Okay I can't deny that this completely works

Aqua Letifer

Let me preface this by saying that I hate coffee and tea snobbery. It's one of those things that hipsters tout as a personal achievement because they have no life skills to brag about.

That being said, I went to the Dark Place of YouTube last night and came across some dude laying down some proper green tea brewing techniques. No silly fanciness, you just brew it completely differently from how you might be used to. (That was true for me, anyway.)

Use loose, whole leaf of course.
Use three times as much as you think you might: 12g of tea for 12 oz of water. So like a massive, heaping tablespoon full. And no, this isn't wasteful. I'll get to that in a second.
Don't use boiling water. 80 deg C is pretty ideal for most tea, but if you don't wanna do the thermometer thing, you don't have to. Just pour the boiling water into an open ceramic cup, and let it sit for about a minute, minute and a half. Then pour the water onto the tea.
"Brew" the tea for about 5-10 seconds. That's it. Then pull those tea leaves out of there. Drain the water, and throw out the tea you just made. You don't drink that stuff, that's just the initial tea rinse and it'll be the crappiest cup you'll make throughout the whole process.
Make another brew, this time for real. 10 seconds in the water, that's it. Then get the tea out of there.

Now, because the brew time is so short, and the water's not shocking the tea, you can easily get 8 to 10 individual cups of tea made from just your 10-12 grams of tea leaf. So yeah, if you drink a lot of tea in one setting, very economical.

And crazily enough, the shit just gets better the more you brew it. I don't have a sensitive palate. Like at all. But no joke this was the best damn tea I've ever had. It was quite obvious.

Also, LOTS of caffeine. LOTS. But you don't get that terrible jolt from crappily made coffee.

Works really well for black tea, too.

I just got one of these on the Amazons. The design's pretty genius; does all the steps outlined above in one container; all you have to do is pour your boiling water into a separate mug and let it sit for a minute before you pour it in. Then let the tea brew for about 10 seconds and hit the button. Repeat however often you'd like.

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jon-nyc

Get some life skills, hipster.

George K · "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

That sound you hear in the background?

It's Phibes...

Aqua Letifer

@jon-nyc said in Okay I can't deny that this completely works:

Get some life skills, hipster.

jon I know so many more trending indie bands than you it's not even funny.

Aqua Letifer

@George-K said in Okay I can't deny that this completely works:

That sound you hear in the background?

It's Phibes...

Bring it. His teabagger ilk are just plain wrong about this.

Rainman

I am curious about the taste, since I've never had tea that made me want a second cup, ever.
Lipton tea bags. Add sugar and lemon. That's the level of my sophistication.

Seems like tea aficionados are like winers, they develop a very discerning palate. Not sure if it's worth it, for tea.

It would be great to come across something new, like trying the Amazon tea maker. I might try that, what the heck.

Aqua Letifer

@Rainman said in Okay I can't deny that this completely works:

Seems like tea aficionados are like winers, they develop a very discerning palate. Not sure if it's worth it, for tea.

Well, it's cheap. I get my tea from Davidson's. You can buy a whole damn pound for 15 bucks. And it's quality stuff.

And it's easy. Let the water sit for a minute in a mug, pour it into the infuser, hit the button after 10 seconds. Done. It doesn't taste like grass, which, awesome.

Mik

Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.

Now all I need is a Replicator.

Larry

Luzzianne. Put 3 family sized tea bags in the Mr. Coffee machine, pour in a pot of water, and turn the Mr. Coffee on. Have a gallon sized pitcher half full of cold water ready. When the water has finished running through the Mr. Coffee, pour the pot of tea into the gallon pitcher. Finish filling the pitcher with water if needed, stir, put a lid on it and shove it in the fridge.

Mik

That’s pretty much how I make it, Larry. And it has to be Luzianne.

Rainman

I'm also used to very dark and opaque coffee. Tea looks so watered down, it's hard to believe anything really good is in a cup where I can see the bottom of the cup. I suppose vodka is clear, so there goes my argument.
But, I'd enjoy something new. Strong, pungent, eye-watering. I don't want to be "soothed." ha. I want to be blasted!

Doctor Phibes

What is wrong with you fucking people?

Larry

Hahahaha

Doctor Phibes

@Aqua-Letifer said in Okay I can't deny that this completely works:

@George-K said in Okay I can't deny that this completely works:

That sound you hear in the background?

It's Phibes...

Bring it. His teabagger ilk are just plain wrong about this.

400 years of history brought down by a bloke learning how to make tea watching YouTube videos and paying $25 for an effeminate cup.

Aqua Letifer

I also have long hair that I tie in a ponytail. Oh and I'm wearing Birkenstocks right now. Yet I'm still right about the tea stuff so yes by all means, be at least as embarrassed for your country's tea culture as you are for me!

Doctor Phibes

I must admit, I'm a little surprised you're not drinking it out of a mason jar.

jon-nyc

@Larry said in Okay I can't deny that this completely works:

Luzzianne. Put 3 family sized tea bags in the Mr. Coffee machine, pour in a pot of water, and turn the Mr. Coffee on. Have a gallon sized pitcher half full of cold water ready. When the water has finished running through the Mr. Coffee, pour the pot of tea into the gallon pitcher. Finish filling the pitcher with water if needed, stir, put a lid on it and shove it in the fridge.

That sounds good, but since you're a southerner you probably ruin it with a pound of sugar afterwards.