Sep 6th, '17, 12:58
Posts: 100
Joined: Dec 11th, '12, 11:52

Electric Boiler - Clay Boiler - Gawain - Clay Pot: Roshambo

by PurplePotato » Sep 6th, '17, 12:58

Cross-posted on steepster (different forum name there) ; I figured people here may also be interested.

The Contestants:
Standard 100mL Porcelain Gaiwan: https://www.chawangshop.com/tea-hardwar ... 125cc.html
100mL Pear Shaped Clay Pot, Some seasoning: https://www.taiwanteacrafts.com/product ... ay-teapot/ (note that this pot is different from the gaiwan not just in material, but also in shape and wall thickness)
Epica Electric Kettle, with 7 months daily use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G7 ... UTF8&psc=1
Anata Clay Boiler, Unused: https://taiwanoolongs.com/collections/a ... iler-black

Sep 6th, '17, 12:59
Posts: 100
Joined: Dec 11th, '12, 11:52

Re: Electric Boiler - Clay Boiler - Gawain - Clay Pot: Roshambo

by PurplePotato » Sep 6th, '17, 12:59

First Trial - 2004 Wet Stored Raw Brick from CWS: http://jakubtomek.blogspot.com/2015/04/ ... brick.html
Setup: Metal+Gawian (MG) vs. Clay+Gawian (CG) vs Clay+Clay (CC); 3g/vessel; no rinse

Round 1: 1min 30s
MG: Undrinkable; mostly disgusting storage
CG: Passable (this tea normally gets a rinse) with fullness and stronger good flavor contrasting the storage.
CC: Mostly undrinkable; less flavorful than CG, some unpleasant sourness
Sidenote: The combined lingering aftertaste was mostly pleasant, in spite of the strong storage in the initial taste.

Round 2: 1min (compressed bits have opened now)
MG: Less bad, but still hard to drink due to primarily being storage taste
CG: Nice! Just a touch of storage; mostly a full, rich flavor
CC: Sharp unpleasant bitterness, some storage, ok flavor

Round 3: 22min (pushed, obviously)
MG: Undrinkable. Storage. Bleeech.
CG: Great. Rich, chocolaty, yummy.
CC: More bad bitterness; still a touch of storage, relatively weak flavor.

Overall Winner: Clay Boiler + Gawain. No contest. Interestingly, the clay pot may not have actually removed the storage flavor, as much as it accentuated other flavors. No, I am not affiliated with Yunnan Sourcing. More trails forthcoming.

Edit: Also, note that my expectation was that CC would be best, which suggests that the results here cannot be explained by some sort of placebo effect.

Sep 6th, '17, 19:41
Posts: 100
Joined: Dec 11th, '12, 11:52

Re: Electric Boiler - Clay Boiler - Gawain - Clay Pot: Roshambo

by PurplePotato » Sep 6th, '17, 19:41

Second Trial - 2009 Yongde Da Xue Shan Raw from Finepuer: https://teadb.org/2009-yongde-daxueshan/

Setup: Identical to the First Trial, with the change that El Cheapo Pot was exchanged for Le Fancy Pot - viewtopic.php?f=70&t=21290 (Le Fancy Pot does not get fed stanky teas, but El Cheapo Pot happily attempts to wrestle with them).

This tea is far fancier that the first tea, so there is no need to microcomment over the sub-rounds, as there is no funk to leave over the successive brews. Actually, my first thought on sipping MG was “now that’s the stuff”; mellow (but not weak!), powdery, obvious immediate qi, dried fruit, clear hou yun (throatfeel). There was some mild difference between the three, but all were good. The MG had a touch of dryness, and was the least flavorful, but not in an unpleasant way. CG had some pleasant bitterness throughout, while CC had none without an obvious loss in flavor. I think the real winner in this trial was the tea, but if you wanted to be picky you could say CC > CG > MG.

Sep 7th, '17, 12:48
Posts: 100
Joined: Dec 11th, '12, 11:52

Re: Electric Boiler - Clay Boiler - Gawain - Clay Pot: Roshambo

by PurplePotato » Sep 7th, '17, 12:48

Third Trial - 2014 Spring “Wu Dong Shan Dan Cong” from Yunnan Sourcing: https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/ ... oolong-tea

There was a request for dancong, and this is one that I have on hand. I can’t remember if it can become bitter per say, but I remember that you wouldn’t want to over-brew it. Of course, time may have mellowed out this tea; we’ll see. In the spirit both of finishing off the bag and pushing the tea, I’ve gone with 4.9 grams per vessel. We’ve got some bottom of the bag broken up bits/fannings to strengthen things up as well. Le Fancy Pot continues to report for duty.

Round 1: 45sec (Unlike our previous trials, there are no chunks to open up)
MG: A bit dry, some puckering; thick; bitterness throughout the taste, of the pleasant variety.
CG: Bitterness is only noticed when the brew reaches the throat, like a puer; the bitterness is more pronounced.
CC: Softer; practically devoid of bitterness, Interesting flavor shift when the brew hits the throat.

Round 2: 1min
MG: No bitterness, still a bit dry.
CG: Still bitter at the throat, in a good licorice-like fashion
CC: Soft; some bitter in the throat, along with a baked bread-like taste
Sidenote: Really feeling the energy here

Round 3: 1min 15s
MG: No bitterness, still a bit dry.
CG: Still bitter
CC: Still softer; no bitterness

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