Tea Masterclass: Astringency

Рет қаралды 29,057

Күн бұрын

A proper geeky masterclass on tea astringency with some of the subject matter applicable to coffee, wine, whisky, chocolate and beer astringency.
Astringency is a fundamental factor when assessing the quality of a tea and is not and thing but has to be under your control as a brewer.
In this video, I give you as much information as I have about the science of astringency and the ten factors which influence tea astringency. Get ready for a full on session!
For Full Article: meileaf.com/article/tea-maste...
Teas Featured:
Imperial Green - meileaf.com/p/tea-impc
Souchong Liquor - meileaf.com/p/tea-souc
White Peony - meileaf.com/p/tea-wpyc
Diamond Peak - meileaf.com/p/tea-junc
Kanaya Midori Sencha - meileaf.com/p/tea-kmsc
Royal Peach Orchid - meileaf.com/p/tea-phoc
Teaware:
Gong Fu Guru - meileaf.com/p/cl-gfgc
Blue Gaiwan - meileaf.com/p/cl-mlgw
Blue Gong Dao Bei - meileaf.com/p/cl-mlgd
Blue Tulip Cups - meileaf.com/p/cl-mlcp
Porcelain Tea Scoops - meileaf.com/p/tsc-porc
#KeepTeaGangsta White Gaiwan - meileaf.com/p/cl-gwkt
#StayLoose White Gaiwan - meileaf.com/p/cl-gwsl
Hammered Glass Gong Dao Bei - meileaf.com/p/ggdb
Flute Brewer - meileaf.com/p/cl-flbr
Ru Yao Cups - meileaf.com/p/cl-gfcp
Clay Kyusu- meileaf.com/p/jp-rstk
Porcelain Yuzamashi - meileaf.com/p/jp-spty
Hammered Glass Gong Dao Bei - meileaf.com/p/sgdb
Glass Gong Fu Teapot - meileaf.com/pcl-gfgs
Tea Towel - meileaf.com/p/cl-gftt
REFERENCES:
Samanta T, Cheeni V, Das S, Roy AB, Ghosh BC, Mitra A. Assessing biochemical changes during standardization of fermentation time and temperature for manufacturing quality black tea. Journal of Food Science and Technology. 2015;52(4):2387-2393. doi:10.1007/s13197-013-1230-5.
P Okinda Owuor, Martin Obanda; The changes in black tea quality due to variations of plucking standard and fermentation time, Food Chemistry, Volume 61, Issue 4, 1998, Pages 435-441
Ding, Z., Kuhr, S. & Engelhardt, U.H. Z Lebensm Unters Forch (1992) 195: 108. doi.org/10.1007/BF01201768
Bhuyan LP, Borah P, Sabhapondit S, Gogoi R, Bhattacharyya P. Spatial variability of theaflavins and thearubigins fractions and their impact on black tea quality. Journal of Food Science and Technology. 2015;52(12):7984-7993. doi:10.1007/s13197-015-1968-z.
D. Rossetti, J.H.H. Bongaerts, E. Wantling, J.R. Stokes, A.-M. Williamson; Astringency of tea catechins: More than an oral lubrication tactile percept, Food Hydrocolloids, Volume 23, Issue 7, 2009, Pages 1984-1992,
A. Nayak, G.H. Carpenter; A physiological model of tea-induced astringency, Physiology & Behavior, Volume 95, Issue 3, 2008, Pages 290-294,
Nicole Schöbel, Debbie Radtke, Jessica Kyereme, Nadine Wollmann, Annika Cichy, Katja Obst, Kerstin Kallweit, Olaf Kletke, Amir Minovi, Stefan Dazert, Christian H. Wetzel, Angela Vogt-Eisele, Günter Gisselmann, Jakob P. Ley, Linda M. Bartoshuk, Jennifer Spehr, Thomas Hofmann, Hanns Hatt; Astringency Is a Trigeminal Sensation That Involves the Activation of G Protein-Coupled Signaling by Phenolic Compounds, Chemical Senses, Volume 39, Issue 6, 1 July 2014, Pages 471-487, doi.org/10.1093/chemse/bju014
SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Book: Three Basic Teas and How to Brew Them - Virginia Utermohlen Lovelace MD
Special thanks to Virginia Utermohlen Lovelace MD who has revealed so much about taste and tea.
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Пікірлер: 82

