When brewing tea it is essential to use the best water available. This means using filtered or bottled water. But what is the proper temperature of the water to impart the maximum flavor from the tea leaves? Different teas require different water temperatures. For example Japanese Green Tea is infused best for 1 to 2 minutes at 160-175F, while Oolong should be steeped anywhere from 2 to 7 minutes at 185-200F. And Black Tea requires a temp between 200-212F for up to 5 minutes.
As the water's temperature increases, it goes through several major stages. In China a well established visual recognition is used to determine the water's heat. It can be especially helpful if your kettle is not temperature controlled.
Shrimp eyes: 158-174F - This stage is marked by the appearance of tiny bubbles on the edges and bottom of the pot. These bubbles are from the escape of dissolved gases in the water, not chemical breakdown.
Crab Eyes: 175-184F - The transition from shrimp eyes to crab eyes occurs when the tiny bubbles begin to rise. It will have a gentle steam rising from it and it makes rapid, high-pitched sizzling sounds with the rise of the bubbles, which are around 3mm in size.
Fish Eyes: 185-194F - Just like the name says, the bubbles are larger than crab eyes (around 8mm). There is much more steam, and the steam will rise faster than it did in the crab eyes stage. The sound of the hiss will lower in pitch.
Rope of Pearls: 195-205F - Constant stream of bubbles that form a string as they float to the top.
Dragon Eyes: 212F - This stage is commonly referred to as a "full boil" or "rolling boil," and less commonly as "Old Man Water". It is marked by the absence of any small bubbles.
This information graciously provided by The Tubby Olive, Doylestown.
No comments:
Post a Comment