TGFOP Tea Reviews (c) Silverneedles est.2005

Always wanted to get a water filter, but last i remembered the caraffe option was a pain and had to replace filters often. And under the sink/whole house not an option.

By chance went to the bookstore and seen the Consumer Reports (2007) part of which rated water filters. Supposedly it rated the countertop Kenmore 34551 as best product at 91% so i got one from Sears.
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$50 comes with filter (due for replacement at 3000gal or 6 months or when taste is spoiled).
The replacement filter is 10$ for the 3000gal chlorine taste one, and 17$ for the 4500gal (= get the cheaper one, don’t know what math they use = for 9000 gallons you get 3×10$=30$ and 2×17$=34$ of the 4500…!?)
There are other kinds of filters, more expensive as well, for lead, for finer filtration, giardia, and other kinds of animals.

The “base unit” sits on the countertop and the ~3ft tube goes to your faucet, where it screws instead of the filter (thats usually installed). Included is an adapter thing for different size screw. The switch is a plastic knob thing that is pushed from one side and so sends sink water to the filter.

I colored my switch with a marker - GREEN means YES use the sink. When pushed it pops out on the other side, and that side is colored RED meaning STOP because you dont want to turn on water with a high pressure or have hot water running thru the filter. (This all because in the mornings, a cloudy head leads to pushing knobs and switches and turning on hot water thru the filter )

When i took this apart after 6 months the water inside had some sort of orange-brown flakes, cleaned that up and removed old filter.

closer look at the orange flakes left from 6months usage. Bottom LEFT you see the dispensing “head” the bottom part of it fits into the little hole at the edge of the left side-you have to put it in all the way otherwise it leaks.
Then you see the new replacement filter 3000gal one. And putting back the unit.

I’ve been using this everyday, about 3liters(0.6gal) everyday or more, in about 255days(8.5months) = 765L(202 gallons). Not even close to the rating of 3000 gal. but maybe its got some chemicals that remove the chlorine which expire, or its just plain ol’ activated charcoal that sucks up anything… dont know. all i know is the water started tasting chlorinated again, so when im writing this its been since may2007 so thats 8 months and whatever days.

Water flows pretty fast out the filtered end. But i use little 0.5L plastic bottles to store 1-2days.

(following is a copy of water taste test post)

Taste test:

#1. Kenmore water filter: almost no taste, somewhat ’soft’ ..sweet? taste. just feels like a liquid.

#2. Trader Joes: more mineraly - so its got more of a *bing* compared to the Kenmore. not sure difference in tea.

#3. local tap water (LongIsland, NY): chlorine (maybe its summer chlorination time).
#3. local tap water (Pasadena,CA): even more mineraly, minor chlorine taste.

this program is in part supported by one man’s lazyness.

i am really lazy. i cant for the life in me brew little amounts of tea at a time - for when i’m DRINKING tea, not tasting tea (i reserve special tea-love time for tasting)

tools you’ll need.

2 cups sized for your hearts desire + 1 lid forming element.
1 cup will be used to infuse and will be covered with the ‘lid’
as in the gaiwan, the lid will be used to separate the tea from the liquor
the other cup will be the recipient of the strained infused liquor

^click for the story picture
for this demonstration i am using white plastic 10oz Dixiecups (got the 10000 pack from Costco) and,
since i already have a gaiwan i will borrow its lid and use it.

get ye tea leaf, and measure with ye olden dispenser, throw in some water, cover with lid, wait…
…wait… when time is right  pour the liquid (assuming you already posses gaiwan technique/otherwise = hold the lid with your hand and turn cup horizontally, and then your liquids will pour into the empty cup…hope that lid wont slip out jump on the counter or the floor and break, or leaf wont flop out into the empty cup and mess your shit up so now you have to get a strainer and redo the thing over… oh yeah, i got all my gaiwan bases covered, except nothing broke so far.)

I am available for lectures and demonstrations on the subject of Cupwans,
For bookings please contact my agent….after i find one.
or…you can just copy this webpage…
it is copyrighted you know
yes, by me..
i think
.

Found at Target, seems cant find details on it online

so heres Target’s product#: 002031607 “12cup square”

3.99+tax

large,

microwaveable,

i think the label mentioned being airtight, thats why i got them
…and because they were cheap and big.

only thing is theyre white-opaque so might need to wrap some foil on the outside for “delicate” teas and longer lasting storage.

after ‘cleaning’ with a papertowel it doesnt have any plastic smell.

about 1 month usage, no detectable atmospheric ’spills’, so it might be tight enough; no plastic smell.

