Taiwanese oolongs in 2010

[Chip]

That is good to know ... my faith in humankind is rekindled!

[wyardley]

Seems there should be instructions provided with a kettle requiring such extraneous seasoning.

In fact there are, as long as you can read Chinese, which I think covers most of their intended market.

[edit: see also]
http://teadrunk.org/viewtopic.php?pid=809#p809

I was very glad that I had read this before I bought / started using a Lin's kettle, and even though I didn't follow the directions 100% properly, I sleep a little easier at night.

[Tead Off]

Seems there should be instructions provided with a kettle requiring such extraneous seasoning.

In fact there are, as long as you can read Chinese, which I think covers most of their intended market.

[edit: see also]
http://teadrunk.org/viewtopic.php?pid=809#p809

I was very glad that I had read this before I bought / started using a Lin's kettle, and even though I didn't follow the directions 100% properly, I sleep a little easier at night.

I'm not sure if I understand all this properly. From what I've read, the special formula that is used in Lin's is a mixture of clay and lava rock. I can understand how this mixture can produce a porous product as the lava will probably not fully vitrify with the clay leaving it a bit porous.

With Hagi and some other Japanese clays, there can be a weeping that occurs. This is usually remedied through boiling either strong tea, corn starch, or, baking soda. This process is relatively stress free.

OTOH, using Congee water seems like asking for a real mess and more complications in making it as congee generally takes a long time to prepare, if done right. If the purpose is to 'seal' the kettle from leaking, why go through the mess of congee water? Am I missing something here? Also, why is this called seasoning?

[wyardley]

It's not to keep it from leaking through its pores. It's to fill up any tiny cracks that might exist with something sticky, before they expand.

[Tead Off]

It's not to keep it from leaking through its pores. It's to fill up any tiny cracks that might exist with something sticky, before they expand.

I see. Now I'm wondering if there are any users out there who didn't use this preparation and what has happened to their kettle.

[AdamMY]

It's not to keep it from leaking through its pores. It's to fill up any tiny cracks that might exist with something sticky, before they expand.

I see. Now I'm wondering if there are any users out there who didn't use this preparation and what has happened to their kettle.

I hate to admit this, but I had only heard about this after using my kettle for quite some time, and even then I only heard it as 'optional' so I never did this to my kettle. That being said no problems after a year and a half of persistent use. Though I have a hard time it has anything to do with "filling up the cracks with something "sticky" before the expand" for several reasons.

1. While this does make a glue of sorts, it is in the end water soluble so after repeated use it would wash out of the cracks.

2. Study a little bit about stresses on materials caused by Temperature variations, and you will learn that long story short that if thermal stresses are going to cause something to break a glue like substance is going to have little or no effect.

[Tead Off]

It's not to keep it from leaking through its pores. It's to fill up any tiny cracks that might exist with something sticky, before they expand.

I see. Now I'm wondering if there are any users out there who didn't use this preparation and what has happened to their kettle.

I hate to admit this, but I had only heard about this after using my kettle for quite some time, and even then I only heard it as 'optional' so I never did this to my kettle. That being said no problems after a year and a half of persistent use. Though I have a hard time it has anything to do with "filling up the cracks with something "sticky" before the expand" for several reasons.

1. While this does make a glue of sorts, it is in the end water soluble so after repeated use it would wash out of the cracks.

2. Study a little bit about stresses on materials caused by Temperature variations, and you will learn that long story short that if thermal stresses are going to cause something to break a glue like substance is going to have little or no effect.

If given the choice, I wouldn't do it either. Doesn't make sense.

Adam, do you notice a difference in results with tea if you use the Lin's vs. a different kettle? I would also think their water storage containers would do the same job if they do indeed affect water.

[AdamMY]

Tead off,

While I haven't brewed the same tea side by side using two different kettles, I do not doubt that that the kettle is changing the water. I say that because I actually love drinking the water left in the kettle after I make tea once it cools. Most people think boiled water tastes flat but somehow it tastes sweet and wonderful.

[Tead Off]

Tead off,

While I haven't brewed the same tea side by side using two different kettles, I do not doubt that that the kettle is changing the water. I say that because I actually love drinking the water left in the kettle after I make tea once it cools. Most people think boiled water tastes flat but somehow it tastes sweet and wonderful.

