maybe a gaiwan would work well for you.
here is a nice primer- http://www.teanerd.com/2007/03/beginners-guide-to-gaiwans.html
Those particular baskets I find in Asian grocery stores for like 1 or 2 USD. I bought mine at Kam Sen Foods in White Plains, NY. My home town has a large Vietnamese and Cambodian population so there are plenty of those around. Anywhere around NYC there are plenty of Chinese grocery stores you can find them at. I've never actually bothered to search online for them!
However the Finnum Basket and For Life are popular at my office and here on /r/Tea. There are nice pots with them built in like this Hario.
Before you go out and buy a lot of tea, only to find out it's not to your liking, explore your options a bit by trying out sampler packs. A bunch of good samplers where linked to over here, but that's mostly for straight unblended teas.
I hardly drink flavoured teas myself, so I can't really give you any good recommendations on that, but perhaps someone else will chime in. Adagio carries a lot of samplers, many of them containing fruity tea blends, so you might want to check that out.
If you don't have anything to steep your loose leaf in, I recommend picking up an infuser basket that allows you to brew directly in your cup/mug. If you end up liking hot tea, you can always invest in teapots and whatnot later. (And so begin the hopeless teaware addiction many of us suffer from!)
This, and this should do well. Avoid smaller infusers such as this, as your leaf needs the room to expand and interact with the water while steeping. A cramped infuser will not allow your leaf to do so, and may lead to an inferior brew.
> I think I will start with some fruity tea, is it acceptable to put honey/sugar into that?
It's your tea, you're free to drink it however you like it best. I do recommend steering away from your usual preferences every now and then to experiment a bit. There's a lot of different flavours to be found in straight tea, and it'd be a shame not to give it a shot. If you like it better with sweetener though, by all means drink it with sweetener.
> I had some tea bags but wasnt a huge fan, not very strong of a taste, would loose leaf tea be better?
You betcha!
Try pouring through one of these, brewing in one of these, or getting one of the aforementioned IngenuiTEA's.
Or, you know, you could just drink it if the needles that slip through don't bother you much. It basically comes down to personal preference, some people don't mind sediment and the odd bit of leaf getting past, and some absolutely want a clean cup!
This one is cheap and really easy to wash/use and pretty big!
I started with an IngenuiTEA but found it a little difficult to get the leaves out. It was also a little tough to clean, or to get the filter out, and I did have one mug that was very wide, so the IngenuiTEA wouldn't fit on top. I just had to hold it over the mug and press the bottom up with my finger for it to drain. It is really neat to use, though.
I now use this filter from David's Tea at work: David's Perfect Infuser
At home, I use a similar one I got from Amazon: Finum Brewing Basket
The latter two are similar to the KATI cup (I think) and I prefer them for being easier to dump/clean.
I prefer the thinner mesh on this one: http://www.amazon.com/Finum-63-421-50-00-Brewing-Basket/dp/B000I68NCS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363193333&sr=8-1&keywords=finum
I have the ForLife and Finum basket style infusers, and I like both, but for me, the Finum is far easier to clean.
http://www.amazon.com/Finum-63-421-50-00-Brewing-Basket/dp/B000I68NCS
Really I'd recommend getting a filter like this one and an electric kettle. They have some cheap ones (like ~$15) that you should be able to use in your dorm room. Just put water in and hit the button, it shuts off when it's done. There are more expensive ones that allow you to set the temperature which is nice for some of the more delicate green and white teas but in a dorm setting, I'd just go for something like this.
As for tea, I highly recommend anything from adagio. They also have some kettles but they are Stainless Steel and more expensive. They are also the makers of the IngenuiTea which you can get from them or elsewhere. My coworker has one and it's nice. I prefer the strainer I originally linked to because I can just store it in my mug and it doesn't take up that much space.
If you want to buy off amazon, I'd recommend this one. It's plastic (unlike the nice metal one kittypoopappledrink posted) but mine has held up pretty well. (I actually have 2, one at work and one at home).
The reason for the bigger strainer is it allows more space for the leaves to expand and impart their flavor to the water. If you are going to get a ball type strainer, I'd recommend the more open, meshy one.
A tip is to not let your tea steep too long or it can become quite bitter. The general rule is about 5 minutes, less for green or white teas.
I've been very happy with the teas I get from adagio which is highly recommended on /r/tea and for good reason. They also have some nice sampler packs so you can try different kinds of teas.
I'll also recommend an electric kettle of some sort. There's a bunch out there. I find it easier and quicker than using the microwave or the stove to try and heat water.
> what tools I need to prep for loose leaf tea?
A mug, a basket infuser, and a way to boil water. A small scale helps also, for bold-leaf or compressed tea that can't be reliably measured with spoons.
Inexpensive scale, suitable for weighing tea.
- Know the capacity of your mug (often effectively 300ml).
- Boil water.
- Weigh tea, about 1.25g/100ml.
- Put tea in basket (if you didn't use the basket as a weighing boat).
- Put basket in mug.
- Pour boiling water over tea leaf.^1
- Allow to steep, 2-5 minutes depending on the tea.
- Remove basket from mug, allow to drain into mug (30s will get almost all the liquid out of the leaf).
- Drink tea.
^1 Instructions not valid for Japan green teas. Most other teas are fine with water just off the boil though.
Just going to toss this out there, the sweetened Starbucks tea will be much different to a plain Japanese green tea or matcha. My husband can drink the Starbucks/other shops version but complains that my tea tastes like bitter vegetables and grass.
You might have better luck with mild Chinese green teas or, as was suggested, a Jasmine green tea since it is a sweet Chinese tea. It can be iced. Some of the greener oolongs are mild and sweetish, too. A milk oolong and oolongs in general are good for anyone that doesn't have much tea experience. (They can be easier to brew)
If she doesn't have tea ware or much experience with loose leaf (if you get her loose leaf) then you might look at a Finnum brewing basket. I know with my mother in law that she claims to really like tea but doesn't have much experience, interest, or patience for anything beyond bagged teas. Not everyone wants more then 1-2 step teas.
I have one of these I picked up from a thrift store for a buck. If you use coarse-ground coffee you don't really have to use a filter.
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