Wholemeal Crank

you're right, I wasn't thinking of the right questions to ask when I bought this. I did ask about the difference between a cake priced at $35 and one at $60, and she said the $60 one was both aged longer and used higher quality leaves. But that was it.

How do you tell that it is cooked? Are the images posted here, about halfway down the page, backwards? http://www.houdeasianart.com/index.php?mai...49eab04013ad847 He labels the black/brown cakes as 'raw' and the green and gray (molded) cakes as cooked.

I am not sure why the link above comes out just as 'photo', so to clarify, it is a link to my photo set on flickr that shows images of the cake and the wrappings. So I'll post it again, with a little more context: http://www.flickr.com/photos/debunix/sets/72157621660566348/ I have gotten far enough in my reading to encounter this quote from the 'pu-erh, a westerner's quest' web site: <Yunnan Tea Company standardized the trade number for Pu Erh Tea in 1976 for the purpose of export. Each bingcha has 4 digits: the first 2 digits indicate the manufacturing year, the third digit indicates the leaf grade, the last digit indicates the tea factory....> but on the back of my cake, this little identifying tag http://www.flickr.com/photos/debunix/3734071434/ has several numbers, only one of which is four digits, and the cake can't have been made in 1910 or 2010, so which, if any, corresponds to this trade number?

In part inspired by the discussion over in my other topic, I bought another cake of pu-erh today when I stopped at Ten Ren to get some more Pouchong. Photo I'd love to know what the text says and what the code means. I am sure it is not the sort of seriously aged investment-quality stuff that was the subject of the pu-erh bubble referenced in the NYT article linked a few posts above, but am curious about the grade, likely age, and whether this is a cooked or raw tea, so I can associate that info with the taste.

Didn't know there was a topic just for pu-erh. Will check it out.

All good points. Will modify the recipe accordingly.

Here's a link to the cookies http://www.well.com/user/debunix/recipes/ChocolateMint.html

That's an excellent point. i used 1/4 teaspoon of a LorAnn oil for a batch of chocolate mint cookies--1/4 teaspoon extract for 1 cup of cocoa plus about 5 ounces of bittersweet chocolate. I was guessing a tablespoon of the typical supermarket extract--maybe 1:12--but I see such wide variations in these replies here that I think all I can say is '2 to 4 teaspoons, to taste'. Will post a link once I get the recipe online.

I am working on a cookie recipe for which I am going to use peppermint oil as a major flavoring. If I want to offer an option for those who do not have access to the oil, how much more standard peppermint extract should I suggest they use? And of course the volume of the extract may throw off the fluid balance a bit, but first problems first....

I'm not a food photo pro, but I do a lot of macro photography which deals with a lot of the same issues as food shots. A point and shoot camera is just not designed for this kind of work: a built-in flash is usually going to result in a very flat picture; you don't have many options for controlling depth of field, so it's harder to blur distracting elements out of the background; and without flash, you need high light sensitivity (without a lot of noise, which is a problem for the little sensors of the p&s) and powerful ambient lighting or a tripod (but the tripod doesn't have to be fancy). THe link above that shows the strobist lightbox is a good way to go with a p&s camera, but if you're going to do a lot of this, an investment with equipment that is built to do what you want it to do may save a lot of headache.

Were you using a "raw" or a "burnt" tuo cha? Not sure how to find that out. This is a link to the Rishi Tea web site, with their description of the tea: <http://www.rishi-tea.com/store/ancient-pu-erh-tuo-cha-organic-fair-trade-pu-erh-tea.html>

Today finally did the experiment, round 1 Used Rishi Tea Pu-Erch Tuo Cha tablets Rinsed each briefly, did not break them up Brought water to about 185 degrees Steeped tablet with 1 cup water, poured 1/3 to single cup and rest to thermos, then added another cup of water to the leaves for 2nd steeping. Repeated 3 times, net 4 samples of different rounds of steeping and 1 sample of all mixed together Then took a fresh tablet and, after rinsing, steeped it with 4 cups of 185 degree water, and let steep for 4 minutes. Tasted the results with puffed rice to clear the palate in between. Results? Not that surprising. http://www.flickr.com/photos/debunix/3625463423/ The first 1 minute steeping was thin, light, hardly worth drinking. 2nd minute steeping was still thin, notably darker, and a bit more tannic. The 3rd and 4th minute steepings were not really distinguishable, but very nice. The mix was the most rounded flavor. And the single brewing with 4 cups for 4 minutes was essentially indistinguishable from the mixed single steepings--equally delicious. The primary difference was that the mixed cup was a bit cooler by the time the larger volume brew was ready.

