What I have been finding interesting is that I make tea differently for when I drink to write for Oolong Owl compared to my everyday drinking. Maybe you have noticed it? I own and post photos of tea pots, yet more often you see me using a gaiwan on my blog for tea reviews.
I think the big thing comes down to how I approach Oolong Owl. What I really want to do as a blogger is present tea neutrally made and for you to be able to replicate it. There are still plenty of error of course, going down the gaiwan heat retention, drinking pace, and water. (side note, for Oolong Owl I used filtered tap water) The Oolong Owl blog typical tea steeping scene:
Seasoned clay tea pots certainly effect the flavor quite a bit. I got a few pots doing great things after years of use, and that certainly effects the tea’s review to spin more favorable, often a more fuller, tighter, and oomphy flavor. Or the clay eliminates bad features like bitterness, or softens funk. The gaiwan is always consider the neutral vessel of tea steeping for gongfu style. I also figure a gaiwan pours fast and figure everyone likely pours a gaiwan at a similar speed. I have a number of non-clay tea pots, but then I run into pour speed error. My tea pots pour at different speeds, and often I consider this when I leaf ratio. At the same time I haven’t been in the habit of writing infusion times down these days as I found it repetitive. I’ve been working on and off on a gongfu guide so I can just link that and not broken record myself, yet not be vague.
Owl farting around making tea for drinking for fun scene:
The more focused tea drinking I use a tea pot and lately spring water. Oddly, my everyday tea gongfu style drinking tends to be drinking while I do other things, like while I cook or clean. I’ll pour an infusion into a larger cup, do another quick steep in the pitcher, then go unload the dishwasher. What I need is a good gongfu set up next to my computer – I tend to do grandpa or western when I need tea at my computer. Ah, the life of the solo tea drinker.