Found at Target

$3 + tax

These are the ones i got:

Entrée: 5 Containers & Lids
(3 1/8 CUPS / 25 OZ)

They seal pretty good, havent smelled any leak in my cabinets, and so i shall keep it.

Next time i need an infuser or strainer for tea, im just going to get a regular one -for kitchen use- from any store, as long as the mesh is not very large.

No more special for tea ones, it doesnt matter, dust still comes thru.

I just saw one at Target, about 4inches wide, but since i have what to use now, no need to clutter.

simple white gaiwan set. Acc-4-1-1 Zhong Guo Cha Gai Wan Set Small $13

Not really using anything but the gaiwan, without the little dish that goes under it.
the little tea cups are too small for me, i just brew tea directly in the gaiwan drink thru teeth, or filter liquor into gaiwan for better examination.

After using the yixing teapot,

i wash it with filtered water,
no scrubbin, no soap. (using substances on it will get absorbed into the clay and retain the soap smell).

turn it upside down and let dry.

If that doesnt do/cant wait, i pat it dry with papertowel.

When it seems dry enough i put some papertowel inside, and put it back on the rack.

I noticed that after about a day, taking the papertowel out it is moist - replace with new dry papertowel.

Dont want it to grow any fungus/mold so trying to keep dry.
Could also put in the oven to achieve better dryness (but that will heat up my kitchen).
Put it in the oven, 400F? forgot it in there about 1 hour or more, when i opened the oven door i smelled clay i thought id see some cracks but thank goodness the little yixing is ok! nice and dry now.

So when i received this little pot it smelled profusely of clay dust. and it still had some clay dust inside.

i washed it for 1 day in filtered water - still smells.
i put boiling water in it - still smells.
i put it in boiling water - still smells.

yixing swimming in filtered water.

after a couple ’swimming lessons’ decided to brew some not so exciting oolong (but not crappy either) in it. after about 3 times it started to smell less obtrusive.
the resulting liquid was not drank, but let soak in the pot for hours or so. then i started to use it.

about 5 times of brewing/infusing nice dancong (phoenix) oolong in it, the little pot almost lost its clay smell. i did not perceive any clay taste in these brewings.

some say to put the pot in the oven to cure it, dont know how that will make the smell evaporate. i didnt try it.

i put it in the oven after using it, just to make it dry faster after cleaning it, and seems to make it smell less.

Zhong Guo Cha 28$

Very cute, little pot, first one i got, i liked its architecture.
Seems like good workmanship, very clean lines, no deformities*, nice detailed inscription on the sides.

Picture is at an angle, it makes it seem more chubby than reality.

The lid fits very snug, but its very easy to handle.
The little blow-hole on the lid dont know what is used for but as you can see in these 2 pics, the lid is indeed tight, water only flows when blowhole is unobstructed.

*just noticed looking at the pictures: the handle is millimeters off-center

Yeah, I did it ! Got my first YiXing !

8oz 28$ Zhong Guo Cha
ZGC says its authentic purple clay, i dont know, but i bought it because i liked it.

has a bunch of chinese writing on it! yay! i have no idea what it means!

uh… what do i do with it now… im gonna wash it, cure it, prepare it for its first oolong!

will followup with a post with … pictures

Hope its not made of lead

got this at a local Chinese supermarket, ~ 3.5$ … !?!

not really useful in infusing with it…because it has no top

so i just infuse/brew the leaf in a separate cup, then strain it with this in another cup.

somewhat time consuming, but the other side is that the tea leaf is not “constrained” by the space permitted by the infuser (yes. im trying to lie to myself in believing this thing is really worth 3.5$)

Taste test:

#1. Kenmore water filter 34551: almost no taste, somewhat ’soft’ …sweet? taste. just feels like a liquid.

#2. Trader Joes: more mineraly - so its got more of a *bing* compared to the Kenmore. not sure difference in tea.

#3. local tap water (LongIsland, NY): chlorine (maybe its summer chlorination time).
#3. local tap water (Pasadena,CA): even more mineraly, minor chlorine taste.

#4. water served at the Biltmore Hotel (i guess part of the “enhanced drinks” they bragged about)(Downtown LA, CA): disgustingly chlorinated.

When you really want to know something, do it yourself.

Long overdue testing of heated water here forth begins:

Thing was i been using the microwave for boiling water at work to heat me a cup of water for a taj mahal assam bag. Sure, not great quality tea but i kept wondering…am i missing something?

