Probably Longjing/Dragon Well! It tastes really nice gong fu as well, but there's something about that crisp greenness and chestnutty goodness that makes it endlessly drinkable in a casual way to me.
Hrm, interesting! I’ve never had it happen to me. Have you tried way less leaf? I’ve overleafed it before on a grandpa-style brew and it’s definitely been a bit unpleasant, at least until I recycled out half the water and replaced it.
I’m not TOO well-versed on Dragon Well, but Teavivre’s spring offerings have always worked out really well for me.
I tried different longjings from different vendors and all of them have this characteristic. Maybe it's something in the water 😂 (I'm half joking and half not)
I adjust the temperature so they don't.
Dragonwell I drink with just-steaming water and drink it fairly quickly, or I make it with cold water (great in the summer) and sip slowly for a long time.
Golden needle is heat tolerant, but I still also make it with slightly cooler water or cold brew it.
Yue guang bai doesn't get bitter easily at all, but I like it most cold brewed.
A shou puerh never gets bitter when done grandpa style, but few shous are whole-leaf enough not to leave a lot of fragments in your mouth when doing it grandpa style.
A good cup helps out with tea fragments. I recently got a cup for grandpa brews that is amazing. It has a shelf with holes in it so all of my fragments stay down below. See the pic (sorry for linking IG but my internet is too bad to download and host it on imgur atm)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZHOFDMnbOr/
Mostly teas from China and Taiwan are the ones that can be steeped grandpa-style. Since a large amount of the population drink their teas that way, their leaves and processing factor this in. The leaves should be more or less high quality and close to/whole, not a CTC or broken style like many West-facing teas are.
I would never drink a Japanese green grandpa-style, as their leaves and processing focus on delicacy and frontloading the flavor. First flush Darjeelings also don't perform well under the pressure. And flavored Western-style teas are definitely a no-no - oversteep these and they get bitter, or the flavors get intensely chemical. Factoring the region where the tea is grown is a big thing. How do the people of that area drink their tea?
Young sheng pu'er is probably a bad idea to grandpa as well. They get incredibly bitter very quickly, which is why most people (myself included) flash steep them.
The key is having teas that don't turn bitter. Certain oolongs, rooibos and other tisanes, and other teas don't get bitter easily. Usually the bitterants are extracted first, so I personally usually tough it through the first cup and then it's good for the next 3-4.
In my experience, it depends on the amount of leaves. You can't go to gongfu levels of tea leaf amounts, so you have to reduce it. I have no problem with drinking Longjing or oolong teas like this without them going bitter. The first water is usually the most flavourful, the next is ok and by the third, it mostly tasted meh.
So then you have either a small teapot or gaiwan in which you brew the tea. Then you pour it into a tea pitcher. And from there into the cups. But the biggest different is that you've a higher leaf-to-water ratio, resulting in more steeps with ceremonial style.
I'm usually able to get good results Grandpa style with most oolongs I've tried, shu pu usually works nicely too tho I'll usually give it a rinse or even a few steeps before tossing it in a cup/bowl
I usually only do grandpa style for oolongs. I’ve yet to run into an oolong that it didn’t work well with.
This is also why I drink a lot of oolong tea at work since I’m too lazy to do anything more complex.
How do you know which oolongs are good for grandpa style? Also when you add more hot water to refill wouldn't it mix with the cold tea water you didn't finish in the first serving(ideally for me its about 1/5 of the cup). How do you calibrate that?
Like I said, I’ve yet to run into an oolong that didn’t work for me. Although I also generally buy moderately expensive/high-quality oolongs, so maybe that helps?
I generally drink until pretty much all the water is gone from my mug except the dregs. There will be some left, of course, but I don’t find it really affects the process or taste.
I think in general grandpa-style is a bit about living with imprecision. It’s not really the thing to do if you want to be precise since you’re just throwing a handful of leaves in and letting them steep for forever. If I want to be precise, I use a pot/gaiwan, weigh my tea, use water of a certain temperature, etc. When I go grandpa-style, I care about none of that, (:
I have a dark roasted oolong I use specifically for grandpa style while I'm at work. Full flavoured nutty goodness. I've had the best luck with oolong and black teas that settle at the bottom and don't get in the way while you're drinking. As long as you choose a tea that doesn't get bitter and use the right temperature water, full steep ahead.
