tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1832037103409526842.post7198538604707828922..comments2024-02-02T23:59:30.189-08:00Comments on Black Dragon Tea Bar: White Peony Cupping Experiment Bretthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07391009406909467410noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1832037103409526842.post-77492754463975057952012-10-19T22:28:51.776-07:002012-10-19T22:28:51.776-07:00Hi Brett and MarshalN,
thanks for this lovely arti...Hi Brett and MarshalN,<br />thanks for this lovely article and for this lovely experiment. It excites me to read about experiments from fellow tea lovers too. <br /><br />For Bai Mudan (white peony), I found this tea to be a very sensitive tea,like other white teas. Hence it needs a low temperature like 70 degrees Celsius. <br /><br />Otherwise it can be very nasty. Tried this at a new age tea cafe and was shocked to see a brown liqeur from Bai Mudan.Domhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01392302756790553511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1832037103409526842.post-19701780217455345652012-09-14T12:19:23.276-07:002012-09-14T12:19:23.276-07:00I like the phrase "playing with parameters&qu...I like the phrase "playing with parameters" and agree that it does a better job of describing this experiment.<br /><br />I'm going to use your definition of cupping "comparing teas, not methods" in the future. This gels with a blog post I wrote on 4/20/09 called Cup (a verb) in which I wrote: "During a proper cupping, all variables should be controlled. The same weight of leaf, the same temperature of water, the same brewing vessels, and the same steeping time must be used for each tea." <br /><br />By titling this post White Tea Cupping Experiment I actually contradicted myself.Bretthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07391009406909467410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1832037103409526842.post-75436996283536840102012-09-13T18:01:34.290-07:002012-09-13T18:01:34.290-07:00I think cupping means "steep in a standardize...I think cupping means "steep in a standardized fashion that is useful for evaluating and comparing a tea's potential", which means comparing teas, not methods. I think what you were doing is more like playing with parameters, which in cupping shouldn't be happening.MarshalNhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16776398824139018801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1832037103409526842.post-3921396278954972442012-09-13T12:02:58.453-07:002012-09-13T12:02:58.453-07:00Thanks for the great comment MarshalN. And thanks ...Thanks for the great comment MarshalN. And thanks for helping to put this blog post into better focus (for myself as well as for my readers).<br /><br /> "...extracting things out of the teas faster or slower" is exactly right. I was also curious if the different steeping times would somehow "even out" the results (like it usually does, in my experience, for many oolong and puer teas). For this session it turned out that the steeping times 2, 4, & 6 minutes didn't matter all that much. The hot water was the major variable. <br /><br />Regarding the verb cup/cupping as it pertains to tea, I always thought it meant something like "to evaluate a tea(s) while drinking more than one sample at the same time." But I like your definition too... would you say it's something along the lines of: "to brew a tea(s) strong so as to evaluate its merits" ? Bretthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07391009406909467410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1832037103409526842.post-31217664646757810202012-09-13T07:49:05.689-07:002012-09-13T07:49:05.689-07:00Actually, what you're doing is basically extra...Actually, what you're doing is basically extracting things out of the teas faster or slower, so for example, the 200 cup will, of course, release less things in the second infusion - because it's already spent, whereas there's a lot more stuff left in the 160 so it'll keep giving you things in the cup. Also, lower temperature keeps some of the more bitter elements of tea in the leaves, so to avoid harshness or bitterness, brew with lower temps.<br /><br />That's why even the nastiest, bitterest tea can be really nice if you cold brew them. I had some highly roasted, pretty crappy tieguanyin that I brewed in the fridge. The resulting tea was fragrant, sweet, and lovely. Brewed hot, at any temperature, and it's pretty gross. <br /><br />Cupping is designed for testing what a tea's got, and what you <b>can</b> get out of it, not what you want to drink. All cupping results are usually pretty nasty - bitter, harsh, not fit for consumption, but that's how it should be (and you probably already know this). If it comes out sweet and mellow, it's not a tea you want to buy.MarshalNhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16776398824139018801noreply@blogger.com