Oppa Grandpa style!

Most of us tea drinkers don't have the luxury to sit and enjoy a cup of tea whenever we choose. I would say most of us have jobs and responsibilities that, generally, limit the type and style of tea we can have. In the USA the best tea someone can get on the go is either some sort of over sugared - under brewed tea, so a quality cup of oolong is damn near impossible to find. This has lead me to become a pretty crafty tea-head when I'm not at home with my teapots, hot water kettle, etc.

To start out, please understand that this isn't going to make tea like at home. You aren't going to get the same pleasures out of the process of gong fu but for those of us who don't want to succumb to sodas or various other beverages, It still makes a decent substitute.

From teanerd!

My favorite way to brew while away from home is a style called "grandpa style". Ive read a few grandpa style brewing techniques and each work fine from my experience. The first "technique" works if you have hot water available where ever you are. Take a glass that holds 16oz or so, preferably a clear glass, and add a teaspoon(or a pinch or two) of dry leaves. Simply add hot water and wait until its a color of your liking and sip from the glass, using your mouth as a filter for the leaves. Keep in mind that the tea leaves will continue to infuse the water, so drink up! Ive used this for white tea and oolong tea with pretty decent results although you will get asked about what you are drinking a lot outside of tea knowledgeable people.

Starbucks grandpa style!

The second technique is very similar to the first but instead of hot water, you use cold water. I like to stop by Starbucks due to the water they use(reverse osmosis-triple filtered) and get a big cup; after all, Its free(usually)! I simply take a few pinches of tea and swirl it into the water and wait. This is my preferred way to brew at work and on trips due to Starbucks being more prevalent than hairs on white tea! Plus, you can use the straw as a "filter" of sorts by keeping it at the bottom corner. This is not a joke! This technique has saved my tea cravings numerous times and is especially good in the warmer months due to using cold or ice water.






The last technique could really be argued that it falls in the category of grandpa style because the container has a mesh filter. Either way, its different than my other tea ware so I think it fits best in this category of brewing. If you're a tea nerd like myself then you either own or you've seen a travel tea cup like the one to the right. They work very well for all types of tea and are convenient for on the go. The mesh screen is a very fine screen and catches pretty much every speck of tea from the liquor. When I got mine, I think I payed about 30 bucks USD which isn't horrible for a (hot or cold) cup when your away from your pots.


I hope this crash course in grandpa style helps out whomever reads this tiny blog and can make your tealess day a better one!