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Originally Posted by Trama
It's the electric scooter of tea, except this even drives itself. Definitely not my thing.
My point about temperatures is of course, you should have a rough idea, but you don't have to be extremely anal about them.
Unless you're drinking very specific teas or doing some sort of scientific research, there's no need for thermometers or to learn how to read bubbles. With good tea I find that you can always control it with the brew.
They look great and I'm sure they're pretty good for insulating water but that stuff with baskets is really not ideal for brewing.
Damn, you're making me want to go get some tea. |
i wouldn't mind the "electric scooter approach" at times-- say you're busy, working on a project, or have meetings, or whatever, then you let the machine take care of things. i like the ritual of making it myself (it offers a mental break and a moment of serenity) but there are times when one could use a robot.
my main objection to that comes from a different place. a few years ago i had to stay long-term in a hotel for a work project, and being forced away from my kitchen i bought a "nice" water boiler + brewing pitcher for about $100. that did the job pretty great for a time, then i took it back home, but eventually it ass-ploded after it was out of warranty. and nobody repairs things anymore (i actually tried opening it, it wasn't made for it, ha ha ha).
i kept the pitcher, it's the one i still use for large batches, but the electric junk wasn't easily recyclable due to its mixed composition. the pitcher is better than those english-style teapots because the spout doesn't dribble when you pour as those often do. but $100 for a pitcher is a bit much, no?
so now to go for a similar type of machine with a similar kind of potential outcome is highly unappealing, because even if it's a better quality machine, it's also more complicated (more points of failure), it has no salvageable parts, and it carries a much higher price. so i'll wait for self-repairing robots, terminator-style, before i consider purchasing one of those things.
(of course i could change my mind tomorrow. i do that a lot.)
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and true on the baskets. they hinder the brew. my large pitcher has a stainless steel basket and it's semi-okay, leaves expand there better than in a bag (the bags for bulk tea, not tea sold in bags) but free-floating leaves are much better. so i'm thinking of getting two of those brewing cups, they are as simple as it gets. at least for green tea. or maybe a large version if i can find one. although when i think about it, the french press is functionally perfect (glass+stainless, free-floating leaves, pour to empty, strains great, easily re-brewable)-- just not very "traditional" or beautiful.
there's always problems, every method has its flaws, but the experimentation is part of the fun.
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now go get yourself some tea. go get some smoked earl grey or a chunk of pu-erh or some good oolong or a really nice ceylon which is everything a good tea should be. or more of your favorite matcha.
you can hate me later!