I have a question for all the followers of TC.
I want to buy a few yixing cups, do you think is better to choose them made entirely of yixing (internal / external) or glazed inside?
In the first case, I should use a cup for each type of tea, then combining it with a teapot, or they can be freely used without this could affect the final result?
Thanks.
Jul 12th, '13, 15:38
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Re: About Yixing cups.
Usually I prefer porcelain or celadon cups, because they affect less the flavor of the tea. If you really want yixing cups, I would opt for the unglazed ones, because most (perhaps all) of the glazed yixing cups I have seen were of low quality. As you say, if you go for unglazed yixing cups, you will need different cups for different types of tea. You will also need to choose the type of clay properly for the type of tea. For instance, I would not recommend using zini cups for oolongs, because they might remove some of the delicate flavors - if you want to drink oolongs in yixing cups you would need to find some good hong ni or zhuni cups, which might not be easy. IMHO, not worth the effort. Having some very porous (e.g. zini, dicaoqing, duanni) yixing cups to drink puer in winter can be nice, because they retain heat well and give you a smooth cup. Still, I only use them once in a while. With small porcelain cups I can drink the tea before it gets cold, and they allow me to appreciate the color of the tea.
Jul 12th, '13, 19:01
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Location: Japan.
Re: About Yixing cups.
I must say that your analysis is fairly convincing.steanze wrote:Usually I prefer porcelain or celadon cups, because they affect less the flavor of the tea. If you really want yixing cups, I would opt for the unglazed ones, because most (perhaps all) of the glazed yixing cups I have seen were of low quality. As you say, if you go for unglazed yixing cups, you will need different cups for different types of tea. You will also need to choose the type of clay properly for the type of tea. For instance, I would not recommend using zini cups for oolongs, because they might remove some of the delicate flavors - if you want to drink oolongs in yixing cups you would need to find some good hong ni or zhuni cups, which might not be easy. IMHO, not worth the effort. Having some very porous (e.g. zini, dicaoqing, duanni) yixing cups to drink puer in winter can be nice, because they retain heat well and give you a smooth cup. Still, I only use them once in a while. With small porcelain cups I can drink the tea before it gets cold, and they allow me to appreciate the color of the tea.
In addition to porcelain or celadon cups, might be a good, if not one better alternative, the tempered glass? Is probably a good material, due to its neutrality. What do you think?
Re: About Yixing cups.
Yes, I like tempered glass too. It works well to appreciate the color of the tea, I use it quite often with hong cha. The only drawback is that sometimes tempered glass cups have the factory name or something printed on the bottom and one can see it through the glass.
Jul 14th, '13, 01:00
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Location: Japan.
Re: About Yixing cups.
Often there is manufacturer's name printed on the bottom, but fortunately I discovered some brand that does not print anything on the bottom, applying only one sticker that can be removed easily.steanze wrote:Yes, I like tempered glass too. It works well to appreciate the color of the tea, I use it quite often with hong cha. The only drawback is that sometimes tempered glass cups have the factory name or something printed on the bottom and one can see it through the glass.