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Recommendations
Tea comes in many forms. There are about six major categories. Most people have tried black tea. If you want to try green tea I recommend our Tie Guan Yin oolong first, or order both a "true green" like the Long Jing (Dragon Well) and the Tie Guan Yin oolong.
Green teas
are not allowed to oxidize much, if at all. That's why the leaves
are almost always a shade of green. Use 170-180 degree F water to
brew these more delicate leaves. Make the first infusion 1 minute
long, increasingly longer on the next infusions.
Oolong teas
fall in between green teas and black teas. Partially oxidized,
these teas are considered by many to be the best of both worlds.
Oolongs can be brewed using 175-185 degree F water. Try
your first pot with a 2 minute brew time.
Black tea
leaves are allowed to oxidize more than green and oolong and brew
a reddish color liquid, which is why the Chinese call it "red tea."
This is the standard tea sold in America. You can use 205
degree F water for a 3-4 minute steep time with most black teas.
Pu Er
teas are actually fermented on purpose, a process that gives them a
truly unique taste. They are made with 205 degree water (or
higher) witha 4-6 minute brew time.
Many people prefer the taste of flavored teas.
Popular flavorings involve fruits or flowers. For instance, jasmine tea
is flavored by, you guessed it, jasmine flowers. The other major
category of tea is herbal infusions (herbal tea), known in the industry as tisanes.
If you think of tea
as a myriad number of variations within each of these categories
you’ll be off to a good start enjoying the most consumed beverage
on the planet (next to water). Most Little Mountain Teas
are high quality loose leaf teas that can be steeped 4, 6, or 8
times! So don't think teabag (dunk it twice and throw it away)!
Think 4-8 cups for every 5-6 gram serving.
To properly infuse your wonderful tea leaves start with the Piao-I PC-657
Personal Size teapot. Some people may think that "teapot" is not
the proper term for this easy to use marvel. But the really
important thing is that you can make an almost foolproof cup of tea-
every time. Making loose leaf tea is easy!
Tea is easily compared to another plant that produces fine beverages,
the grape vine. Wines are not only determined by the type of grape,
but also where that grape was grown. Tea is much the same. For
instance, oolong teas may have some similar characteristics in China
and Taiwan, but the personalities are quite different.
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