Feb 13th, '09, 17:19
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gaiwan vs yixing pot

by kyleroden » Feb 13th, '09, 17:19

hi guys.

I'm really just getting heavily into tea, and in my traditional fashion i've ordered some stuff first and then started researching later...

I ordered a couple of yixing pots and some cups. I understand that yixing retains flavor and generally should be dedicated for specific types of tea. However, I'm now reading in places that it's typically only used for darker teas, and lighter teas are best brewed in a gaiwan. The only reasoning i've seen so far on this though is that a yixing pot holds heat better and since white/green teas are brewed with lower temp water this isn't necessarily ideal.

Can you guys shed some more light for me on other reasons I wouldn't want to dedicate a yixing pot to a lighter tea (like dragonwell for example.) That and any other comparison/contrasts between glass/porcelain gaiwans and yixing pots?

thanks

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Feb 13th, '09, 18:01
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by woozl » Feb 13th, '09, 18:01

Hey there,

I have a thinner walled yixing dedicated to greens.
I don't preheat the pot and use water around 170.
Works for me.....
Japanese greens are another deal altogether.
“Take some more tea,” the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.
“I’ve had nothing yet,” Alice replied in an offended tone: “so I ca’n’t take more.”
“You mean you ca’n’t take less,” said the Hatter: “it’s very easy to take more than nothing.”

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Feb 13th, '09, 20:11
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by tsverrir » Feb 13th, '09, 20:11

I'm no expert on this but I think a part of the idea is that yixing rounds out the flavor of the tea which can be beneficial with oxidized and roasted teas. So when brewing green teas you'll want porcelain or glass teaware to retain the freshness in both aroma and flavor.

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Feb 13th, '09, 22:35
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by Salsero » Feb 13th, '09, 22:35

tsverrir wrote: I'm no expert on this but I think a part of the idea is that yixing rounds out the flavor of the tea which can be beneficial with oxidized and roasted teas. So when brewing green teas you'll want porcelain or glass teaware to retain the freshness in both aroma and flavor.
I think there is a lot to be said for this point of view. Seems to me that a yixing pot mutes some of the roughness/astringency in Pu-erh or Dan Cong but at the same time loses some of the floral aroma of greener oolongs and Dan Cong.

Chinese greens are not usually thought of as material for a yixing pot. However, Woozl is having good luck with them in a pot, so I may have to give that a try. At first it sounded to me simply wrong-headed, but after some thought I realized I brew Japanese greens in a Tokoname kyuusu which is much like a yixing pot! So maybe my Chinese greens would sing for me in a yixing pot, just as for Woozl.

But my understand is that the standard vessel for Chinese greens is either just a glass or a gaiwan ... for a big group, I suppose a porcelain teapot.

Feb 13th, '09, 23:08
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by kyleroden » Feb 13th, '09, 23:08

Thanks for the input guys. I actually bought a porcelain gaiwan and cup tonight from a local place and using it was quite a pleasure.

Another question: the yixing pot I have is yellow (although it's supposedly made with the traditional zisha purple clay.) I rinsed/soaked it in boiling water and all of the groves of the pot (has pretty elaborate carving) are now the traditional reddish color. What's going on with that? (I'm way too new to post links, but if you search ebay for "da zhou" a few pots will come up, they're all similar.)

Feb 16th, '09, 00:17
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by Veri-Tea » Feb 16th, '09, 00:17

I am also interested in this question, as I have just acquired a Yixing teapot myself and was intending to use it for low-oxidised ('green') oolongs as opposed to darker oolongs or pu-erh. The teahouse where I bought the pot and the tea from (a milky oolong) brewed the tea for three infusions in a Yixing pot, so I figured I could do the same. Am I wrong?

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Feb 16th, '09, 01:45
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by snafu » Feb 16th, '09, 01:45

No, you're not wrong. In Taiwan, green oolongs are brewed in Yixing pots very frequently.

I think less porous clays are preferred for aromatic greener teas though - Zhuni or Hongni for example. More porous clays, like Duanni or Quingshuini are perhaps more suitable for more oxidized teas or teas whose standout features are not in the aromatics. I'll let someone who knows more about it explain the details though. There are a few threads on this subject if you search for them. At the end of the day, the difference isn't huge for us non tea masters.

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by yee » Feb 16th, '09, 16:11

to kyleroden
I suggest you to read more serious literature on chinese clay tea pots. If your tea pot changed colore after boyling it, it means you have got the fake one.

You can brew any tea in ixing tea pot. There are many things said about ixing tea pots - most of them are lies))) I spent a lot of time learning about tea and brewing it. I saw many amazing things people do with tea. But lately the only teaware i use are Simple gaiwan and my grandmothers porcelain))) Im planning to by ixin teapot in the future, i can get a real one, but i dont think i have enough of patience to use it

Pardon me for my English.

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