Precise temperature of water
Jiri Tobisek
does anyone have any smart idea how to achieve precise tempature of
water (e.g. 70C/158F for the most sorts of green tea)?
Being traditionalist a bit, I don't feel like using thermometer, as it
makes me think of sci lab rather than tea room. On the other hand, the
importance of precise temperature has been discussed recently in this
newsgroup ('The perfect cup of green tea', I guess). Is there any
traditional way how to get the right temperature? Or is it simply just
a matter of experience?
Thanks
Jiri Tobisek
P.S.: After some calculations I found just one simple way: mixing 1/3
of water (c. 12C/59F or so, a little difference doesn't matter here)
and 2/3 of boiling (i.e. 100C/212F) water should give c. 70C/158F as
result. But physics was never my forte :)
Lewis Perin
> does anyone have any smart idea how to achieve precise tempature of
> water (e.g. 70C/158F for the most sorts of green tea)?
> Being traditionalist a bit, I don't feel like using thermometer, as it
> makes me think of sci lab rather than tea room. On the other hand, the
> importance of precise temperature has been discussed recently in this
> newsgroup ('The perfect cup of green tea', I guess). Is there any
> traditional way how to get the right temperature? Or is it simply just
> a matter of experience?
>[...]
> P.S.: After some calculations I found just one simple way: mixing 1/3
> of water (c. 12C/59F or so, a little difference doesn't matter here)
> and 2/3 of boiling (i.e. 100C/212F) water should give c. 70C/158F as
> result. But physics was never my forte :)
Why is precise measurement of volume more traditional than precise
measurement of temperature?
I'll admit that there are times when I don't feel like being precise.
But for those times when you want reproducible results you'll probably
want to measure temperature directly rather than with a proxy like
relative volumes of water. This is especially true because while you
may find "rules of thumb" for estimating a given water temperature you
will find that not all green teas will give you results you like at
the same temperature.
/Lew
--
Lew Perin / pe...@acm.org
http://www.panix.com/~perin/worry.html
crymad
Jiri Tobisek wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> does anyone have any smart idea how to achieve precise tempature of
> water (e.g. 70C/158F for the most sorts of green tea)?
> Being traditionalist a bit, I don't feel like using thermometer, as it
> makes me think of sci lab rather than tea room.
For what it's worth, I use a digital thermometer. Although now I'm
beginning to get pretty accurate judging temp by the sound and
appearance of the hot water.
--crymad
Jiri Tobisek
the reason why I wrote the message. The point is, that Ming Chinese
certainly didn't use thermometer. Therefore, I wonder if there's some
method or trick, how to achieve desired temperature without using
modern tech.
Jiri
Lewis Perin <pe...@panix.com> wrote in message news:<pc7ofmk...@panix2.panix.com>...
Wesley Neal Williams
that described the sound of the water in the kettle.. like the sound of
bamboos rattling in the wind.. as the way to know when the water was ready.
I use a similar method, though not as poetic, as the indicator that the
water has reached the right temperature. When the water starts to make a
certain sound, I know it's ready. It seems always to work. Also, after
using the same kettle (an electric, cordless one) for a number of years, I
kind of know about how long it takes for the water to heat up to the correct
point.
WNW
"Jiri Tobisek" <tob...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:b1a761ba.01110...@posting.google.com...
Esben Grønborg Brun
description of how to use a Gaiwan)
Take water to full boil , then pour it into a big drinking glass - then
onto the tea.
If you need more water , then cool the glass (cold tap water) before
repeating.
This method work very well - producing temperatures around 80°C = 176F
It is most elegant when brewing a small amount of tea ( one cup at a time) ,
like in a Gaiwan.
If you dont have a gaiwan you can simply use two drinking glasses.
If you want bigger quantities of tea, then use big drinking glasses.
You can vary and refine the metod in several ways. Using different
"cooling vessels" for example two teapots , pouring the hot water back
and forth
more times ....
I recommend that you use a thermometer for tuning the method to the
precise temperature (taste) you want.
Then you can use the method at work or on travel ( or at home ) without the
fuss of a thermometer.
Esben
Jiri Tobisek <tob...@yahoo.com> skrev i en
nyhedsmeddelelse:b1a761ba.01110...@posting.google.com...