Good to know.

[David R.]

I agree Lin's gives a sweet water. At first, I was afraid it would smooth things a little too much, but I think it brings out many details of the tea, changing it for sure, but keeping the good things.

[deftea]

I'm looking for a pot for low roasted Taiwan oolongs. Could someone opine on Pure Puer's pots made from red clay from Taiwan. Does this seem like a good pot for high mountain teas? Any help appreciated.

[Oni]

I boiled the kettle submersed for one hour, but I was away from town for a few days, so I did not have time to test the kettle, but I will write my results as I taste my tea with it.

[Oni]

I have tested the kettle, it has a definitely positive effect on water, and Taiwanese Oolong tasted excellent, the water gains some minerals that blend into the taste of the tea and it makes it smooth and the aftertaste is more obvious, it is like the tetsubin, but in a different way, you can taste iron from the water from the tetsubin, it is an obvious taste, but Lin`s kettle works better with oolongs, the water from the tetsubin masks the taste of the tea, but Lin`s kettle elevates it, I got more infusions from Da Yu Ling, it was like a really sweet fruit jam, I know that the tea itself is very good, but with Lin`s kettle and a DHP yixing from YS, it is a completely different experience compared to brewing it with a gaiwan and an induction kettle.
I urge all tea lovers to invest in the kettle and the quality of the water before buying expensive tea, these really make tea taste way better, I can hardly wait to buy a Chao Zhou stove set, or who knows maybe someday I will buy a Japanese silver ginbin.

[David R.]

That's wonderdul Oni. Thanks for this feedback. We are now waiting for pictures !

[Tead Off]

I would recommend Volvic the most of French spring waters. Some of the others might actually have a little too much mineral content.

In France we have springs that produces the water with the fewer mineral particles in Europe. Brand name are : Mont Roucous ou Montcalm. Some spring from Auvergne also do the job. I will post details if you want to but right now I have to go to work.

Someone also told me to try Volvic, especially with green teas. So many things to try... Thanks for the advice !

Have you experimented with any of the waters you mentioned, so far?

Since we started to talk about water, some of you might be interested in what I've discovered. In Bangkok, the tap water here is undrinkable, full of chlorine and is hard. Taste is awful. I've been using a Brita filter for a very long time. Having heard that Volvic is a choice of several tea drinkers, I bought a 1.5l bottle. It is expensive here, (more than $2 for 1.5l. How much in France, USA?) I put it into my SS Kettle which has a stick of bamboo charcoal in it and brewed Long Feng Xia from Taiwan with it. From the very first whiff of the gaiwan cover, I knew something different had happened. The tea became even more fabulous. More aroma, more flavor with a lingering aftertaste I never experienced before. I then brewed a Nilgiri black tea, 2011 first flush. Jaw dropping difference with the Volvic. The deep flavor that exploded into my mouth stopped me in my tracks. I began to wonder why this was. I scoured the Japanese supermarket for mineral water and bought some Shimanto water. Good, but, not as good as the Volvic. About the same price. Then I found some Thai mineral waters and began looking at their specs. All were 7 to 7.2 ph with differing mineral contents. Why were all these waters so different than my Brita water. Then I had the bright idea to test the actual ph of all these waters and my tap water, before and after Brita. My discovery was a bit perplexing. My tap water was 7ph but after filtering it through the Brita, it fell to 5.8ph. The bamboo charcoal in my Mizusashi did nothing to effect the ph but after I boiled it, the ph returned to 7ph! But, the filtered water still didn't compare to any of the mineral waters that I bought. I will no longer touch that tap water or the Brita filtered water. Luckily, I found 2 good Thai mineral waters that average to about .35cents/litre. My next experiment will be a face off between Volvic and the Thai waters although I will not use Volvic because of the cost.

One other thing I've noticed very strongly is that both Sencha and Gyokuro have become much better with the mineral waters, so much so, that I now feel I may have missed a lot of nuance in many of the teas I have drunk. A pity.

I'd really like to hear from others about their experience with mineral waters vs filtered tap water vs other mineral waters. Also, why does the ph go up after boiling?