Is this Yixing pot okay for green oolong?

[britt]

Thanks for the info about the need to boil the pot & lid before use. I didn't know to do that - just rinsed it with hot water. I will do that & then see if that makes a difference. If I still get that chalky aftertaste, then the pot will be for decoration only.

I only do this with unglazed clay Yixings, not porcelain (I just rinse those with hot water). I also do not boil Japanese kyusu before using them. Japanese safety standards are strict and reliable but the clay is also much less pourous, so I don't think boiling is necessary for typical Japanese tea ware.

A note on boiling:

Be careful you don't damage the pot, as rapidly boiling water can bounce it around quite a bit. I use a large pasta pot, put a large porcelain bowl inside, then place the Yixing in the bowl and fill with water. Make sure you fill the pot so it won't float. This method will keep the tea pot from bouncing off the metal walls of the cooking pot. I also do the lid separately so it won't collide with the tea pot. It's also important to make sure there is enough water so it won't boil dry. Thirty minutes to an hour is a long time and the water level will go down significantly. Don't fall asleep or you may lose the pan and tea pot!

If you don't have a bowl that fits inside the pan, you can wrap the Yixing in cloth to protect it. I've also put the Yixings in without the bowl and inserted a couple of pairs of disposable chopsticks through the handle and around the spout to keep the tea pot in place. This is trickier and may require keeping your eye on it, but it's worked when the Yixing was too big to fit in the inside porcelain bowl.

Unfortunately my first two Yixings were given to a co-worker for her display cabinet due to a clay taste that wouldn't go away. I hope you have better luck!

[rhondabee]

I boiled the pot for about 45 minutes. I put some water in it after it had cooled off & dried & drank it. It seems to be okay now - maybe still a little dry aftertaste, but nothing like before. I guess boiling gets rid of any of that clay dust sticking to it. I'll try brewing some tea in it this week & see if I like it. Otherwise, I'll be sticking with a gaiwan for now. Thanks again to everyone for their very helpful advice!

[britt]

I boiled the pot for about 45 minutes. I put some water in it after it had cooled off & dried & drank it. It seems to be okay now - maybe still a little dry aftertaste, but nothing like before. I guess boiling gets rid of any of that clay dust sticking to it. I'll try brewing some tea in it this week & see if I like it. Otherwise, I'll be sticking with a gaiwan for now. Thanks again to everyone for their very helpful advice!

I'm glad the boiling helped.

For the last two days I've been drinking green oolongs (Bao Zhong and Tsui feng from Hou de) brewed in Yixing pots, a Zhuni and a modern Zhuni. Even though these are not pure green teas, but "green" oolongs, I'm still not sure that clay is the best choice for them. Later tonight or tomorrow I'm going to brew these same two teas in a gaiwan for comparison. Porcelain really does remove most of the matching issues. If they taste better in the porcelain, I'm going to buy a second gaiwan set from Think Beijing and use it for all green or high mountain oolongs, as well as for Bao Zhong. For the darker oolongs, I do prefer to use clay.

[Tead Off]

I boiled the pot for about 45 minutes. I put some water in it after it had cooled off & dried & drank it. It seems to be okay now - maybe still a little dry aftertaste, but nothing like before. I guess boiling gets rid of any of that clay dust sticking to it. I'll try brewing some tea in it this week & see if I like it. Otherwise, I'll be sticking with a gaiwan for now. Thanks again to everyone for their very helpful advice!

I'm glad the boiling helped.

For the last two days I've been drinking green oolongs (Bao Zhong and Tsui feng from Hou de) brewed in Yixing pots, a Zhuni and a modern Zhuni. Even though these are not pure green teas, but "green" oolongs, I'm still not sure that clay is the best choice for them. Later tonight or tomorrow I'm going to brew these same two teas in a gaiwan for comparison. Porcelain really does remove most of the matching issues. If they taste better in the porcelain, I'm going to buy a second gaiwan set from Think Beijing and use it for all green or high mountain oolongs, as well as for Bao Zhong. For the darker oolongs, I do prefer to use clay.

For what it's worth, IMO, zhuni is superior for all Taiwan oolongs that I've had including the green ones. Personally, I drink tea more for the flavor and the depth of flavor out of zhuni is much more apparent to me. Porcelains may enhance aroma in the higher end of the spectrum but I don't find aroma to be lacking from the pots. I don't have experience using modern zhuni but the older clays are said to be better. OTOH, we all taste things differently. Nothing wrong with gaiwan but most drinkers I've known and seen of taiwan oolongs will use red pot. Shops might use gaiwan for convenience. Easy in, easy out. I even like real purple clay(zisha) for taiwan oolongs.

