Good stuff in tea

Many notes have been written about the caffeine levels in different
brews but I would like to ask if the good stuff in tea remains in
subsequent brews? I was just thinking that I had brewed a very nice
little cup of Gyokuro last night and then to sleep. This am saw the
little gaiwan with the pretty green leaves and and rebrewed it. It was
mighty fine in taste. I was wondering if all the good poly..
catche..etc things are still there in the brew?
Jenn

On Apr 7, 3:12 pm, Jenn <jefferys...@m> wrote:
> Many notes have been written about the caffeine levels in different
> brews but I would like to ask if the good stuff in tea remains in
> subsequent brews? I was just thinking that I had brewed a very nice
> little cup of Gyokuro last night and then to sleep. This am saw the
> little gaiwan with the pretty green leaves and and rebrewed it. It was
> mighty fine in taste. I was wondering if all the good poly..
> catche..etc things are still there in the brew?
> Jenn

There is a tradition in Japan to never drink tea from leaves left over
from the day before. When you ask people why, they say that in the
Edo period (roughly 1600 to 1868), the last "meal" of a condemned
criminal was a cup of tea made from leaves that were left from the day
before! They admit that at night they'll make tea from leaves used
early in the morning, but not stuff that has been waiting
*overnight*. I've met *many* people with this aversion.

On Apr 7, 12:12 pm, Jenn <jefferys...@m> wrote:
> Many notes have been written about the caffeine levels in different
> brews but I would like to ask if the good stuff in tea remains in
> subsequent brews? I was just thinking that I had brewed a very nice
> little cup of Gyokuro last night and then to sleep. This am saw the
> little gaiwan with the pretty green leaves and and rebrewed it. It was
> mighty fine in taste. I was wondering if all the good poly..
> catche..etc things are still there in the brew?
> Jenn

Yes. The good stuff is there plus more mold from airborne mold and
fermentation.
Shen

On Apr 8, 3:12 am, Jenn <jefferys...@m> wrote:
> Many notes have been written about the caffeine levels in different
> brews but I would like to ask if the good stuff in tea remains in
> subsequent brews? I was just thinking that I had brewed a very nice
> little cup of Gyokuro last night and then to sleep. This am saw the
> little gaiwan with the pretty green leaves and and rebrewed it. It was
> mighty fine in taste. I was wondering if all the good poly..
> catche..etc things are still there in the brew?
> Jenn

According 2 a professor Herve Huang, an environmental cancer
researcher, a tea that is brewed 3 times would have about 90% of its
beneficial contents leeched out. If you brew it only once, we might
assume that only 30% is leeched out, with 70% more in the leaves.

However, he also cautioned that once the leaves are brewed & left
aside, bacteria will fester on the leaves, & some of these might not
be beneficial 2 us.

After you brewed the tea, polyphenols, essential oils, vitamins &
proteins will continue 2 leech from the leaves, if you do not drain
the gaiwan dry, these would leech in2 the water left over in the
gaiwan & aid in oxidizing the leaves while turning the liquor in2 a
bacteria pool. When you brew the tea again, you are drinking from this
full flavored but not so healthy cup of tea. It might taste heavenly
because of all the stuff in it, but it might not be beneficial.

I know of people who leave a gaiwan of brewed leaves in the
refrigerator overnight, I doubt this does any good 2 the tea leaves or
the health, anyway.

Best 2 drink the tea as fresh as it is brewed. You dont want 2 find
out years later that instead of keeping you healthy, tea is killing
you slowly.

Kevo

> I've been meditating for 45 years. That discussion is too lengthy for
> this post. I generally know the history of the teas I buy and cherish
> because I do not have money to throw away. I have spent nearly 45 years
> trying to simplify my life. I was sharing what gong-fu means to me. Of
> course, by now, I know how to do gong-fu. You are most likely looking too
> carefully into words. Let it go. I have. Shen "Slow" is the way my spirit
> moves with gong-fu.

Shen, I appreciate your poetic relationship with the tea you drink. My interest was more mundane. I was simply wondering about the style; that is, the vehicle you use for your meditations, so to speak. There is a common feeling out there that if you use a little pot, fill it with leaf, use real hot water, and steep quickly, you've done Gung Fu. For all I know, that's quite right.
Michael

On Apr 8, 1:59 pm, Michael Plant <mpl...@pipeline.com> wrote:
> > I've been meditating for 45 years.  That discussion is too lengthy for
> > this post. I generally know the history of the teas I buy and cherish
> > because I do not have money to throw away.  I have spent nearly 45 years
> > trying to simplify my life. I was sharing what gong-fu means to me.  Of
> > course, by now, I know how to do gong-fu. You are most likely looking too
> > carefully into words. Let it go.  I have. Shen "Slow" is the way my spirit
> > moves with gong-fu.
>
> Shen, I appreciate your poetic relationship with the tea you drink. My interest was more mundane. I was simply wondering about the style; that is, the vehicle you use for your meditations, so to speak. There is a common feeling out there that if you use a little pot, fill it with leaf, use real hot water, and steep quickly, you've done Gung Fu. For all I know, that's quite right.
> Michael

