TEA SEEMS TO BE the perfect antidote to perfectionism. As I continue to experiment with brewing teas, I learn more about what it means to brew a great cup of tea. Try steeping the leaves at a temperature that will bring out the most flavor the tea can offer, while making sure the water is not so hot that it injures the tea. This is a delicate balance. The steeping time is just as critical. How long to brew the tea to optimize flavor? How do you know what is optimal flavor? Does anyone really know or is it purely subjective?
These questions can sustain the perfectionist temperament for hours--all the way to surrender. I've noticed that the greatest tea people will admit that they like to brew teas differently than what is considered by tea masters to be the "right way." In China and Taiwan, one uses a lot of leaves, steeped for a shorter period of time. In a tea class with Winnie Yu at Teance, Winnie asked her students what they thought was the best way is to brew oolongs. She admitted that professional tea masters prefer more tea leaves steeped for a shorter period of time, but that she has found optimal flavor by using less tea and steeping it for a longer time. This has been my experience as well.
There is also the question of which teaware to use. Porcelain gaiwans are usually my teaware of choice, but I also use yixing teapots for some oolongs. As well, a friend recently gave me the lovely gift of a japanese glass teapot/server, and that seems great for green teas which are so vibrant in color that watching them steep is part of the mastery of creating a great tea experience.
You might get to the point where your obsession becomes so ridiculous that even you recognize the futility. There is no "perfectly" brewed tea, or if you do think you have hit a Camellia sinensis Nirvana, just try to do it again the next day. Invariably you will be lamenting your inability to "get it right" again. I suppose it is the same with any addiction. You get a taste of the"high," and ever after you seek the same Eden, hitting it sometimes, but more often than not, quizically wondering where you went wrong and why you have a headache.
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