Suitable Oolongs for brewing with a slow pouring teapot

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May 12th, '09, 20:35
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Suitable Oolongs for brewing with a slow pouring teapot

by Herb_Master » May 12th, '09, 20:35

I purchased last year a teapot from SevenCups - same design, but different size and colour to this one that they are selling now

http://www.sevencups.com/tea_shop/produ ... 285&page=1

It looks gorgeous in many ways, but I am not at ease totally, when holding it to pour, for the delicate handle feels as though it should not be strong enough to support the fully laden teapot.

A bigger issue for me is that when using a heavy loading of YanCha the initial flash steeps are impossible because the pouring time is 48 seconds.

Silly me I presume I should have noted the description [if it was the same as the ones they are now selling]
This elegant pot is made using high quality clay. The small spout of this relatively new design allows for a richer tasting tea. You will notice a slower stream of tea when pouring that allows for additional infusion time and a robust flavor.
Now that I have got all my measures of grams and millilitres sorted with various brewing time progressions, I have to factor in the new dimension of ultra slow pouring.

I could just experiment [yet again] or try one of my less leaf more time schedules - BUT whilst pouring some of the leaf would lose contact with water long before the teapot is drained.

Which Oolongs do you think would be most suited [most forgiving] to a slow pouring teapot.

- - -

I notice that seven cups tend to offer a lot of lightly roasted versions of many Oolongs, would these be the best partners?

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May 12th, '09, 22:18
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by teaskeptic » May 12th, '09, 22:18

Does it have to be oolong?

In your situation I would probably resort to something black/hongcha. It is a black pot, after all.

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by Beidao » May 13th, '09, 04:15

I hate those clay pots with small spout (=slow pour). All clay pots I have are like that. I have used one of mine for Shui Xian with not too much leaf and it gets good, but it's still not ideal at all. :evil:
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by Herb_Master » May 13th, '09, 06:18

teaskeptic wrote:Does it have to be oolong?

In your situation I would probably resort to something black/hongcha. It is a black pot, after all.
Yes, Oolong, I have embarked on a love affair with Oolong and have a lot of things to discover, learn and enjoy about Oolong which are leaving me single mindedly following an oolong track.

Mine is actually Red, and 210ml - and in the crazy way that I managing my affairs all my red yixings are allocated to Min Bei/Wuyi oolongs, brown to Feng Huang and Duanni and yellow division clay to Min Nan/Anxi.

Coloured Green and similar are for Taiwan.


I posted in this sub forum because I wanted only to use it for oolong. I have plenty of nice Non Yixing teapots which I will employ for Black/Red tea, though have got little black tea in ( a couple from the Cameron highlands.

I intend to move on to Pu Erh when my Oolong adventures leave me a gap, and I hope to use either black or purple yixing pots.
Best wishes from Cheshire

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May 13th, '09, 06:23
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by Herb_Master » May 13th, '09, 06:23

Beidao wrote:I hate those clay pots with small spout (=slow pour). All clay pots I have are like that. I have used one of mine for Shui Xian with not too much leaf and it gets good, but it's still not ideal at all. :evil:
I think that is going to be the only solution, and as you say far from ideal.

Maybe I will dedicate it to finishing off near empty canisters when there is not enough leaf for a full set of infusions with my normal pot! And/or supplemented with some leaf from another tea.
Best wishes from Cheshire

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May 13th, '09, 09:29
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by gingkoseto » May 13th, '09, 09:29

Beidao wrote:I hate those clay pots with small spout (=slow pour). All clay pots I have are like that. I have used one of mine for Shui Xian with not too much leaf and it gets good, but it's still not ideal at all. :evil:
I don't like slow pour either, and I like the way jingteashop and nada describe the spouts and pouring of their pots.

The pearl pot is pretty! But Herb_Master, did you get the same size? The 48s pouring time probably is simply due to the 260ml volume. That's very large for gongfu style anyway. For non-gongfu style, you've got to use much less leaves, then longer brewing/pouring time is ok. Besides, is the long pouring time partially because too many leaves stand in the way of the strainer?

As the website describes, this pot is perfect for curled pearl shape oolong and I guess that's what many people think too. I've seen some Taiwan vendors describe this or similar shape as perfect shape for dong ding or high mountain oolong, because the shape and small spout conserves fragrance. But I don't think it matters that much. For tea with rich fragrance, usually you don't have to worry how much fragrance escapes.
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by Herb_Master » May 13th, '09, 12:19

gingko wrote: ....
..
The pearl pot is pretty! But Herb_Master, did you get the same size? The 48s pouring time probably is simply due to the 260ml volume. That's very large for gongfu style anyway. For non-gongfu style, you've got to use much less leaves, then longer brewing/pouring time is ok. Besides, is the long pouring time partially because too many leaves stand in the way of the strainer?
....
Mine is 210 ml, I timed it 48s with a pot of water and no leaves, I too had wondered if any leaf might be slowing the egress of liquid, but that was not the case, the totally untroubled stream of tea is very consistent and very narrow.