@ThatLazyStray 6 жыл бұрын

I always thought i hated tea because to me, it was far more bitter than coffee. I had worked in a coffee factory for a while and knew that you could get strong coffee without it being bitter, depending on the type and how you brewed it. For some reason it never occurred to me that tea could be the same! I literally started gongfu brewing a few of your tea's earlier this week, and now evenings are spent sipping tea happily. It's not bitter, i no longer need mountains of milk or sugar to get through just half a cup. I'm still learning about the different kinds of tea to try and find my preference, and admittedly, sometimes it still just tastes like hot water to me since my taste buds aren't very adapted, it's been a very enjoyable experience though. Video's i'd love to see from you in the future! - Tea pairings for spicy food. - More tea cocktails!

@MeiLeaf 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing your journey into tea and yep, it is all about getting the right leaves and brewing them to your tastes. Videos added to our lists!

@mrecra8084 6 ай бұрын

i'm glad you are enjoying tea. funnily enough i got into specialty tea through specialty coffee. I hope that now 5 years later your passion for all things caffeinated is strong and not astringent

@Artzenflowers 6 жыл бұрын

One of the Mothers at a church I used to attend said this "knowledge is power and information is how you get it." I feel my tea power has increased dynamically! Thank you Don you are indeed The Supreme Tea Head!

@Mindful_TEA_Break 6 жыл бұрын

Geeky a bit more scientific videos are definitely my favourite and I'm sure people that are already on their true tea journey for a while really appreciate them :) I think what you said at the end with adding mint is exactly what works for typical North African tea - where they brew green tea with Nana mint. Theoretically it could be very astringent since they use boiling water on green but I think mint effect evens it out. Nice to see the science behind it :))

@Mephistopheles019 6 жыл бұрын

Outstanding video. With first flush 2018 stuff coming, any chance you could do a video on how to properly store teas? I found a lot of my stuff from last year really lost its quality, after about a year. I was thinking about buying a container, but I'm sure you know way more about how to properly store the good stuff. Thanks!

@laraz1409 6 жыл бұрын

You've tickled the brain of a geek, love it :)

@Tasman_Tea 6 жыл бұрын

Wow, Don! You really have outdone yourself with this one. Brilliant video!

@maashagens7015 3 жыл бұрын

Wow, i'm impressed. Very comprehensive list and so much good information. Love the theory about minerals and astringency, fits perfectly. Also i second the thought that great tea has compounds in it that change the astringency as you drink it. Lesser tea's stay dry but great tea goes smooth and sometimes even becomes a bit silkly. Thank you so much! Really enjoyed this.

@Peraou 6 жыл бұрын

*coughs* "definitely much drier" *wheezes*

@Theo-ke4je 6 жыл бұрын

+1 for putting the references in the description !

@cliffjudith 6 жыл бұрын

This is excellent. Don, if you could do more of these partly scientific videos that would be great.

@marcopagani7808 6 жыл бұрын

I am testing the eggshell trick with an average quality Mi Lan Xiang and neutral pH water. The effect is unbelievable!!! The eggshell is taking away all of the astringency but also some of the more delicate flavours unfortunately. Very different from the clay effect though. I will try again with an Indian black. Thank you Don for this amazing trick!

