Grandpa Style…

No, we're not talking about the questionable fashion sense of your grandpa. Today, we're discovering the laziest and easiest way to brew tea.

I really hope I won't offend anyone by calling this method the laziest (sorry if I did, says my Canadian soul). But let's be honest: it is super lazy, and I LOVE IT.

One thing you'll learn about me in these posts: I'm a perfectionist who gets distracted very easily. I work best in chaos, but only so I can find a way to organise it better and make it more efficient. In other words, a lazy perfectionist. (If the tea counter in the shop is crowded with teapots and papers, it's not that I'm too busy to clean. It means something awesome is about to be created.)

And Grandpa Style is exactly that, in my opinion. It's chaos and harmony. It can be messy, but oh so delightful. It's forgetful, but forgiving. Intrigued yet?

In short, Grandpa Style means brewing tea directly in your mug, with no infuser. As the day goes by, you keep adding water to the same teaspoon of leaves and sip away. It isn't a formal "style" with rigid rules, just a very casual way to drink tea. Absolutely anyone can do it. No fancy teapot, no ceremony teaware. It's an everyday habit in China, where (as Mei Leaf tells it) taxi drivers keep a glass bottle of leaves and water in the car all day.

How it works

1.       Grab a cup or a mug, something to drink from. It needs to resist high temperature (hot water is coming soon).

2.       Choose a whole-leaf loose tea you like. True tea, not herbal infusion. Not that I'm a snob (ok, a little), but herbs and flowers tend to float, while whole tea leaves usually sink as they steep. More on that below.

3.       Heat the water to the right temperature for your tea. Here is an easy reminder:
• White and green: 70°C to 80°C
• Wulong (oolong) and black: 90°C to 95°C

4.       Scoop 1 tsp of tea into your cup. Yes, directly in the cup. No infuser needed here.

5.       Pour in the water.

6.       Wait 2 to 3 minutes, then start sipping.

7.       As the cup empties, keep adding water. This also dilutes the slightly over-brewed tea left in your cup, so don't wait until it's completely empty. Repeat as the day goes by, until no more flavour comes out.

In very short: cup → add leaves → add water → sip → top up → sip → repeat.

Tea and types of leaves

A few important notes before you start, because not every tea behaves the same way in your mug.

White tea: It tends to float a little more, and it usually needs more time to infuse properly (5 to 7 minutes). Give it time and the leaves will sink.

Green tea: The leaves are often smaller, so they move around more easily in your cup and can end up in your mouth. I recommend a smaller glass. Green tea usually steeps in 1 to 3 minutes, so you will want to drink it a little faster than the other types.

Wulong (oolong): The absolute best type to start with. Rolled wulong pearls, like our Dong Ding, are made of one big leaf, or a longer stem with 2 or 3 leaves. Once the leaves open up they get heavy, so no floating guaranteed. Twisted single-leaf wulong, like our Qi Lan Wuyi, also works well for Grandpa Style, but it takes a little longer to sink.

Black tea: Choose whole leaf. Many popular black teas (English Breakfast, for example) are made with broken leaves on purpose. Broken leaves release flavour much faster, so the tea gets strong quickly, and the small pieces float. For Grandpa Style, go for whole leaves, the larger the better. They sink, and they take a little more time to infuse properly.

Teaware

No specific teaware is required. I highly recommend trying different teas in different shapes of cups or bowls, just to see how the flavour develops and how the leaves move and sink. A glass cup is definitely more fun at first: watching the leaves unfurl is relaxing and hypnotising!

But truly, just grab your favourite mug and enjoy it at your own rhythm.

So, is Grandpa Style for you?

Let's be honest: it won't be the most refined cup of tea of your life. If you want to taste every detail of a tea, that's what gong fu cha is for (and we do it very well in the tea room). But Grandpa Style is the cup you will actually make on a Tuesday morning, when you have forty emails waiting and a piece of cold toast.

A few last tips:

·       Too bitter? Use less leaf, or let the water cool a little before pouring.

·       Don't let the tea sit with the leaves for hours without topping up. If it gets strong, just add more water.

·       Forgot your cup on your desk for an hour? Welcome to the club. (Mine is a cold gaiwan of Golden Buds. It's basically Grandpa Style with extra steps.)

So here is your mission for this week: pick one whole-leaf tea, make it Grandpa Style, and notice how the cup changes between the first sip and the last. Then tell me how it went. Hit reply on the newsletter, or come say hi in the shop.

Not sure which tea to start with? Come by Tea Atelier at 131 Jackson Street, Petone, and we will help you choose a leaf that sinks nicely (and forgives you for forgetting it).

Until next time, stay curious, and keep it lazy.

Catherine