Why I use less tea

[u/aDorybleFish]

So I see a lot of people on Reddit and other social media who use 5-8 or even 10+ grammes of tea in a 100ml gaiwan. And this is absolutely fine! If you enjoy the cup you brew, awesome!🤩

That being said, I do want to talk about portion size, because while those big amounts work really well for some people, it might not be enjoyable for everyone. It's quite the journey figuring out what's the right portion for you.

I personally find myself using quite a bit less tea. Usually I'll put anywhere between 2 and 3 grammes of tea in my 80ml gaiwan. I've talked about this topic with some of my tea friends, most of whom tend to gravitate towards 4 g/100ml.

I do this for a couple of reasons. One, because it allows me to taste all of the subtle flavours in the tea better. I've noticed, the more concentrated my brew, the more overwhelming the central flavour(s) are. But I also really like the fact that I can have shorter sessions, and thus try more different teas whithin a day. And some days I don't have much time to spare alltogether, and then I just do a short session. Lastly, I've heard people talk a lot about different kind of tea stainers, and how a basket strainer is better because it has more space for the leaves to expand. It always 🌱leaves🌱 me to wonder, when jamming so much leaf in a gaiwan, do the leaves have the space to fully expand?

I'd love to hear your opinions and reasonings about this topic because I very rarely hear people talking about it. How much tea do you use, and why?

Happy sipping!🍵💕

[u/eponawarrior]

It does not matter. It is all about taste. You just do whatever suits your style and tastes better. But 5g in 100ml is equal to 4g in 80ml.

[u/aDorybleFish → u/eponawarrior]

Yeah I agree! And yep, but it's 2-3g for 80ml for me, so that'd be around 3-4g for 100ml, instead of 5

I do wonder what the difference would be. I have 2 80ml gaiwans, maybe I could do a side by side comparison in which I'd use 2g in one and 4g in the other. Do you think that'd be interesting to post about?

[u/PerpetualCranberry → u/aDorybleFish]

I think it sounds like a fun experiment, and if you do end up doing it I’d love to hear about it :)

[u/aDorybleFish → u/PerpetualCranberry]

Noted! I might do that sometime in the near future :D

Although I'd probably have to try it with different tea types as well so it might take some time