[britt]

For what it's worth, IMO, zhuni is superior for all Taiwan oolongs that I've had including the green ones. Personally, I drink tea more for the flavor and the depth of flavor out of zhuni is much more apparent to me. Porcelains may enhance aroma in the higher end of the spectrum but I don't find aroma to be lacking from the pots. I don't have experience using modern zhuni but the older clays are said to be better. OTOH, we all taste things differently. Nothing wrong with gaiwan but most drinkers I've known and seen of taiwan oolongs will use red pot. Shops might use gaiwan for convenience. Easy in, easy out. I even like real purple clay(zisha) for taiwan oolongs.

There's also the question of whether my zhuni pot is real zhuni. It looks like zhuni, has a sloppy lid fit, is somewhat wrinkled, etc. so I think it's real zhuni but I'm not positive.

I did try both the Tsui Feng gao shan and the Bao Zhong in a porcelain gaiwan today. I definitely preferred the Bao Zhong in porcelain compared to the modern zhuni, but maybe the pot just isn't suitable. The Tsui feng is actually very good in both but I still had a slight preference for porcelain. I've found that the difference is most apparent on the green oolongs that are grown at the highest altitudes, like Da Yu Ling.

Some of my best Yixings for darker oolongs are purple clay. I was very surprised at how good these can be with Dan Cong and Oriental Beauty. I haven't really had any trouble finding Yixings that are suitable for any oolong other than the greener ones. I think these are always more particular because they are so light, and from my experience, which is limited, they show the differences between brewing vessels more than a Wuyi or Dan Cong would.

[Tead Off]

For what it's worth, IMO, zhuni is superior for all Taiwan oolongs that I've had including the green ones. Personally, I drink tea more for the flavor and the depth of flavor out of zhuni is much more apparent to me. Porcelains may enhance aroma in the higher end of the spectrum but I don't find aroma to be lacking from the pots. I don't have experience using modern zhuni but the older clays are said to be better. OTOH, we all taste things differently. Nothing wrong with gaiwan but most drinkers I've known and seen of taiwan oolongs will use red pot. Shops might use gaiwan for convenience. Easy in, easy out. I even like real purple clay(zisha) for taiwan oolongs.

There's also the question of whether my zhuni pot is real zhuni. It looks like zhuni, has a sloppy lid fit, is somewhat wrinkled, etc. so I think it's real zhuni but I'm not positive.

I did try both the Tsui Feng gao shan and the Bao Zhong in a porcelain gaiwan today. I definitely preferred the Bao Zhong in porcelain compared to the modern zhuni, but maybe the pot just isn't suitable. The Tsui feng is actually very good in both but I still had a slight preference for porcelain. I've found that the difference is most apparent on the green oolongs that are grown at the highest altitudes, like Da Yu Ling.

Some of my best Yixings for darker oolongs are purple clay. I was very surprised at how good these can be with Dan Cong and Oriental Beauty. I haven't really had any trouble finding Yixings that are suitable for any oolong other than the greener ones. I think these are always more particular because they are so light, and from my experience, which is limited, they show the differences between brewing vessels more than a Wuyi or Dan Cong would.

Funny, but I have the opposite experience. Yancha will not taste the same in all my red pots. It's actually quite frustrating as I have many red pots! It wasn't until I got a couple of Chao Zhou zhuni that dancong really came alive for me. Of course it really helps to buy high grade dancong. Expensive. I also like in porcelain because of aroma. But, Taiwan greener gao shan almost always brews well for me in zhuni, zisha, zi ni, and my own taste tests (a lot) with porcelains have conclusively borne out the superiority of red clay with these teas. The Hojo-god would say 'it's the iron in the clay'. But like I said, we taste things differently and some flavors are more sought after by some, so it becomes hard to make a rule for all. I accept this.

btw, few people can really tell what kind of clay a pot is. A lot of ego involved in this area. Anyone can be fooled. Museums are full of fakes and the Chinese are just about the best at faking anything except being Chinese.

[britt]

btw, few people can really tell what kind of clay a pot is. A lot of ego involved in this area. Anyone can be fooled. Museums are full of fakes and the Chinese are just about the best at faking anything except being Chinese.

I've heard that some very famous auction houses no longer authenticate Yixings due to the reasons you mentioned. Be careful bidding on those $50,000 Yixings!

[Tead Off]

btw, few people can really tell what kind of clay a pot is. A lot of ego involved in this area. Anyone can be fooled. Museums are full of fakes and the Chinese are just about the best at faking anything except being Chinese.

I've heard that some very famous auction houses no longer authenticate Yixings due to the reasons you mentioned. Be careful bidding on those $50,000 Yixings!

I've dealt with just about every major auction house all over the world and fakes show up in every sale. Then you get into the area of scientific testing which you would think would be conclusive and still there are some who swear that some tested objects are still fake in spite of them testing well and vice versa, not testing right and still believing them to be real. This is a thieves market and the best are here in Asia. Something to be proud of.

[rhondabee]

Just an update on my teapot... My cat Oolong (pictured on my avatar) knocked the pot off my table today, breaking it into pieces. So I'll continue to use a gaiwan for now, and will be on the look-out for a nice Zhu Ni teapot for my Taiwanese oolongs.

[Herb_Master]

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