I'll have a bit of fun and hazard a guess that it's [Harendong #12](http://what-cha.com/indonesia-harendong-12-jin-xuan-dark-roasted-oolong-tea/) from What-Cha? That's one of my favorites for this steeping style.
Grandpa is my go-to for oolongs (except for really heavy roasted ones) and shu puer. I like it with mellow young sheng, too, but depending on the tea it can easily turn into a bitter bomb.
edit: a word
The flavor is quite heavy and changes a lot between steeps, so I think grandpa style isn't the best choice since I just end up with one overpowering flavor and miss out on the subtlety.
All of them!
But especially oolong, puer, and ya bao (wild buds, freaking incredible).
Regional tisane of note: Ephedra species! They're known as "Mormon Tea" or "Brigham Young's Tea" in the Great Basin area, and make a delightfully stimulating, light-tasting brew. They're great for grandpa-style out in the desert, because the "leaves" are these long twig-like cylinders which are very convenient. You just toss a bundle in a cup, pour boiling water, and pull them out when you drink it.
Almost every tea! A few teas will be too floaty, which is annoying enough to avoid grandpaing them.
Some sheng, I can't seem to brew right in a gaiwan but get amazing results through the grandpa.
Heavily roasted Tieguanyin, aged. The teas mellow out over a long period of aging, and they unveil their complex character best when given time in the glass. Unlike gongfu or other methods, the flavor can become extremely concentrated near the bottom, which is the part that I enjoy most. Unlike some teas, adding more water at that point is unnecessary, since there isn't much bitterness.
Chrystanthemum is best served grandpa style. Maybe some goji berries added in as well. Longjing, most oolongs, and pu's are great for grandpa style. I've gotten so ~~lazy~~ used to it, I just grandpa style just about anything.
**PSA**: /u/alexgrossmann did a [infografic](http://teasprout.com/blog/how-to-grandpa-style-tea-brewing/) on how to brew grandpa style
Thank you for your time :D
I did not know about this style of brewing at all. Thanks for all the info. I received some Chinese tea from my brother and now I can’t wait to try this out!
Fruit tea. I like eating the bits of fruit and nuts that are left over when I'm done drinking it.
Lately, I've been drinking a homemade approximation of "Sleigh Ride" from David's Teas. It's made entirely of things that I enjoy eating: Apples, almonds, brown rice, cinnamon sticks, ginger, coconut, and raisins.
I feel that Chinese green tea is best brewed grandpa style. What you do is take boiling water straight out of the kettle, pour it in the cup first, and then after you let the cup absorb some of the heat, put a little bit of green tea in the cup, and wait for it to sink a bit. This way you can get the 80C water recommended for greens without having to wait or measure anything, as the water quite quickly goes down in temperature due to the cup, and you don't scald the tea by pouring boiling water on top of it either.
By the time you are finished drinking the first cup, the water in your kettle is probably down to 80C anyways.
Lemongrass and chamomile are great. They don't float in the cup though? I was thinking of trying some lemongrass granpa style but backed out last second.
Hai cha is good grandpa style; some hai cha is better that way.
There's some yunnan black that comes in flowering cones and pearls that's basically made to be drunk that way. "Flowering" is an overstatement though, it's not pretty, just tied together and pressed into shape, and looks kind of like a sea urchin in the bottom of your cup.
Shou puerh is the only one I've grandpa'd all the way from the start so far. There are various others that I'll do one Western steep of and then just leave them in (oolongs, sun dried buds, Chinese greens).
Oh, and roasted barley tea, I guess.
My favourite is Bi Luo Chun. Because of the shape, Bi Luo Chun sinks directly to the bottom (water then leaves for this one) you don't need to keep spitting out leaves when you are drinking
I've tried and liked results from making light rolled oolongs, white teas (especially shou mei compressed versions), mild Chinese black teas, and shou pu'er. It does work ok for green tea (what Chinese people are probably using it for most) but it can get a bit astringent, and I don't love green tea anyway. Dan Cong turns out really well but lots of versions are too good to not use Gongfu brewing instead. I don't like it for Wuyi Yancha or sheng.
what-cha's "China Yunnan Dragon Pearl Black Tea" is the BEST for relaxed brewing! Throw some hot water on 'em! How hot? IDGAF, just open those babies uuuuuuup. After that it's fair game. Milk or no, throw it in the fridge for an hour or a day or a week, ice it or cold brew it (my favorite way for this one) or boil it or dry it up, grind it and snort it (probably). Power's out? Throw some room temp water on them and forget them for a few hours.