Didnt really believe the rumors that microwaving water made tea taste different, since i dont have such fine taste buds, but i really wanted to know if i could feel a difference.

leaf: monkey picked oolong. Not the greatest quality tea, but pretty pungent and complex in flavor so to better differentiate any potential changes.

water: Trader Joes mountain spring bottled water.

boiling devices: das electric kettle hot water dispenser, the microwave, pot on the gas stove.

double blind randomized: put some stickers on the bottom of the glasses before pouring the water representing the boiling device. poured hot water, switched the glasses around a bit until i forgot which was what. even the glasses didnt know whose water they were holding!

results:

aye! pretty clear! yearrrh…first sight - i say yup #2 is the microwave… sure looks different.

taste test:
#2: the regular taste i know,
#1: uhm somethings missing, no excitement in the taste… feels boring.
#3: the regular taste i know.

And there you have it, u can now guess #1 is microwaved, #2 electric (dont know why the leaf didnt fall), #3 boiled on the stove.

Conclusion: i concur with the rest: tea in microwaved water tastes ‘flat’ boring, not exciting on the tastebuds.

Public service announcement: Please DO NOT MICROWAVE WATER FOR TEA ! (for the good quality teas anyway, for crap tea and ‘fast’ hot water…why not)

In the beginning i kept wondering… am i using the correct ways to brew/infuse tea? is this the way its supposed to taste? is it right ? is this good? is this bad? what am i supposed to do? oh noes!!! i’m wasting the expensive tea leaves …eeeeeh!!!

The secret to brewing the best cup of tea: you. (i guess that goes along with Time’s person of the year theme).

For example: everybody says uuuuh darjeelings …’the champagne of teas’ . i tasted many darjeelings … tried various methods, temperatures, iron kettles, the finest porcelain cups, cheap 99c mugs, sugar, honey, it doesnt matter because i dislike them intensely.

Sure, there are some basics but beyond that you have to experiment so that you find what suits you best.

The Basics of Tea infusions:

1. buy leaves (or some better brand teabags ex: Yamamotoyama)
2. buy some arrowhead water or maybe filtered tap water.
3. boil water (vary temperatures)
4. fill 1 cup
5. drop in the tea (vary amount 1 teaspoon, 1 tablespoon, etc)(dont lose the measuring device)
6. time of infusion (vary it by minutes)
7. notebook: keep track of amounts, infusion times, tastes. this is the key to remembering what to do next time for the same good cup of tea.

You have to experiment with the tea to find out its variations and from those experiences you can decide if you really like it or not.

What other people like may not be what you like, so just try things out to discover if its worth your time.

glass with rubber around opening and a clamp mechanism to squish the lid down.

i think these would work well,

make sure the rubber is squished down everywhere around the edge - i’ve seen some products where they’re poorly made and the clamp is not good and does not squish the rubber well.

found at bed bath and beyond

airtight? NO. within couple hours my cupboard stank up from the fresh earl grey i put in this ‘airtight’ thing.

UPDATE: this doesnt really work due to the following:

… you still get coffee taste in the cup because the
1. coffee vapors condensate on the cover drip back into the water chamber and dry around there…
2. people use the dirty caraffe to refill the water back in the machine.
oh well.

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*** i take no responsibility for the words i have written, dont sue me, thanks ***

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victim of the day, awaits patiently for customers…

remove coffee parts. fill your cup with water and drop it in the tank. don’t turn it on yet.

easy choice #1= stick the cup under the hole (pressing it upwards so water does not drip around). requiring some muscle you got to hold the cup there until all the hot water gets dripp’ed into your cup. *complications: 1. the filter holder can have some residual coffee dried up , so you could get coffee tasting water… and 2: burning of the hand by the hot water, or even breaking the machine or shorting out your entire office or building, requiring the electric company to come and fix the breakers.

easier lazy choice #2= turn the drip head and stick your cup inside the machine. turn the drip back above your cup, turn on the machine, and your clean hot water is done, no muscle required. *complications: fracture/break of the drip head (you’ll have to replace the coffee maker, or just play it like you dont know how it got broken).

*** i take no responsibility for the words i have written, dont sue me, thanks ***

gathered these from various products, i put 1 in a tin to absorb any moisture that may appear.

they had a black top, with a button to let air escape, and a built in pump to get air out,
got these at Ross for real cheap, but returned them: their cheap build let fragrance out, and did not remain airtight - the top would become loose.

crude representation of appearance.

