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Comment by johnswamps | Hacker News Reader

This is all spot on. The art of making the perfect cup of tea is fairly analogous: buy fresh, loose leaf tea, pour the right temperature water over the right amount of tea for the right of time, and then enjoy some great tea.

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Do you know why the Chinese always seem to drink tea from these massive glass jars?

For 1, porcelain is far more predictable with heat retention than most forms of ceramics. Try pouring a cup of boiling water into a handful of your favorite mugs, and note the temperature difference in a couple minutes. Or pouring less water into some (big difference then). Barring evaporated heat (prevented with a cover), a porcelain will still behave roughly the same with even 1/2 the water it could hold full.

For 2, uh... the better to sip with? * shrug * don't really know.

Nope, though I can try guessing. Although the material used can have a noticeable effect on the tea (both in temperature and flavor) I would think this is just for convenience. Glass is a neutral material good for any kind of tea and is easy to clean. A jar wouldn't spill easily and would be good for travelling. When most people drink tea they just want caffeine and convenience comes before taste.

They are mostly drinking green tea in those jars. Green tea brews at a much lower temperature (150-180F); indeed, since they are leaving the tea leaves in there all day and refilling it, they can use even cooler water and let it steep slowly. Heavy glass is also a decent insulator, keeping it warm all day.

Mostly for convenience I think. There's also the working-class/unpretentious image, and many people dig that. You will find many Chinese government officials drinking from glass jars in public appearances. They probably have expensive red clay tea sets at home though.

Ok, here comes my guess: volume. Whenever I make tea in one of those massive cups, it doesn't taste bitter after 1-3 refills. I have Chinese family over for the weekend, so I'll ask & post back here.

> This is all spot on

The beans really do not need to be roasted in the last few days. Roasted beans stay fresh for at least a month if stored properly.

I don't think so. Month-old beans are certainly better than beans older than that, so it's something, but I can certainly taste coffee being noticeably worse after about 10 days from the roast date.

I'm not a huge expert, but my impression is that coffee gets stale mainly by exhaling CO2, not by oxidation (although it may oxidize as well), and so you can seal them as well as you want and they'll still go bad after 10-14 days, although not as fast as if you leave them out.

I believe this is why when you pour hot water over freshly-ground, recently-roasted coffee, you see foam come to the top (especially visible in espresso, which they call crema). CO2 emissions.

I don't personally believe in roasting beans myself, since I think real-people roasters are more consistent and accurate than I could ever be, and also I don't think it helps very much to go from 2-8-day-old beans to 5-minute-old beans.

I'm an expert because I live next to a place that roasts daily. It tastes the same when the beans were roasted a few weeks ago, I assure you.

All right. Where was I wrong? Does sealage matter? Does CO2 release matter?

No idea. Throw 'em in tupperware and they keep just fine.

and in the freezer

The freezer is a terrible place for coffee.

1. Most containers contain enough air to draw water out of the beans. Freezer-temperature air is dry. Freezer-burn is where water sublimated out of your food. Even a small air pocket can ruin coffee.

2. The partial-thaw then re-freeze cycle is devastating for coffee because it results in surface water on the beans.

Just keep your beans in a cool, dark place. e.g. a cupboard that doesn't get a lot of sun.

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