@woody3307 Жыл бұрын

Don, this is a superb review and shows what a scientific and rational mind you have in that tea head of yours! :) I have trained thousands of people in the use of the pH and TDS meters in the plant nutrition business, and it was a real brain wave for you to apply these basic tests to the tea. Your observation that the pH was relatively unchanged while still having higher TDS was confirmation of higher mineral content. And clearly if you have calcium and sulfur added to the solution they will increase the conductivity but the pH can be the same. Certainly those two elements will change the flavor too. BUT your first mention of the binding of the polyphenols with the tissues of the mouth MUST be true. My entries in my tea log over the last two years describing a serious problem of "dry mouth" at night IMHO opinion is due to a remarkable change in the cells caused by perhaps a weakening of the cell wall, loss of water in the cell, or early death of the cell that peaks around 2 hours after going to sleep. To say the least this syndrome was uncomfortable and like having a mouth full of green persimmon, and that is a full 15 hours after the tea session. It was so bad I was usually awakened by the problem and mouth was glued together to the point that just trying to open the mouth was tearing off a layer of cells. Naturally, this was occurring with green teas which is what I usually drink, and the problem only developed in the last year when I quit taking days off from tea and also started having 6 grams of tea each morning ..up from say 2 or 3. Now, there is no doubt that other foods I use like apple cider vinegar, and blueberries and apples etc also play a role, but those were always there while only the large quantity of certain green tea caused the problem. Interestingly, when I discovered sencha the problem was much less likely. I can't really say if oolong or black tea would solve the problem either because I never stayed with them long enough. I like the astringency of green tea I guess. I also like Long Jing and Chinese green teas a lot, but there is something about the sencha, perhaps the proteins I have heard about in that tea or one of the other many factors you discussed. That does bring up a question about the egg shell. Of course you washed the shells, but without question there is a protein membrane still left clinging inside that could be just the thing to bind to all those catechins to reduce the astringent effects. A mg or two of gypsum or calcium sulfate as a test may give the same reduction, but it would probably make the tea taste flat. But there is no protein in the gypsum so it is a cleaner test of that aspect maybe. Your chemistry experiment was very well conceived and very convincing, and there is more we can learn for sure. For me it is very important because even if I don't sleep for hours at night with my mouth like a bottle of dried glue you know I am going to still buy your tea! haha Baisao is my poet, and tea is my rhyme!! Thanks for the insights!

@kelleyvinal9924 6 жыл бұрын

always love your videos, don. thank you for posting!!!

@jferrante73 6 жыл бұрын

Love the References, awesome video, super informative. Thanks for all the great videos, and this one is simply great!

@achukmvlid.johnson9588 4 жыл бұрын

These types of videos are the ones I love most. The information. The precision. Mostly that you would have made this video even if no one watched. Inspirational passion. I am the same on many levels. Thank you.

@slave2rythm 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your in depth talk of astringency. Learned a lot and enjoyed it :)

@rimasvainauskas3466 6 жыл бұрын

As always great video. Thanks for doing this.

@simonhenriksson6884 5 жыл бұрын

Excellent video! Appreciate the combination of personal experience with the science behind the taste. Personally, I think the level of astringency is key to master your tea. So thanks for a very illuminating video on the topic. Great work with your channel!

@alessandrab7136 2 жыл бұрын

Such an interesting and educational video with excellently designed testing to complement such interesting theory! Thank you Don! From 🇨🇦

@tiffanyrupp8252 2 жыл бұрын

This was an amazing class. Thank you

@larrytischler570 3 жыл бұрын

In wine, astrigency also comes from the grape leaves that are often deliberately left in the first fermentation to help the tannin content. Tannins in wine help the taste break cleanly and furnish a satisfactory finish. In making fruit wines, strong tea is sometimes added in a small amount if fresh grape leaves are not available. I have used both but not together.

@PontusPresents 6 жыл бұрын

Great video, Don! And thanks for including the references. :-)

@krzysztofjarzyna8148 6 жыл бұрын

Wow, captivating quantity of knowledge. So far I've learned from you so much about tea and english at once. Thank you for it! I would be pleased if you make more videos about making traditional teaware and tea pottery

@blueredyns7392 6 жыл бұрын

I happened to be drinking Souchong Liquor when I clicked on this video, haha! Great video as usual, and great tea as well! If only shipping wasn't so pricey for us over in the US

@SVHSslate5 6 жыл бұрын

Awesome video, thanks so much Don!!

@maflo5971 6 жыл бұрын

that was an extremely good video! thanks for these detailed informations :) i personally enjoy the cooling mint sensation. by now i especially noticed that kind of astringency in good white teas which might be connected to the high altitude of these teas. by the way. i really apreciated your tea trip videos and really hope to see more in the future! because i'm a student my possibility to travel to china or japan are a little limited and your vids are a grate way to substitute this knowledge of travelling to the source of good teas. thanks for your effort! keep making the good stuff ;)

@garthreid7114 4 ай бұрын

I'm mainly, a coffee drinker, but for a change, or a feeling, I like a strong cup of tea. My interpretation of astringents, are they bind with impurities to cleanse the blood. Seems simple enough to me. And there is one more thing to add. Tea, is the same as herbs when it comes to preperation. Bare with me for a moment, take any herb, tear it apart, or slice it with a sharp knife. If you chop it, that crushing action releases enzymes which alter the flavour. Simple test, slice say parley for instance, and smell the fragrance, now, crush and squeeze the herb with vigour, now when you smell it, there is a completely different aroma. Not sure what that means other than a cleaner, sharper, fragrance stimulates appreciation of your food. So... I wouldn't recommend squeezing or crushing if you want a fuller flavour.

