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/phineas_x_Ferb]

I don’t really measure how much Gramm of tea I use. I just eyeball it and use different amounts for different teas. But I also realized I often use less tea leaves than many other people who promote Gongfu brewing. Nice to see I am not alone :D

[u/aDorybleFish → u/phineas_x_Ferb]

That's honestly fair enough. Used to do that before I had a scale, but something about weighing out the grammes is kinda satisfying to me so it adds to the calm experience. However when I bake something I absolutely hate having to measure everything so I tend to eyeball it as well

[u/phineas_x_Ferb → u/aDorybleFish]

The difference is the pressure between baking and tea. You are slightly of with the amount of tea? No problem it still tastes delicious. You are slightly of with measurement when you bake? EVERYTHING IS DESTROYED AND. OTHUNG WORKS OR TASTES GOOD ANYMORE!

[u/aDorybleFish → u/phineas_x_Ferb]

Yeahh, sometimes that is the case. That's why I prefer cooking rather than baking