Pairing oolongs with yixing

[jaylorgator]

I am trying to figure out the "best" way to pair oolongs with different yixing pots, as far as how many you would use for a single pot. I know that this is mostly opinion, but I'm just curious, do some of you pair by cultivar, or roasting, etc. Any advice would be appreciated.

[brandon]

This has been covered many times, but, here are two that I recall having decent advice (disclaimer: I wrote some of it )

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?p=20805
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=15563

[Drae]

I sorta do it by grouping. I currently have high mountain oolongs, wuyi, TGY, and dan cong types. The only one I made a conscious effort with was the TGY, because I had a teapot with a smallish lid opening, and it seemed right for the rolled leaves.

The others I did much less scientifically... I matched my favorite tea type with my favorite pot in order. But then again, I have lowish quality (but not cheap or terrible) pots so I'm not really concerned about "ruining" a pot or matching the proper clays and teas up.

[jaylorgator]

Thanks for the responses. Do you guys think that a pot like this would be good for roasted oolongs?http://www.essenceoftea.co.uk/teaware/c ... -fang.html

[bagua7]

Overprized pot for what it is. I would look elsewhere.

I like the shi piao pot for wuyi rock tea listed in the following:

http://teamasters.blogspot.com/2005/07/ ... #comments/

[tingjunkie]

Thanks for the responses. Do you guys think that a pot like this would be good for roasted oolongs?http://www.essenceoftea.co.uk/teaware/c ... -fang.html

The clay and shape look like they would do roasted oolongs quite well, but how many people are you brewing for? For high fire TGY and Yancha, I prefer to fill the pot up nearly to the top with leaf. At 105ml, it's a tad big for one person by my standards, but you might brew differently. I think the price is about right for what it is, and if you like the pot, EoT is a very reputable vendor.

[jaylorgator]

It would just be for me, but I have had a hard time finding smaller pots.

[bagua7]

Contact Yixing potters for custom made pots. There is one that keeps a page in this forum:

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=9484

[Jun]

Contact Yixing potters for custom made pots. There is one that keeps a page in this forum:

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=9484

I had been a passive viewer in this forum for a while. Felt that perhaps it is time to contribute whatever i can.

In my opinion, if you are looking for a pot and buying via mail order, it is worth to consider getting a starter pot from this website. Relatively cheap.

Though if you can find a genuine 80s pot, do get one for yourself. Some vendors i know are only too happy to brew a pot of tea to share with you.

As for pairing oolongs with yixing pot, my experience is that the shape and the clay play an extremely important part. Some pots have clays that utterly transform the taste of the tea (for the better, i mean). The flatter and rounder pots are good for TGY because of the leaves expansion.

Well, that's all i know that is within the sphere of my experience.

Cheers and have a good day!

[jaylorgator]

without starting a new post i would like to ask one more question: would oolongs like dancong get in the way of taiwanese rolled oolongs in the same yixing pot?

[Tead Off]

without starting a new post i would like to ask one more question: would oolongs like dancong get in the way of taiwanese rolled oolongs in the same yixing pot?

It's not that you can't use the same pot. However, it is best if you keep them separate if you tend to drink a lot of the same kind of tea.

The other consideration is shape of leaves. Because good dancong is long and wiry, you generally want a squatter pot to accomodate the length. Thin-walled red clays and porcelain are both good choices for these kinds of teas.

[bagua7]

Dancong leaves are long as opposed to the tight round ones typical of gaoshan oolongs, therefore the opening of the teapot must be large; you don't want to break the leaves, do you? Not good for the cha qi.

Example of a suitable pot opening for dancong:



Good luck.