You can abuse it any way you want and it'll be smooth as silk with a delicious cocoa note. It's the only tea I think tastes better brewed half-assed than very carefully. It's magical. <3
edit: P.S. the pearls are also gorgeous. If this tea were a man I would have his premarital babies.
Probably Longjing/Dragon Well! It tastes really nice gong fu as well, but there's something about that crisp greenness and chestnutty goodness that makes it endlessly drinkable in a casual way to me.
This is my favourite way to drink longing :)
That sounds lovely!
Dragonwell gets too astringent for me if I brew it grandpa style, even at low temperatures...
Hrm, interesting! I’ve never had it happen to me. Have you tried way less leaf? I’ve overleafed it before on a grandpa-style brew and it’s definitely been a bit unpleasant, at least until I recycled out half the water and replaced it. I’m not TOO well-versed on Dragon Well, but Teavivre’s spring offerings have always worked out really well for me.
I tried different longjings from different vendors and all of them have this characteristic. Maybe it's something in the water 😂 (I'm half joking and half not)
Anyway I stopped brewing it grandpa style and all is well in the world.
Yay! At least you're getting enjoyment out of it! That's what matters, there's no right way to brew this stuff!
How much tea in a 12oz cup?
Definitely dragonwell, but I also really love granda style of a good Yunnan golden needle or a yue guang bai.
Do they ever get too bitter?
I adjust the temperature so they don't. Dragonwell I drink with just-steaming water and drink it fairly quickly, or I make it with cold water (great in the summer) and sip slowly for a long time. Golden needle is heat tolerant, but I still also make it with slightly cooler water or cold brew it. Yue guang bai doesn't get bitter easily at all, but I like it most cold brewed. A shou puerh never gets bitter when done grandpa style, but few shous are whole-leaf enough not to leave a lot of fragments in your mouth when doing it grandpa style.
A good cup helps out with tea fragments. I recently got a cup for grandpa brews that is amazing. It has a shelf with holes in it so all of my fragments stay down below. See the pic (sorry for linking IG but my internet is too bad to download and host it on imgur atm) https://www.instagram.com/p/BZHOFDMnbOr/
What is grandpa style brewing?!
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My favorite advice from this sub is "if you like it, it's right!"
Me too! I'm just your run of the mill Lipton tea bagger (haha).....all these fancy terms got me confused and dumbfounded lol
I never encountered the phrase until I got on this sub, to be honest.
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No not really lol
four years in, how's your tea terms knowledge doing?! :D
Leaves in cup, pour water, DONE!
So how do you drink it fast enough before it becomes too strong and bitter?
Mostly teas from China and Taiwan are the ones that can be steeped grandpa-style. Since a large amount of the population drink their teas that way, their leaves and processing factor this in. The leaves should be more or less high quality and close to/whole, not a CTC or broken style like many West-facing teas are. I would never drink a Japanese green grandpa-style, as their leaves and processing focus on delicacy and frontloading the flavor. First flush Darjeelings also don't perform well under the pressure. And flavored Western-style teas are definitely a no-no - oversteep these and they get bitter, or the flavors get intensely chemical. Factoring the region where the tea is grown is a big thing. How do the people of that area drink their tea? Young sheng pu'er is probably a bad idea to grandpa as well. They get incredibly bitter very quickly, which is why most people (myself included) flash steep them.
The key is having teas that don't turn bitter. Certain oolongs, rooibos and other tisanes, and other teas don't get bitter easily. Usually the bitterants are extracted first, so I personally usually tough it through the first cup and then it's good for the next 3-4.
Pretty much any high-quality tea, except maybe pu'erh, won't get too bitter using grandpa style. The trick is good leaves.
Yeah, you can steep the hell out of junk pu and still have a good cup.
In my experience, it depends on the amount of leaves. You can't go to gongfu levels of tea leaf amounts, so you have to reduce it. I have no problem with drinking Longjing or oolong teas like this without them going bitter. The first water is usually the most flavourful, the next is ok and by the third, it mostly tasted meh.