I will find ways of using it, perhaps 5 seconds and pour is like combining the contents of 3 70ml potfuls with a 10 second pour of 5 10 and 15 seconds. :D
Best wishes from Cheshire

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by Saifuddin » May 13th, '09, 15:42

Isn't 210 ml. a bit too big for gong fu? What about using it for western brewing of dark Oolongs, Wuyi perhaps? Then the slow pour won't matter as much, since brewing times will be over a minute, with less leaves of course.

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by Herb_Master » May 13th, '09, 16:27

Saifuddin wrote:Isn't 210 ml. a bit too big for gong fu? What about using it for western brewing of dark Oolongs, Wuyi perhaps? Then the slow pour won't matter as much, since brewing times will be over a minute, with less leaves of course.
It depends on how thirsty I am :D

My preferred size is about 160-190 -

With DanCong I use 130 - 140 because I tire of the fragrance after about 6 infusions, with a 180 I tire of the tea after 4 infusions

But with a good wuyi 130 seems to disappear in about 20 seconds! :cry:

I often spend time away from my brewing station and 170 lasts long enough for me to only have to go back to the kettle every 5 minutes. 210 with a fair cup over a candle warmer would just about work for me.
Best wishes from Cheshire

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by Tead Off » May 14th, '09, 00:58

These kinds of pots are not for serious tea drinkers. Maybe herbal tea would be a better choice.

48 seconds is useless for gong fu brewing. Just put some tea bags in it and take it out when you think it's strong enough and just use the pot to pour some tea like a fair cup.

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by t4texas » May 15th, '09, 15:47

I agree that those larger pots would be okay for western style, but impossible for gongfu style. Any Yixing over 100 - 120 in a Yixing will not pour fast enough, and many that size will not either. For long pouring pots simply use them for western style.

And a fair cup over heat does not treat any tea very well.

You could try gongfu style in a small gaiwan and see the difference you get with a fast pour rate.

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by wyardley » May 15th, '09, 17:23

I think the style of brewing is more significant than the style of tea... if the pot has a slow pour, use a smaller amount of tea leaves. But also, teas that are generally not super bitter and astringent might be more suitable for a slow pouring pot.

48 seconds to me seems like something is wrong with the pot, though. You should make sure that any air holes in the top are completely clear... and you might need to slightly clear or enlarge the hole. Sometimes, pots, especially slipcast ones, get blocked up there, and that can slow down the pour. You can (GENTLY) use a paperclip or compass point, depending on the size of the hole.

Regarding the comment about larger pots having longer pour times, I don't find that to be true. Usually the spouts, air holes, and filters are proportionally big. I have some large (200-300 ml pots) which pour faster than tiny pots I have.

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What he said.

by Intuit » May 16th, '09, 11:11

Nutty-style oolongs and greens that don't have astringent character on longer steep or teas that smell better than they taste are probably your best bet for this teapot.

The spout must be really small OR there is a deliberate flow constriction (pinch point) between body and spout OR the hole on the lid for low pressure relief isn't large enough.

You can attempt to modify the teapot, return it or resign yourself to use with specific teas.

If the handle seems too delicate for the body, it probably IS, because you're an experienced tea drinker, sir.

Methinks this is another case of form over function, in terms of 'novel design'.

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by chrl42 » May 16th, '09, 11:29

It's 260ml, right? that's kinda big for Oolong..and the spout it has, might not be typical Gongful style teapot.

Clay I suspect, seems some manganese oxide contained or some sort of mixing done which might not affect a tasting.

If I were you, I'd pick to brew Hongcha or Oriental Beauty..but everyone's opinion is different :)

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by Beidao » May 16th, '09, 12:31

wyardley wrote:Regarding the comment about larger pots having longer pour times, I don't find that to be true. Usually the spouts, air holes, and filters are proportionally big. I have some large (200-300 ml pots) which pour faster than tiny pots I have.
My three yixing pots that are 300-500 ml, and terribly slow, all have too small spouts. The 500 ml pot has a 5 mm in diameter spout that is smaller than the spout on my 100 ml pot. Of course a big pot with proportional spout etc. will not be slower!
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