…if you see this crap… run away !

tried the ziplocs, air/fragrance escapes easily.

From the pushy salespeople of the company known as Teavana.

seems like good quality build.

these are the only ones i’ve tried so far that do not let fragrance escape (i have a strongly stinky earl grey).

the ones i bought later on, aren’t as well built, the cap doesn’t fit tight like the old ones, and the rubber thing seems harder.

alternatives for tea storage:

Container 12 cup.Sterilite

Containers .Gladware

Airtight french jar

i used to use a french press to make large amount of tea at one time ~ 1L. its kind of tricky with dosing the right amount of tea.

i put in water by the cup, then match the number of teaspoons with tea leaf.

… pay atention to what you buy…

‘2007: so its been about 1 year, the ball got discolored rust-like, dont really use it anymore-visually unappealing.

—

so this tea ball is pretty big, about 2in diameter, 3in high, metal mesh, with a good interlocking mechanism (at least thats useful)

but the mesh is very large: 1×1mm square hole — alot of dust and small tea particles escape into the liquid…

if you have whole leaf, or no dust in your loose leaf this is good enough, but for the cheap teas i get …not quite

update: its not bad, even the tiny Qimen red tea-it did not come out, but if there’s dust in the tea, that will come out.

i want a fine gold mesh infuser but i only see it online.

$80 at the local Fry’s.
manufacturer’s website product page.

~

update: just got a cheap electronic thermometer and naturally sticked it in everything, just fyi my freezer is at -20C/-4F

this machine’s water temperature measurments are as follows:

77F water 1.5L finished the 208F program in ~15min

steam release before the beeping (program end)  was at 189/87C

in “77F/25C” room temp gaiwan –> 177F/80.5C –> 161F in 2 min

in “107.6F/44C” gaiwan –> 185F/85C –> 177F in 1min –> 168 in 2nd min

after 1hour the machine’s internal water temperature was 206.8F/97.1 (thats pretty close to the 208F program’s temp, but i will keep measuring after more hours see what happens).

~
update: [see rightmost picture] : after 5 months of 24h on, opened it up, drained the water, what do i see inside? mineral deposit on the inside walls of the pot! had to scrub at it for 15 minutes with paper towels, but removed most of it ( the manual said something about putting in citrate, maybe i’ll try lemon juice). i wonder what its like inside the pipes…cant clean that up… interresting turn of events… eventually is this going to have a stroke???

~

This is not specific for tea needed temperatures. its a general use water heater. A tea water heater was about $150 which…is kind of steep. (i read the zojirushi brand is a good choice for that).

My take on the useful features encased in the “dent proof” body:
- 2.2 Liters of water (after using it, i think its enough, not too much, not too little) - 2L is good for cup - by - cup dispensing.
- selectable temperatures: 208F/ 194F/ 140F (at 194F the water is hot enough, and in a cup it gets cooler in good time)
- takes 11 minutes for 1.5L to reach 194F in an already hot heater, 15 minutes from cold start.
- the plastic body is hot, don’t know what that does to keeping temperatures stable.
- 6 hour delayed boil timer.
- push button to dispense water (it has a pump, but when the water is low, but not empty, the pump doesnt pump anything out.
- dispensed water stream is pretty exact and well controlled, 95% no splattering.
- electronic lock - you have to push an unlock button first, then push the dispense water button. (i think this is very good, it prevents accidental spillage)
- it has a rotating base! cute, and useful. but the feet are not too sticky, so it kinda slides on tile.

Why an electric water dispenser?
- no need to clean the pot every time i brew a tea. (except at monthly intervals to remove salt deposits)
- no time to fiddle with gaiwans, yixings, etc. (i’d like to, but …time).
- don’t have to run to the kitchen to turn off the a n n o y i n g loud whistle some pots make.
- water is always hot (you need to leave it plugged in).

i have something like this which i use everyday. construction is iffy, broke one already, when trying to empty it in the garbage. either banging it on the side of the trash or releasing the clamp repeatedly , the mesh cup came apart from the arm. tried to solder it back, but solder would no stick to this metal.

got some no namebrand, made in china,

but its not useful,

the thing whistles like crazy, its louder than my house alarm!,

the handle gets hot,

when you pour, the steam rising upwards burns the hand on the handle! real unpleasant, makes for lots of cussin.

got one of these useless crap products. the perforations are few - and not enough. cant get anything out of this thing. dont get this.