Dave W
>I remember reading some information about the history of tea-making in
>Korea that described the sound of the water in the kettle.. like the sound
>of bamboos rattling in the wind.. as the way to know when the water was
>ready. I use a similar method, though not as poetic, as the indicator that
>the water has reached the right temperature. When the water starts to
>make a certain sound, I know it's ready. It seems always to work. Also,
>after using the same kettle (an electric, cordless one) for a number of
>years, I kind of know about how long it takes for the water to heat up to
>the correct point.
Interesting. I like the concept, at least, but knowing me, won't put in
the effort to learn to do without a thermometer or sheer guesswork.
But a cordless electric kettle? Battery operated? Surely there's no such
thing. What am I missing here?
Wesley Neal Williams
cord. The kettle itself sits on the base. One fills the kettle with water,
puts it on the base, depresses a switch, then waits for the water to heat
up. Then the kettle can be removed and taken to wherever it's needed. Some
of these devices are advertised as cordless electric kettles, though I
suppose technically the entire device could not be called completely
cordless.
Now, at first, I did measure the water temperature with a thermometer, but
soon that became tiresome to me, and after a while my guesswork because
accurate enough to produce cups of tea that were perfect to my taste. The
water does make different sounds inside the kettle as it heats up, from a
slow bubbling sound as it gets warm to a louder rumble as it reaches the
boiling point. So with a little experience I gradually came to know by the
sound of the water in the kettle at what stage it's right for white tea,
green tea, oolong tea, or black tea. If I happen to over-heat the water, I
need only let the kettle sit for a few minutes, and it cools down to the
appropriate temperature. I can also feel the plastic exterior of the kettle
and know whether it's roughly at the right temperature. The kettle will
shut itself off when it reaches the boiling point, if I'm brewing a very
strong tea that needs water at a full boil. So that one is a no-brainer.
WNW
"Dave W" <word...@wwa.com> wrote in message
news:882.708T2330T...@enteract.com...
Ian Rastall
>Interesting. I like the concept, at least, but knowing me, won't put in
>the effort to learn to do without a thermometer or sheer guesswork.
>
>But a cordless electric kettle? Battery operated? Surely there's no such
>thing. What am I missing here?
Allow me to delurk for a second here. Aren't there such things as
electric kettles that measure temperature?
Ian
Lewis Perin
> Well, let's put aside the question of 'volume measuring' - it's not
> the reason why I wrote the message. The point is, that Ming Chinese
> certainly didn't use thermometer. Therefore, I wonder if there's some
> method or trick, how to achieve desired temperature without using
> modern tech.
I would think most Ming Chinese probably drank one kind of tea all the
time, their local variety. They presumably became *really* good at
estimating the right temperature for their tea combined with their
water. If you want to be a 21st century cosmopolitan tea drinker and
flit from one variety to another without a thermometer, you'll
probably need a whole bag of tricks rather than just one.
Colin Jauffret
is heard at low water temperature, when it starts to produce steam at 80c.
Then, the noise get higher and higher as the temperature goes up. There are
maybe 4 "whistling levels".
I have no idea where to get these kettles however.
David Harris
Colin Jauffret wrote:
Now that you mention it, my Michael Graves kettle (the one from Target,
not the really expensive one) has several tones that must correspond to
different temperatures.
dmh
Randy Pals
steel ball infuser, I found it a lot easier to let the water come
to a boil, pour it in my mug, and then set a timer on my digital
watch. Once I made a time vs. temp plot with a thermometer
in that mug, so now I know how much time to let elapse to get
down to the desired temperature before infusing. I suppose you
could do the same thing with a pot ...
--
Randy
Lewis Perin
If you're as impatient as I am, you might want to pour in a bit less
of the boiling water and then bring the temp down by filling with room
temperature water.
By the way, you might experience an improvement if you replace the
steel ball with a different type of infuser that comes closer to
letting the leaves roam around the whole mug.
Dave Moorman
tob...@yahoo.com (Jiri Tobisek) wrote:
> Well, let's put aside the question of 'volume measuring' - it's not
> the reason why I wrote the message. The point is, that Ming Chinese
> certainly didn't use thermometer. Therefore, I wonder if there's some
> method or trick, how to achieve desired temperature without using
> modern tech.
>
> Jiri
Water in the simple pot I use makes a series of noises as it warms up
and usually becomes very quiet just before whistling. If you listened
carefully enough and tested the effects of water at different sounds,
you could probably learn when the water is at the best temperature.
That's probably how the Chinese did it.
As a matter of fact, most people in China probably do it a low tech way
today. Now if they just had Internet access...
Dave
--
Dave Moorman
Downers Grove,
Illinois USA
Some men dream of fortunes, others dream of cookies.