Seasoning yixing. (through use)

[tingjunkie]

Do they even need to be washed? If you are not drinking from the pot itself and all you are doing is using it to brew the tea then shouldn't it be fine to just empty the leaves from the pot and let it air dry?

That's pretty much what I do. Just make sure to leave the lid off overnight so it can dry properly inside. It helps if you can clean the leaves out when the pot is still hot.

[Cyphre]

It is so hot and dry in my office space that usually by the end of the day the pot is dry and whatever left over leaves were in there are now dry and just fall out. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong. It seems like this is the best way to maintain the seasoning.

[auhckw]

I was thinking is there ways to express the seasoning?

So lets say,
take a cooking pot ->
put some tea leaves ->
boil it ->
remove the tea leaves ->
put in the teapot into the cooking pot ->
soak it for days while boiling it once every day.

Do you think this will express the seasoning?

[rabbit]

I give mine a quick rinse with colder water after use and let it air dry, just to get tea leaf particles out of it, that way if I don't use it for a few days for some reason they won't start to mold in the pot.

I don't see a need to "wash" the teapot other than before the first time you use it, or if it has been sitting for awhile and has dust on it or something.

Before use I give it a tea bath each time though

[tingjunkie]

Do you think this will express the seasoning?

You're not being creative enough. What you need to do is buy an electric coffee maker, put very strong tea where the water usually goes, and then put your pot in the glass pot underneath. Let that baby percolate for a few cycles, and you'll have a nicely seasoned pot.

But seriously... a decent Yixing pot will season just fine as you use it, plus half the fun is watching it slowly change and develop over time. There's no shortcut to greatness.

[Cyphre]

Do you think this will express the seasoning?

You're not being creative enough. What you need to do is buy an electric coffee maker, put very strong tea where the water usually goes, and then put your pot in the glass pot underneath. Let that baby percolate for a few cycles, and you'll have a nicely seasoned pot.

But seriously... a decent Yixing pot will season just fine as you use it, plus half the fun is watching it slowly change and develop over time. There's no shortcut to greatness.

*Takes his best Veruca Salt pose*

Don't care how, I want it now!