Michael,
I use a pretty standard gong fu method: I use my rosewood tools to
clear out the spout of the pot and then take my leaves from the
canister using tongs and put them into the leaf display dish and pass
that to my friends or if I'm alone I peruse them myself. I wash out my
cups and rinse the tray, using the water bowl and the wood tongs and
wash out the pot, the aroma cups etc. I then put the leaves into the
pot and wash them. Dump through the tray and steep the leaves. I wait
the necessary amount of time and then pour into the aroma cups which I
sniff and the turn that cup into my small drinking cup (not a gaiwan).
This does take time. It is contemplative for me and meditative as
well. I usually do this in silence.
Roy Fong taught me to do it this way and it's the way I like to do
it.
Truthfully, it is a poetic experience for me. I really don't know if
this is conventional. I've seen gong fu done this way and other ways.
I like it this way.
Shen

On Apr 8, 3:13 pm, Shen <ilu...@> wrote:
> On Apr 8, 1:59 pm, Michael Plant <mpl...@pipeline.com> wrote:
>
> > > I've been meditating for 45 years.  That discussion is too lengthy for
> > > this post. I generally know the history of the teas I buy and cherish
> > > because I do not have money to throw away.  I have spent nearly 45 years
> > > trying to simplify my life. I was sharing what gong-fu means to me.  Of
> > > course, by now, I know how to do gong-fu. You are most likely looking too
> > > carefully into words. Let it go.  I have. Shen "Slow" is the way my spirit
> > > moves with gong-fu.
>
> > Shen, I appreciate your poetic relationship with the tea you drink. My interest was more mundane. I was simply wondering about the style; that is, the vehicle you use for your meditations, so to speak. There is a common feeling out there that if you use a little pot, fill it with leaf, use real hot water, and steep quickly, you've done Gung Fu. For all I know, that's quite right.
> > Michael
>
> Michael,
> I use a pretty standard gong fu method: I use my rosewood tools to
> clear out the spout of the pot and then take my leaves from the
> canister using tongs and put them into the leaf display dish and pass
> that to my friends or if I'm alone I peruse them myself. I wash out my
> cups and rinse the tray, using the water bowl and the wood tongs and
> wash out the pot, the aroma cups etc. I then put the leaves into the
> pot and wash them. Dump through the tray and steep the leaves. I wait
> the necessary amount of time and then pour into the aroma cups which I
> sniff and the turn that cup into my small drinking cup (not a gaiwan).
> This does take time. It is contemplative for me and meditative as
> well. I usually do this in silence.
> Roy Fong taught me to do it this way and it's the way I like to do
> it.
> Truthfully, it is a poetic experience for me. I really don't know if
> this is conventional. I've seen gong fu done this way and other ways.
> I like it this way.
> Shen

I di for get two things: I do use a fair cup, a small pitcher to which
I pour the tea from the pot and then pour the tea from the fair cup
into the smaller tea cups. And, I do ask all my guests, or just
myself, to look at the wet leaves the first go round, as they dance
and unfurl.
As I said, I don't know how "real" this all is or if I'm doing it
exactly right, but wabi-sabi..........
Shen

On 2008-04-09, Shen <iluvt2@> wrote:
>
> I di for get two things: I do use a fair cup, a small pitcher to which
> I pour the tea from the pot and then pour the tea from the fair cup
> into the smaller tea cups. And, I do ask all my guests, or just
> myself, to look at the wet leaves the first go round, as they dance
> and unfurl.
> As I said, I don't know how "real" this all is or if I'm doing it
> exactly right, but wabi-sabi..........

I think the kung fu is in the knowledge, skill, patience, and practice,
not the exact method, tools used, or the amount of leaf used. I don't
know that I have any of these things, but they're at least the things
that I would like to strive for.

My understanding (and I've only been doing this for a year or two, and I
think I can continue to learn no matter how long I keep doing it) is
that the point is not "small pot, lots of leaves", but rather to try and
develop an appreciation for the nuances of the differences between
brews, and to understand how to bring out the best in a particular tea
in a particular situation. Even if I'm brewing tea in an airport
terminal with limited or no equipment, there's still an opportunity to
learn something.

w

"Jenn" <jefferysmom@m> wrote:

> Many notes have been written about the caffeine levels in different
> brews but I would like to ask if the good stuff in tea remains in
> subsequent brews? I was just thinking that I had brewed a very nice
> little cup of Gyokuro last night and then to sleep. This am saw the
> little gaiwan with the pretty green leaves and and rebrewed it. It was
> mighty fine in taste. I was wondering if all the good poly..
> catche..etc things are still there in the brew?

As others have noted, yes, they remain but amounts diminish with
subsequent brewings. I also would not be comfortable with brewing
leaf left over from the previous day, but I drink Sencha daily and
I always make a second infusion about 90 minutes after the first.
The first two steepings are both excellent, but a little different in
flavor. Occasionally I make a third an hour or two after that, but
this third steeping is clearly not as good as the first two.

I'm surprised that if you drink Gyokuro, you aren't normally steeping
the same leaf at least twice. If not, you're missing some good tea.

--
Randy

Actually, I do steep almost all my teas at least 2x. More if I can.
Gyokuro is a special very nice tea that I love to drink late cause it
lulls me into a nice calm state.
But the question was about how many good things in the tea like
theanine, and such on subsequent brewings. I know youall are
obviously concerned for my health and I thank you for that.
Just to let you guys know at the end of the day I ususally put all the
spent leaves into my potted plants outside. Gee, My plants love it. I
dont usually save from day to day but this was an example that made me
think of the things that may flush away with each brewing. I guess
fungus doesnt, thank you.
Oh BTW what teas do you like to drink at night??? Which tea helps you
to relax late at night?
Jenn