• Registered: 2008-11-06
  • Posts: 19

Topic: stickiness of pu erh tea...

what i mean is that sometimes i have to really forcefully take off the lid from the tea pot when it's been left overnight. 

is this stickiness due to the presence of something like sucrose or glucose present in the brew of pu erh tea? 

thanks.

  • From: MA
  • Registered: 2008-11-02
  • Posts: 142

Re: stickiness of pu erh tea...

That happens to me with Taiwan oolong and yancha as well. I don't know what is present in the tea which does this though.

红焙浅瓯新火活，龙团小碾斗晴窗

LaoChaGui's Website

  • From: Los Angeles, CA
  • Registered: 2008-10-29
  • Posts: 284

Re: stickiness of pu erh tea...

I could be wrong, but I thought it had more to do with the seal that's created when hot water is poured over the lid.

  • Wes
  • New member
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  • From: Oregon
  • Registered: 2008-12-29
  • Posts: 6

Re: stickiness of pu erh tea...

I have definitely noticed this. With yancha much moreso than other teas.

Wes's Website

  • Registered: 2008-11-06
  • Posts: 19

Re: stickiness of pu erh tea...

william wrote:

I could be wrong, but I thought it had more to do with the seal that's created when hot water is poured over the lid.

definitely not.  i don't pour water over the lid to create a seal.  i do pour water right up to the rim so that when i place the lid over the hole, tea water spills over the rim.

  • From: Los Angeles, CA
  • Registered: 2008-10-29
  • Posts: 284

Re: stickiness of pu erh tea...

Well could still be from the water, even if you're not specifically showering the pot. I've seen this happen with certain gaiwans too. I think if the fit of the lid of the pot or gaiwan is good enough, you just get a natural vacuum seal. In fact, my friend was telling me how a friend of hers was demonstrating how he could lift one of his pots by the lid after filling it with hot water (do not try this at home, folks!).

But could it maybe also have to do with the tea's alkalinity? Given the amount of bubbles often seen with both, I think young sheng pu'er and yan cha are both probably pretty alkaline. (Has anyone else ever gotten bubbles forming across the top of the pot when they lift the lid off?)