One of my colleagues visits China regularly and was given this tea as a gift. However they didn’t see themselves making the most of it so offered it to me.
I have no idea what to do with it though. It’s like a circular brick of compressed tea leaves. Do I just take off a chunk and leave it in hot water? Does the temperature matter, and do I need any particular tools?
I’ve only ever used tea bags so I’m a bit lost
Edit: also the expiry says November 2023… but it’s just tea right?
I think this is white tea, so you may want to try brewing it at a lower temperature, around 180°F, for a few minutes.
You can also try brewing it in a gai wan by using about 5 to 8 grams of it, rinsing it once with water just under boiling, then brewing it for 10 seconds at a time, enjoying the tea between successive infusions. It should peel off delicate layers of flavor that way, though you may want to adjust the infusion time and water temp to your preferences.
Edit: yeah it looks like the text says it’s White Tea from Fuding, so I wouldn’t brew it with boiling water, might kill some of the more delicate flavors and make it bitter. And it doesn’t expire. I’ve heard white tea improves with age and while I’m not sure that’s true, it certainly gets more expensive! 😅
I’d recommend the latter method, you can jury rig up a gai wan pretty easily, and once you get used to brewing tea like that, you might not want to buy nearly as many tea bags!
Very useful information, thank you! I’ll look up some videos to watch the technique. Would using a teapot with an infuser have a similar effect to a gai wan?
Thanks for confirming that the tea doesn’t expire.
Once I’ve got a hang of it, I’ll bring some into work to share with the colleague that passed it on 😂
A tea pot with an infuser should work just as well, the commenter below mine details the gongfu brewing method a little more than I did, and that’s mostly what you’re trying to do with the gai wan, the pot itself just lends itself to that method, but the tea pot with infuser will work similarly.
also the expiry says November 2023
It obviously is not for drinking. I hope you didn’t pay taxes! Throwing it overboard will send a strong message!
I may be native Chinese, but my tea skills start and end at “put tea leaves in hot water”.
Only thing I can contribute is that the “expiry date” you see on the packaging may just be the date of manufacture. Unless it explicitly says it’s an expiry date, most food products in mainland China have a manufacture date instead.
