My poor Yixing Teapot

Owes its flavors to oxidation levels between green & black tea.


Mar 2nd, '07, 16:11
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My poor Yixing Teapot

by Amanda » Mar 2nd, '07, 16:11

Here's the delema...

I was given a yixing teapot long before my formal venture into tea, and had steeped jasmine dragon pearls in it several times (translate 5-6 times). I now know this was probably not the best idea, but it is what it is.

Fortunately I drink quite a bit of jasmine tea, so I don't think all is lost...but I value the board's opinion. Should I, at this point, make the big switch over and dedicate the misguided pot to a non floral oolong, or embrace my flowery side and make it my rogue jasmine pearl oolong yixing, bad-ass teapot?

Thanks for your input - may this be the biggest problem I have today ;)

-Amanda

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Mar 2nd, '07, 18:05
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by Warden Andy » Mar 2nd, '07, 18:05

How porous or dense the pot will probably be the deciding factor. If it's a dense pot, jasmine, or other teas on the lighter side of the tea spectrum will work. If it's porous, it would be better for teas like wuyi oolongs, black tea, or puerh.

I don't know of a sure-fire way to determine the density, but if you tap the side of the pot with the handle on the lid (very carefully!), porous will usually have a duller sound. Although, a duller sound light just mean that it's a thicker pot. Although, if it's a thicker pot, that alone would be a good enough reason to re-season it with another tea.
Super elite tea facist....

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Mar 3rd, '07, 02:31
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by Ahem » Mar 3rd, '07, 02:31

If it were me, I'd make it "my rogue jasmine pearl oolong yixing, bad-ass teapot." Sure, if you brew enough non-florals in it, eventually the jasmine essence will wane, but at the cost of having many, many pots of jasmine-hybrid teas.

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Mar 3rd, '07, 08:57
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by Mary R » Mar 3rd, '07, 08:57

If you really wanted to clean it out and rededicate the pot, www.teafiles.blogspot.com has some thorough instructions as to how to do so safely. I haven't tried her method, but looks pretty sound.

After cleaning (a 16 hr process!), she recommends brewing a couple rounds of your chosen tea in the pot and discarding the tea.

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Mar 3rd, '07, 12:11
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by Oolongaddict » Mar 3rd, '07, 12:11

If you ask me, I'd either do what Mary says, or just simply make it your jasmine yixing teapot. The problem with rededicating yixing teapots is that it is so time consuming, and not only that, you have to actually know what you are doing if you don't want to injure the clay. It's pretty much like reformatting your hard drive and reinstalling a new OS, only much more complicated.

Mar 7th, '07, 11:05
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thank you all for your suggestions!

by Amanda » Mar 7th, '07, 11:05

16 hours? Eeek!

I decided spend less time thinking about it, and steeped my jasmine tea in my jasmine yixing teapot last night - and it has never tasted better :)

Sure, you can enjoy tea the "right" way or the "traditional" way, but when it comes down to it, "Sometime we live in no particular way but our own".

Thanks again,
-Amanda

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Mar 10th, '07, 17:43
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by MarshalN » Mar 10th, '07, 17:43

IMHO 16 is overkill.

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Mar 11th, '07, 23:23
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Re: thank you all for your suggestions!

by tenuki » Mar 11th, '07, 23:23

Amanda wrote:Sure, you can enjoy tea the "right" way or the "traditional" way, but when it comes down to it, "Sometime we live in no particular way but our own".
:D

<cheer>Amanda</cheer>
Do something different, something different will happen. ( Gong Fu Garden )

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Mar 13th, '07, 04:35
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by EvenOdd » Mar 13th, '07, 04:35

Amanda: Go ahead and keep using it for jasmine tea. My suggestion, get more yixing pots. You won't have to worry about converting it when you've got others dedicated to other teas.

Oolongaddict: Format your harddrive? Nah, get more harddrives! :]

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