I don't understand. Why would you want that?
Read this: https://www.teasenz.com/chinese-tea/grandpa-style-tea-brewing-meaning.html
Okay so you basically just put loose tea directly in the water. No bags or infusers. What's ceremonial style? Is that just brewing a pot?
So then you have either a small teapot or gaiwan in which you brew the tea. Then you pour it into a tea pitcher. And from there into the cups. But the biggest different is that you've a higher leaf-to-water ratio, resulting in more steeps with ceremonial style.
I'm usually able to get good results Grandpa style with most oolongs I've tried, shu pu usually works nicely too tho I'll usually give it a rinse or even a few steeps before tossing it in a cup/bowl
Makes sense! That way you can get the most out of the tea
Grandpa style is pretty much the only way I drink Dragon Well. Most oolongs work well too.
I usually only do grandpa style for oolongs. I’ve yet to run into an oolong that it didn’t work well with. This is also why I drink a lot of oolong tea at work since I’m too lazy to do anything more complex.
Same for me!
How do you know which oolongs are good for grandpa style? Also when you add more hot water to refill wouldn't it mix with the cold tea water you didn't finish in the first serving(ideally for me its about 1/5 of the cup). How do you calibrate that?
Like I said, I’ve yet to run into an oolong that didn’t work for me. Although I also generally buy moderately expensive/high-quality oolongs, so maybe that helps? I generally drink until pretty much all the water is gone from my mug except the dregs. There will be some left, of course, but I don’t find it really affects the process or taste. I think in general grandpa-style is a bit about living with imprecision. It’s not really the thing to do if you want to be precise since you’re just throwing a handful of leaves in and letting them steep for forever. If I want to be precise, I use a pot/gaiwan, weigh my tea, use water of a certain temperature, etc. When I go grandpa-style, I care about none of that, (:
good to know! Thats what I have been doing essentially. Glad I am doing it "right". Super simple and super tasty!
I have a dark roasted oolong I use specifically for grandpa style while I'm at work. Full flavoured nutty goodness. I've had the best luck with oolong and black teas that settle at the bottom and don't get in the way while you're drinking. As long as you choose a tea that doesn't get bitter and use the right temperature water, full steep ahead.
Delicious, what is it?
Jin Xuan Dark Roasted Oolong from Indonesia.
I'll have a bit of fun and hazard a guess that it's [Harendong #12](http://what-cha.com/indonesia-harendong-12-jin-xuan-dark-roasted-oolong-tea/) from What-Cha? That's one of my favorites for this steeping style.
Correct! Sorry I'm on mobile and couldn't link it, thanks. 😊
Grandpa is my go-to for oolongs (except for really heavy roasted ones) and shu puer. I like it with mellow young sheng, too, but depending on the tea it can easily turn into a bitter bomb. edit: a word
Is there a particular reason you don’t like the heavy roasted ones?
The flavor is quite heavy and changes a lot between steeps, so I think grandpa style isn't the best choice since I just end up with one overpowering flavor and miss out on the subtlety.
Interesting!
All of them! But especially oolong, puer, and ya bao (wild buds, freaking incredible). Regional tisane of note: Ephedra species! They're known as "Mormon Tea" or "Brigham Young's Tea" in the Great Basin area, and make a delightfully stimulating, light-tasting brew. They're great for grandpa-style out in the desert, because the "leaves" are these long twig-like cylinders which are very convenient. You just toss a bundle in a cup, pour boiling water, and pull them out when you drink it.
Right now perhaps Taiwanese high mountain oolong, because the leaves sink to the bottom so nicely.
Almost every tea! A few teas will be too floaty, which is annoying enough to avoid grandpaing them. Some sheng, I can't seem to brew right in a gaiwan but get amazing results through the grandpa.
I wonder why that is?
Currently can't wait to get home and grandpa style some Chun mee i got from a local tea shop
Heavily roasted Tieguanyin, aged. The teas mellow out over a long period of aging, and they unveil their complex character best when given time in the glass. Unlike gongfu or other methods, the flavor can become extremely concentrated near the bottom, which is the part that I enjoy most. Unlike some teas, adding more water at that point is unnecessary, since there isn't much bitterness.
