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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?
That looks like a cake of white tea. There are tools called tea picks that can be used to break the leaves apart or break chunks off, but you can also use a dull knife or anything that lets you wedge it in between the leaves. The goal is to break the leaves apart while leaving them as individually intact as possible.
For brewing, water temp does matter but Im not very familair with white tea, I would suggest doing a quick internet search, or you can experiment with different temps between 170°F-ish and boiling. I would recommend starting with a tea infuser basket, that would allow you to steep the loose leaves and remove them when done steeping. You could also look into brewing it gongfu style with a gaiwan or similar brewing vessel, again do a search for gongfu and you will find a plethora of information about tea brewing that way.
The tea subreddit is very beginner friendly, if you are ok with using reddit you can pop over there too, there is a ton of information about brewing guidelines and tea identification
Best way:
Source: am British.
This is white tea and it shouldn’t be steeped at boiling. I’m not sure what the temp is, but I find it funny the snobby Brit doesn’t know that when the heathen American does!
(Sorry. Couldn’t rssist.)
Let's be honest, taking other countries' culinary traditions and doing them wrong is our culinary tradition
Great. Now I have to turn my passport in.
Would definitely have a look at the many instruction videos online. Drinking this kind of tea is quite different from the usual tea bags (normally smaller brewing pots, lower than boiling water temp, throwing out the first brew etc).
Also, the dates you see on Chinese products is often manufacture/production date as opposed to expiry date, especially for tea. If you share a pic of the date then I can confirm. In any case tea doesn't really go bad, just keep it cool and dry.
In the Chinese style of tea making, there is a short prewash of the leaves.
Put the tea leaves in the pot, and then add enough water to cover the leaves, swirl for 3 seconds and pour out the water. Then fill the pot with hot water to brew the tea to use.
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.
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!
Found the American Revolutionary
the instructions i found for other teabricks said to cut/snap of a pice and boil it. pur-erh-tea-cake
and aparently tea doesnt go bad,
it just looses some flavour
does tea expire?
Does tea expire? The short answer is no.
The date stamped on the bottom of your tea tin > or tea bag box isn’t technically an expiration date. The Senior Advisor for Food Safety at the > FDA has stated that the “Best If Used By”
These videos have more information:
https://youtu.be/6hn9Uw4Lqk8?feature=shared
https://youtu.be/ixlOebAxhbI?feature=shared
One thing they note: while you’re trying to break bits of the pressed tea cake off, do your best to keep the leaves intact.
from the other comments this sounds like kind of a fancy and particular tea. maybe you could offer to share some with someone nearby that has the tools and skills to brew it properly. perhaps a fancy tea shop would be willing to brew it for you.
I know nothing about tea, but I love sharing food with friends. this seems perfect for that.
Break a bit off, crumble it up a bit, rinse it for a few seconds in warm water, then brew it like loose-leaf tea.
Throw away the rinse? Such a waste of flavor..
