Do I need quality yixing? and other questions

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Jan 20th, '14, 03:29
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Re: Do I need quality yixing? and other questions

by kyarazen » Jan 20th, '14, 03:29

you might need an yixing if you know how to use it to enhance the brew, want to brew in certain "gongfu ways" etc and if you consider tea ware to be part of the tea drinking experience. but if you dont, and if you are not the sort that would be using fancy glazed raku, fine porcelains for tea to augment your drinking experience, then a glass gaiwan or a glass shuiping is all you need, or even a mug perhaps.

there are many types of yixing, and how it is appreciated. it can be like art works, sculptures and all that visual pleasure, but for the brew, the clay is key, not the shrimp or some words carved on the outside of the pot.

will a "ming jia" pot brew tea better than a regular shuiping? how about getting a gu jing zhou 花货 type of pot that is 800-900 ml? that is more like "art" and less of "tea", and if used, will it be able to make proper gongfu cha for 50 people at one go? probably not, considering the larger the vessel size, dynamic temperature gradients are larger exist, together with limited brownian diffusion from tea leaves etc

Jan 20th, '14, 16:24
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Re: Do I need quality yixing? and other questions

by JakubT » Jan 20th, '14, 16:24

Ashtangi: To your original question - I'd say definitely not - yixing is not a necessity. Good porcelain gaiwan will do as well - especially if you're not fully settled with your choice of tea (yixing gets really good after a lot of use - and that "really good" is still a relatively minor influence I'd say).

Water is imho so much more important in general - you can actually get a Chaozhou tea stove for less than $100 and it will make all of your tea better (and I'd say that gaiwan + stove-boiled water should, in general, be quite a lot better than yixing + ordinary water). Of course, preparing tea in that way takes more time, that may be an issue...

Jan 21st, '14, 00:33
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Re: Do I need quality yixing? and other questions

by ashtangi » Jan 21st, '14, 00:33

Thanks for the helpful answers everyone. I don't think I'll be going with a yixing pot right now. Maybe in the future though, I do enjoy the entire experience of making and drinking tea, and maybe yixing will enhance it, maybe not. Once I have more disposable income I'll be able to answer that question... I have been looking at some pots from artisticnippon, they seem to be good quality for a cheaper price.
JakubT wrote:Ashtangi:

Water is imho so much more important in general - you can actually get a Chaozhou tea stove for less than $100 and it will make all of your tea better (and I'd say that gaiwan + stove-boiled water should, in general, be quite a lot better than yixing + ordinary water). Of course, preparing tea in that way takes more time, that may be an issue...
That's an interesting thought. I usually boil my water on the stove in a metal pot, but was thinking about getting an electric kettle to make things easier. That tea stove looks pretty amazing but if I have to heat it with coals that would probably end up taking too much time to be practical for me.

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Re: Do I need quality yixing? and other questions

by the_economist » Jan 21st, '14, 00:51

Charcoal stoves are a pretty advanced step. I think you're making the right choice at this stage of the game :)

Just a point of note, the effect of Japanese teapots on tea is quite different than Yixing. Not saying one is better than the other, just different.

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Re: Do I need quality yixing? and other questions

by kyarazen » Jan 21st, '14, 01:08

the_economist wrote:Charcoal stoves are a pretty advanced step. I think you're making the right choice at this stage of the game :)

Just a point of note, the effect of Japanese teapots on tea is quite different than Yixing. Not saying one is better than the other, just different.
the chemistry is different! which is why the effect on the brew is different :mrgreen:

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Re: Do I need quality yixing? and other questions

by gasninja » Jan 21st, '14, 09:54

ashtangi wrote:Thanks for the helpful answers everyone. I don't think I'll be going with a yixing pot right now. Maybe in the future though, I do enjoy the entire experience of making and drinking tea, and maybe yixing will enhance it, maybe not. Once I have more disposable income I'll be able to answer that question... I have been looking at some pots from artisticnippon, they seem to be good quality for a cheaper price.
JakubT wrote:Ashtangi:

Water is imho so much more important in general - you can actually get a Chaozhou tea stove for less than $100 and it will make all of your tea better (and I'd say that gaiwan + stove-boiled water should, in general, be quite a lot better than yixing + ordinary water). Of course, preparing tea in that way takes more time, that may be an issue...
That's an interesting thought. I usually boil my water on the stove in a metal pot, but was thinking about getting an electric kettle to make things easier. That tea stove looks pretty amazing but if I have to heat it with coals that would probably end up taking too much time to be practical for me.
You can still improve your water with a kettle without the need of charcoal and a brassier. I have a Lins kettle and a yixing kettle that I heat on my electric stove top and they both work wonders. Water heated in either of these has more of a positive effect on tea than almost any starter yixing you would end up with unless you are incredibly lucky or have help and money. Yes the penetrating heat of charcoal and energy of a natural hear source will take things to a whole other level. But just using a quality clay kettle or tetsubin will make big impovement in your tea. In my opinion the biggest impovement that can be made is the cheapest. Using quality spring water will make your tea better getting yixing or kettle unless you were a
Ready using good water.

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Re: Do I need quality yixing? and other questions

by Tead Off » Jan 21st, '14, 12:17

the_economist wrote:Charcoal stoves are a pretty advanced step. I think you're making the right choice at this stage of the game :)

Just a point of note, the effect of Japanese teapots on tea is quite different than Yixing. Not saying one is better than the other, just different.
+1

I use one of my Banko teapots for puerh. Really good tea from that pot.

Jan 21st, '14, 21:44
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Re: Do I need quality yixing? and other questions

by AllanK » Jan 21st, '14, 21:44

ashtangi wrote:Hi all,

I've been drinking tea for a couple years now, coffee-mug infuser-ball style, and I've decided it's time to start stepping up my routine. I recently had a good experience with puerh, and I've been lurking here learning and researching and I think I'm just about ready to order.

I have a few questions though, the main one being, do I need a good quality ($100+) Yixing pot? I've been looking around at different (reputable) online vendors and I've found a couple nice 90's Yixing pots which are about $150 each. Will a quality pot really make a difference? I much prefer a small teapot over a gaiwan, and I don't want to spend money on something cheaper that will eventually go unused if I ever do decide to get a nice yixing. I was considering a small, regular fired/glazed clay teapot, ($50 or so) but I'm actually having a hard time finding those online in a nice shape. It would also be nice to have one single pot for all my tea, but if I go with a yixing I would be limited to either sheng or shu, right? What do you think? I'm not opposed to spending the money, but I could also buy 2 $80 pots instead of 1 $160 pot. What do you think?
Hello, I have recently bought two Yixing from an Ebay seller by the name of Missteapots. I have received the first and it is excellent. I am waiting for the second which looks even better. She has pot ranging from $50 to $500. She included a free teapot wrap with the pot, a nice extra for protecting the pot. http://stores.ebay.com/MissTeapots?_trk ... 7675.l2563

You might also look into a Kamjove or similar glass pot. They are very nice. You brew the tea in a brewing basket above the main teapot then press a button. The tea all then drains down. The nice thing about these are they prevent oversteeping which you can get from a Yixing. A similar pot called the Piao I pot is sold on purepuer.com which is avaiable from the USA. The Kamjove you have to generally order direct from China.

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