@simplyteaDK 6 жыл бұрын

This explains why my green teas taste better brewed in mineral water compared to tap water. This is a really interesting video - more of these please.

@user-kd3fl8un4d 6 ай бұрын

I think you are right with TDA. In east Friesland we have a lot of minerals in the water. That's why you can use very astrigend teas there. I think.

@ArThePig 3 жыл бұрын

Amazing and very informative. Excellent vdo!

@Luciana_Boic 5 жыл бұрын

Geeky videos are the best! : )

@humanbeing5875 6 жыл бұрын

so much knowledge !

@jurgenleofoley4270 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks a million 🎊🤩💥🎉

@RevampedOutdoors 2 жыл бұрын

Great video filled with awesome information. If anyone out there is a fan of astringency try to get a hold of some black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) berries, native to North America and underrated big time.

@nicolesandrini1673 6 жыл бұрын

great video, thank you!

@wesdashman 6 жыл бұрын

Very interesting. Thanks.

@K_Forss 5 ай бұрын

Great video, abd even though it is old I feel like I need to add some more information about tannins ehen it comes to tanning leather. It does a lot more than just coloring the leather. The two main reasons why leather (or raw hide as it acually called before the tanning process) is to increase durability and make it less susceptible to decomposition as the tannins cause the proteins in the raw hide to form larger molecules. And those are both stronger and harder to rot

@MIbKMunk 6 жыл бұрын

Super interesting video, I absolutely love the depth of you knowledge and passion. It was very interesting with the egg shell and minerality. Have you measured the amount of dissolved minerals just in hot water (no tea added) that has been in a glass pot as opposed to a yixing pot? That would be very interesting to know.

@sadehavvad 6 жыл бұрын

You should teach chemistry, Don. Cheers!

@jukemaster2848 6 жыл бұрын

appreciate the info :)

@eatyoualiveinc 6 жыл бұрын

HEY DON! I am looking forward to purchasing a few teas that i have my eyes on from Mei Leaf and have it ship over to Singapore. Stock aren't available yet though. WHEN IS THE FRESH SPRING 2018 BATCH OF TEAS COMING INNNNNN?

@nelsonsan8549 6 жыл бұрын

Great video, as usual! A couple of questions: if high quality clay teapots neutralises astringency through minerality balancing and less oxidised teas are more astringent, shouldn't we use clay pots for brewing white and greens, rather than oolongs and black teas? Second, wouldn't iron teapots be even more efficient at balancing minerality than clay ones?

@1mataleo1 6 жыл бұрын

Do you have a video of you tasting Ba Xian Dan Cong? I thought I watched one a long while ago, but I have been searching your channel and can’t seem to find it. I was curious because I read that it has a very high amount of aromatic compounds and wanted to hear your descriptions of its flavor profile compared to other Dan Congs

@Myzenan 5 жыл бұрын

good ideas! just want to point out that solely using a pH sensor might not be the best idea as pH is measured in the -lg scale so even a small 0.1 increase in pH translates to a significant change in H+ ions in the water

@maurijnbracke2768 6 жыл бұрын

Hello Don, Can you make a video about the different tea grades like OP, FOP, GFOP,..? Maybe a taste comparison? Thank you!

@achuthannair2275 5 жыл бұрын

Can you pls tell me how is the theaflavis and thearubigns are formed during manufacturing of Tea

@cliffjudith 6 жыл бұрын

I am coming to Camden Friday afternoon 16th specially to visit your shop so put the kettle on and if you or Celine are in the shop it will be great to talk to you. It's Japanese tea day on the 17th so a great few days ahead for me.

@mariannefleur6671 6 жыл бұрын

Clifford Little how did your visit turn out? 🍵🙂

@cliffjudith 6 жыл бұрын

I really enjoyed my afternoon tea session. I was going to try another tea but left a little tea drunk as I had to check in at my hotel in Kensington.Hope to see you again in another visit to London for me.

@AmazinFireMan 2 жыл бұрын

I am watching this years after you did this video. Did you ever expect to become a tea scientist?

