Further to the post on 2008-07-09 Brewing Technique - Proportion of Tea Leaves, one of the tea lovers asked Cloud,
"you appear to assume that steep-by-steep uniformity is a goal to strive for.
I'm not sure of that by any means. One thing that often gives me pleasure in steeping leaves many times
is the variety of tastes, aromas, and textures."
Cloud's reply was, "No. I do not intend to make any "soft drink" which always provides a uniformity in taste."
The method of brewing tea with this 7:3 proportion will still give the variety of tastes in different infusions. The rationale is to provide a relatively stable and delectable tea tasting and enjoyment throughout an entire brew. That is to say, this method is to keep the tea not to have a huge deviation out of the acceptable concentration range. For example, some beginners may brew their compressed tea with the whole chunks (as shown in the picture) so that the tea broth will be too pale in the first few infusions while the tea broth will suddently become too strong in the later infusions. Certainly, if the drinkers like this "variation", putting the whole chucks for their brews is perfectly acceptable.
The reason why I provided this brewing method is to let people have another choice and to think about the fact that there are in fact many ways to brew tea. Here is just one of them.
For sure, I will not brew my tea just with the intact small chunks as shown in the above picture (A0611).
Anyway, I must stress that there are various ways to brew tea. Cloud just provides a way for your reference. You may adjust the proportion to 9:1, 8:2, 6:4 or even 5:5. The point is to find the best way for your own.
20 July 2008 wrote and revised in English
21 July 2008 translated into Chinese
Cloud (Hong Kong)
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