Yes, that does make some sense. What I have been doing is 3-4 infusions in a small pot, which are then combined into a large thermos that I drink throughout the day. So I don't really taste the different brewings one by one, nor have I tested whether the results are really different from a single larger pot brewed a little longer.

interesting point. Some of my most-re-steepable teas are the most highly compressed, but some of the straight white teas which are nearly flat before steeping also do well. It makes sense to me that many teas don't give everything on the first steeping. What I am very curious about, however, is whether there is a significant difference between tea steeped multiple times and tea steeped once for longer but with a larger volume of water--e.g., one teaspoon of tea steeped 4 times with 6 oz of water for 1 minute each vs one teaspoon of tea steeped 4 minutes with 24 oz of water Do the multiple infusions have some additional agitating effect that helps to get more good flavor out of the leaves, or is the tradition of multiple infusions simply a practical way to make use of smaller vessels for brewing?

don't have this one yet, but their flatbreads and flavors is my all-time favorite cookbook, hands down. this book was a revelation: not all bread has to be baked in a pan or as a baguette. I fell in love with it at a time when the freedom from trying to match the perfect oven spring of commercial sandwich loaves was particularly appealing. The authors describe breads from around the world that are yeasted or unyeasted; based on rye, oats, corn, rice, and teff in addition to wheat; that are festive or everyday; and they include equally wonderful recipes for things the breads would accompany. Why I keep it: Madnakash (which introduced me to Mahleb, a now indispensable spice in my kitchen); Uighur naan with cumin and onion accompanying chickpea and onion stew; sprouted apricot bread; bulgur bread; and pine-nut breads to go with pumpkin stew. And I've bought all of their subsequent books too. Since some of my favorite recipes in F&F were from western china (Uighuur Naan!), I am really looking forward to this new one. It will be in my hot little hands within 48 hours, however, now that I know it's on the shelves.

I have been frustrated by a couple of teapots with inserts that are too high from the bottom of the pot, so that they do not efficiently brew a single cup of tea--if it's too high, the tea isn't covered unless the pot is nearly full. I'm loving one I found in a chinatown shop that is actually from japan, very simple clear glass with a mesh basket insert. I like the glass to see the color variations in the brewed tea. I can see that the teaware collecting can be as addicting as the teas themselves, however, and have to firmly remind myself that there is only so much room in the cupboards whenever I see another cute ceramic/cast iron/glass pot.....and I have a nice teapot for home and for work already. As soon as the tea is brewed, I pour it off into a thermos, and resteep immediately, until the thermos is full. Then I can carry the thermos with me to the nearby offices of several other tea-loving colleagues, and to the clinic workroom where I can share more. One quart of tea can yield half a dozen happy campers.

Agony of the leaves sounds so evil! And unfortunately for my budget, I've discovered several places that have lovely teas online and in person. Very dangerous. But much to my unexpected pleasure, I found that a tin of Ti Kuan Yin I bought fairly inexpensively some months ago held up very well next to the more expensive stuff I found online. But I've never rinsed it; I would need an extra container just to hold the rinse water when I make tea at work.

I think I get it now--following that link and googling a bit for chahai--the gaiwan is either used for brewing the tea for just a few seconds, then drunk quickly (hard to see how I would accomplish that without burning my tongue), then repeated, or for tea steeped in the other container then poured into it. So if someone serves loose leaf tea in a gaiwan, you're to add the hot water, and toss it off quick before it gets bitter?

Anyone know of a true pressure canner that is compatible with an induction stovetop? A discussion in another forum is making the induction seem quite attractive, but I have never seen a genuine pressure canner in anything but aluminum, I presume due to weight/cost issues. I see fagor makes a 10qt pressure cooker that they like to advertise as a "canner", but anything under 20 quarts is can't do a batch of stock at once. I can imagine replacing my saucepans and stockpots without too much regret if they don't work, but simply cannot do without my canner.

I'd be worried that increasing it that much might go beyond what the structure of the dough can support without standard kneading and shaping. That's why I searched out a smaller container rather than increase the size of the loaf.

Just made this in a 2 quart chinese-style sandy pot, and it was the best yet--still a trace gummy inside, but super crust, and the size of the pot was just right for the quantity of dough. I plugged the tiny hole in the lid of the sandy pot with a bit of foil, and only had a little problem with a bit of sticking that tore the crust--very odd. <a href=" title="Sandy pot for Sullivan St bread by debunix, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2347/2101980519_5dc417ccab.jpg" width="500" height="299" alt="Sandy pot for Sullivan St bread" /></a> <a href=" title="Baked by debunix, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2366/2101862719_0e4a1f6b9b.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Baked" /></a> <a href=" title="Out of hte pan by debunix, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2144/2101862695_b918e31940.jpg" width="500" height="308" alt="Out of hte pan" /></a> a few more details here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/debunix/sets/...5092392/detail/

Answered my own question: discovered that Santa Monica has a lovely co-op market, "Co-oportunity", where I not only got my tea-makings, but also ordered more wheat berries for the mill. Good place. Just wish it was on my side of town so I could shop there all the time....

As the Whole Foods juggernaut grows, it has become much harder to find bulk herbs and spices--they've eliminated the bulk sections for these entirely. And not having been in LA very long, I don't know which local natural food stores still sell a good variety of these in bulk. I know I can get most of my spices at Penzeys, but they don't carry the stuff I want to make my own herbal tea mixes--things like chamomile and raspberry leaf and rosehips. Any suggestions for where to look?

So later steepings longer? Quite interesting. I've been stretching them a little too.