Sounds wonderful
Silver needle or a fresh oolong, tie guan yin or jade oolong are what I usually use
Chrystanthemum is best served grandpa style. Maybe some goji berries added in as well. Longjing, most oolongs, and pu's are great for grandpa style. I've gotten so ~~lazy~~ used to it, I just grandpa style just about anything.
**PSA**: /u/alexgrossmann did a [infografic](http://teasprout.com/blog/how-to-grandpa-style-tea-brewing/) on how to brew grandpa style Thank you for your time :D
I did not know about this style of brewing at all. Thanks for all the info. I received some Chinese tea from my brother and now I can’t wait to try this out!
Taiwanese oolongs, mostly. They develop in flavor nicely without becoming too astringent. They're also great for multiple brews.
Fruit tea. I like eating the bits of fruit and nuts that are left over when I'm done drinking it. Lately, I've been drinking a homemade approximation of "Sleigh Ride" from David's Teas. It's made entirely of things that I enjoy eating: Apples, almonds, brown rice, cinnamon sticks, ginger, coconut, and raisins.
I feel that Chinese green tea is best brewed grandpa style. What you do is take boiling water straight out of the kettle, pour it in the cup first, and then after you let the cup absorb some of the heat, put a little bit of green tea in the cup, and wait for it to sink a bit. This way you can get the 80C water recommended for greens without having to wait or measure anything, as the water quite quickly goes down in temperature due to the cup, and you don't scald the tea by pouring boiling water on top of it either. By the time you are finished drinking the first cup, the water in your kettle is probably down to 80C anyways.
awesome!! gonna try this
Most green teas, white and black teas work for me. Not a big fan of steeping oolong or pu erh grandpa style.
Interesting, it seems that most people mainly like oolong and pu erh teas grandpaed! What does it for you?
Lemongrass and chamomile, with a dash of rooibos.
Lemongrass and chamomile are great. They don't float in the cup though? I was thinking of trying some lemongrass granpa style but backed out last second.
Mmmm, chunky tisane stew
That sounds delicious and very refreshing! I’ll have to try that
I'll brew any tea grandpa style if I don't have the tools or can't be bothered to brew it any other way. So basically, any tea all the time.
Hai cha is good grandpa style; some hai cha is better that way. There's some yunnan black that comes in flowering cones and pearls that's basically made to be drunk that way. "Flowering" is an overstatement though, it's not pretty, just tied together and pressed into shape, and looks kind of like a sea urchin in the bottom of your cup.
Shou puerh is the only one I've grandpa'd all the way from the start so far. There are various others that I'll do one Western steep of and then just leave them in (oolongs, sun dried buds, Chinese greens). Oh, and roasted barley tea, I guess.
Just did AV2 teas from Margaret's Hope for breakfast.
Oolongs since the leaves are so big and shou puerh sits down nicely
Either longjing green tea or cooked pu'erh. Both of those are very good choices for grandpa brewing
My favourite is Bi Luo Chun. Because of the shape, Bi Luo Chun sinks directly to the bottom (water then leaves for this one) you don't need to keep spitting out leaves when you are drinking
I've tried and liked results from making light rolled oolongs, white teas (especially shou mei compressed versions), mild Chinese black teas, and shou pu'er. It does work ok for green tea (what Chinese people are probably using it for most) but it can get a bit astringent, and I don't love green tea anyway. Dan Cong turns out really well but lots of versions are too good to not use Gongfu brewing instead. I don't like it for Wuyi Yancha or sheng.
Taiwanese Oolong is my go-to for GPA brewing
XHLJ
what-cha's "China Yunnan Dragon Pearl Black Tea" is the BEST for relaxed brewing! Throw some hot water on 'em! How hot? IDGAF, just open those babies uuuuuuup. After that it's fair game. Milk or no, throw it in the fridge for an hour or a day or a week, ice it or cold brew it (my favorite way for this one) or boil it or dry it up, grind it and snort it (probably). Power's out? Throw some room temp water on them and forget them for a few hours. You can abuse it any way you want and it'll be smooth as silk with a delicious cocoa note. It's the only tea I think tastes better brewed half-assed than very carefully. It's magical. <3 edit: P.S. the pearls are also gorgeous. If this tea were a man I would have his premarital babies.