I'm not sure which style of teapot will better suit my needs: one with an Infuser that I can remove after brewing, or a pot without.
I want to use it as follows:
- with different teas (dragon well, sencha, light and dark oolongs, etc.)
- brew a pot and drink 3-5 small cups over an hour or less (breakfast time or after dinner)
- when a couple of other people want to have the same tea too
While a pot with an Infuser isn't great because the leaves can't expand, I thought it would be good for brewing a pot and then removing the Infuser with tea so it didn't continue to steep as I continue to pour out over the next while. Not sure how I can make a pot work for mu use where the leaves sit inside the pot over time.
Thanks.
Sep 4th, '11, 13:39
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debunix
Re: Teapot for one
The most versatile pot for different kinds of teas should be glazed inside or glass, to avoid carrying over flavors for different teas.
And the size of the pot as well as whether it should be a pot or a gaiwan depends on your preferences for how you like to drink the tea. Whatever your preferences, there will be several styles of pots that might work.
However, I see one problem with what you wrote, that cannot be solved by a particular pot, which is that you plan to brew once and drink over an hour. Even if you remove the leaves, the tea liquor will continue to oxidize and age inside the pot, and the brewed tea will lose freshness, lighter floral elements tend to be lost, and bitter elements may become dominant, especially in green teas. So brewing several small infusions and drinking each as they are brewed is preferred by many of us, to get the most out of the tea.
If you must brew ahead, and I do a lot of this because of demands of work and a preference to carry my own tea with me frequently when I'm out and about, I recommend brewing in an open vessel (no infuser), and storing the tea in a thermos for drinking later. Tea cozies and heavy teapots designed to hold in the heat were made for indifferently brewed western style black teas, that were going to be transformed with cream and sugar anyway, so perhaps the changes in the tea after brewing just weren't as important.
I have become pretty careful about which teas I brew in bulk for my thermos, to drink & share over the course of a long meeting or when out & about for the day. Highly oxidized and deeply roasted oolongs, shu puerhs, and some green oolongs stand up to this very well, but some green oolongs do not. Yellow and green teas rarely tolerate it; really fine Dan Congs become ordinary; and some sheng puerhs are good--some even mellow their less agreeable elements while the sweetness and earthiness remains, relatively strengthened in comparison. I do avoid putting white teas in the thermos after too many disappointments.
And the size of the pot as well as whether it should be a pot or a gaiwan depends on your preferences for how you like to drink the tea. Whatever your preferences, there will be several styles of pots that might work.
However, I see one problem with what you wrote, that cannot be solved by a particular pot, which is that you plan to brew once and drink over an hour. Even if you remove the leaves, the tea liquor will continue to oxidize and age inside the pot, and the brewed tea will lose freshness, lighter floral elements tend to be lost, and bitter elements may become dominant, especially in green teas. So brewing several small infusions and drinking each as they are brewed is preferred by many of us, to get the most out of the tea.
If you must brew ahead, and I do a lot of this because of demands of work and a preference to carry my own tea with me frequently when I'm out and about, I recommend brewing in an open vessel (no infuser), and storing the tea in a thermos for drinking later. Tea cozies and heavy teapots designed to hold in the heat were made for indifferently brewed western style black teas, that were going to be transformed with cream and sugar anyway, so perhaps the changes in the tea after brewing just weren't as important.
I have become pretty careful about which teas I brew in bulk for my thermos, to drink & share over the course of a long meeting or when out & about for the day. Highly oxidized and deeply roasted oolongs, shu puerhs, and some green oolongs stand up to this very well, but some green oolongs do not. Yellow and green teas rarely tolerate it; really fine Dan Congs become ordinary; and some sheng puerhs are good--some even mellow their less agreeable elements while the sweetness and earthiness remains, relatively strengthened in comparison. I do avoid putting white teas in the thermos after too many disappointments.
Re: Teapot for one
Thanks!
I was out at a store earlier and picked up a Rishi Two person glass pot with glass Infuser. For $10 it was worth a shot. With the cup I'm using I just got 3 cups out of it, exactly what I want. And I finished the pot in 20-30 minutes and was pleased with each cup.
I was out at a store earlier and picked up a Rishi Two person glass pot with glass Infuser. For $10 it was worth a shot. With the cup I'm using I just got 3 cups out of it, exactly what I want. And I finished the pot in 20-30 minutes and was pleased with each cup.
Re: Teapot for one
Many of us rather than brewing a single large pot of tea and slowly drinking it over time will brew several small pots of tea and drink each one immediately. With good tea leaves you can leave them inside the pot between each infusion you make through the day if you empty the water.
With your pattern of tea drinking you may like switching to making smaller infusions
Otherwise brewing in your teapot and then transfering to a vacuum walled thermal carafe to serve from would do the best job of keeping your tea warm and fresh while you drink it. You should be able to find one anywhere that sells kitchenware. Remember to preheat it by rinsing with hot water before you pour in your tea.
Either way you won´t need a limiting removable infuser basket and I second the recomendation of glass as being the most versatile material. Porcelain is very good and versatile too.
With your pattern of tea drinking you may like switching to making smaller infusions
Otherwise brewing in your teapot and then transfering to a vacuum walled thermal carafe to serve from would do the best job of keeping your tea warm and fresh while you drink it. You should be able to find one anywhere that sells kitchenware. Remember to preheat it by rinsing with hot water before you pour in your tea.
Either way you won´t need a limiting removable infuser basket and I second the recomendation of glass as being the most versatile material. Porcelain is very good and versatile too.