@susanmahan3569 4 жыл бұрын

I have been hanging around in the natural health and studying the body. I wasnt aware of the trigenimal system. I think I would have enjoyed learning about what ever the trigenimcal system is. Also you didn't discuss EgCg(?) polyphenol proclaimed as 100x more effedtive than vitamin C as an antioxidant. Is this found more in the oxidized teas or green. that wasn't clear eaither for me. Thanks for doing the video as I am trying to learn all I can about tea. Doubt you will be responding since its been over a year since this was posted. Thanks anyway.

@schusterford 6 жыл бұрын

You could use distilled water to test your mineral theory.

@BaptisteMarieYT 5 жыл бұрын

Great video here for us geeky teaheads

@MeiLeaf 5 жыл бұрын

Probably. It is worth trying, however, be aware that oxygenating will affect colour and taste of the tea (especially green tea).

@BaptisteMarieYT 5 жыл бұрын

I will properly test it when I’ll return to my little tea lab and post the result here :p It’s for mimic the aerating process in an Hong Kong milk tea recipe variation, in a more professional environment... Thanks for all Don, you’re quite a guide for me in my creation process of a tea house in Paris

@ryuukin178 3 жыл бұрын

@@BaptisteMarieYT so did it work

@furball3338 Жыл бұрын

The Rodney McKay of tea

@furball3338 Жыл бұрын

Off of stargate Atlantis

@cadeyrndragheim22 6 жыл бұрын

Great video! Will have to try the eggshell trick at one time, especially since i kinda like more astringent teas lately BTW, How about trying to put eggshells into a clay pot for the double mineralization? :D

@elias2660 5 жыл бұрын

So if the green tea is more astringent than the black tea, and the tea bags are more astringents (because of the particule size) than the tea leaves, the "matcha" is the more astringent tea you coud drink? (green and particulated)

@MeiLeaf 5 жыл бұрын

Matcha can be very astringent which is why you should brew cool however the shade growing is essential in reducing astringency because less sun=less requirement for protection from UV=less catechins. Matcha which is not shaded extensively before picking and then brewed in hot water will be undrinkable astringent tea.

@elias2660 5 жыл бұрын

yes, I have never drink matcha but I have seen your videos about it and now that I saw this video it gets more sense the temperature of the water factor when brewing the matcha. ¡Thanks for making longs videos full with information!

@michalpodoba8994 6 жыл бұрын

Iam wondering when you buy proper strainers :D

@MeiLeaf 6 жыл бұрын

It's crazy because we sell the proper ones but for some reason we keep using the old ones that we have and it is always annoying with those glass Gong Dao Bei's.

@dacr0n229 6 жыл бұрын

Hey, Don. I would like to have the studies you refer to linked somewhere, so i can check those out myself. Just saying "studies show ..." makes it having a bad after taste without evidence to backup, as this phrase if often used by people who lack real evidence and use that phrase to make their argumentation more trustworthy. As I am certain, you have no need to have that motivation behind that phrase bit have the studies to back up your claims, it would be interesting to have a look into those studies aswell ;-)

@MeiLeaf 6 жыл бұрын

They are in the description as I said in the intro.

@dacr0n229 6 жыл бұрын

Mei Leaf wow, thats embarrassing, sorry. Pretty stupid of me that I didnt even look into the info box... Overheard that in the intro apparently :-/ Sorry again and thanks for pointing out that mistak

@MeiLeaf 6 жыл бұрын

No problem! It is quite a scroll down to the references. There are other studies but these were the ones that I reference.

@biribiri9457 6 жыл бұрын

43:52 recap time :)

@tomyri1946 5 жыл бұрын

I was eating a pomegranate and watching this and it made so much sense. Never would have thought of fruit as being astringent.

@zachIPFW 5 жыл бұрын

Greek yogurt can be astringent I think

@kucingizuru 4 жыл бұрын

I am still new to your tea world. So astrigency is not good? It has to be softened?

@bigchunguselementaryschool8312 4 жыл бұрын

No.

@NikaBoyce 5 жыл бұрын

NaCl, i was hoping u might cover this. Ive found that a sprinkle of salt into a substandard coffee makes it drinkable - even black - even INSTANT. Perhaps salt impacts a coffee specific bitter compound, i dont know.