Questions about yixing

[gatmcm]

Hello, I have a few questions regarding a yixing pot I've recently bought, first experience with yixing.
It's the 60ml one available at adventureineverycup, I've been trying different teas with it to find a good fit, so far I've found a drastic difference, havent made a true back to back test but it seems to remove bitter/sour flavours almost completely, i've tried some yanchas of varying roast levels, high roast tgy, some young sheng and a mao cha.
With all of them its like a low pass filter, the bitterness and sourness seem to disapear almost completely, for example: I remember the w2t basics spring 2015 to be quite a punch in the face in terms of bitterness when I last tried it a few months ago, with the pot it's very mellow and sweet even when overbrewing quite a bit, same thing happened with the mao cha, all I tasted was the florals and almonds.
Tbh I was expecting relatively subtle differences, I dont know what to make of it, sadly I dont have a lot of tea atm to experiment and shu isnt really suited for single hole spouts imo (dont like using outside strainers).
I wasn't the most thorough in cleaning, and didnt season it or boil it so that might be a factor.
I also have been eating really spicy lately so I might not have the most sensitive palate atm.

So my question is, is my description about accurate on what to expect with yixing, will the effects change as it seasons? I did expect a difference, but the sharp notes disapearing altogether seems a bit much (not really complaining, just surprised).

[steanze]

Hi Gatmcm!

The clay of your yixing looks like nice heini, there is nothing wrong with the pot as far as I can see. Here are some thoughts on improving your experience.

There are several aspects of the tea to be appreciated - flavor and aroma, with their "low frequency components" and "high frequency components" are important ones, but other important ones are the thickness/viscosity of the liquid, and the body effects. Sometimes people rank in order of importance for a good session first the quality of the tea, and next the water and the brewing vessel. However, the drinker and her/his ability to be sensitive to the different aspects of the tea should also be high on that list.

Different Yixing pots (and more generally different brewing vessels) have different effects, emphasizing some aspects of the tea and downplaying others. So when you choose what to drink in a session, you need to choose both what tea you will have, and how you will "interpret" it. There isn't a right way to brew a tea: different interpretations can better suit different moments (just like in different moments one might feel like listening to Glenn Gould's interpretation of the Art of Fugue, or to Helmut Walcha's).

Several properties of a Yixing teapot converge to determine how it will affect the tea, include the clay type, the firing, the thickness of the walls, the size of the pot, and the pour speed. The effect you observe with your pot (reduction of the sharp notes) is largely due to the type of clay. Clays like zini, qingshuini, heini tend to "round" the tea more, while denser red clays like hongni and zhuni tend to preserve the sharp notes. This does not mean that hongni and zhuni are better - it depends on what tea you are making, and on what "interpretation" you want. While your pot reduces the sharp notes, you can afford to use a slightly higher leaf/water ratio before the tea gets bitter, obtaining a thicker liquid with stronger body effects. If you use instead a porcelain gaiwan, the sharp notes will be preserved, but you can't push the tea as much, so it won't be as thick/rich, and it will have milder body effects. Which one you end up using really depends on your preference. For young sheng, I often prefer to use porcelain or hongni/zhuni. I typically use pots with clays like yours for older sheng (~15 years old and older), that does not have as many sharp notes to begin with. However, there are some cases, and some days, in which I use pots more like yours for young sheng - for example the 2011 TU Gaoshanzhai does better with some rounding in my view.

[gatmcm]

Thanks for the response, a lot of good info there, definitely can see why you mentioned aged sheng, drinking some right now in the pot.
There aren't any sharp notes to speak of so I don't feel like I'm missing a lot flavourwise, but it mellowed the dank storage a bit, as well as allowing me to leaf more heavily, giving it better body.

But good point on using it to mellow younger tea that's rough around the edges.

[jayinhk]

That pot looks ideal for high roast oolongs IMO! Will reduce the roast aromas and accentuate the flavor.

[stevorama]

As you use the teapot it will continue to season and this may impact the brewing. It may have less "rounding" effect as you use it.

Steanze, I like that insight into viscosity/thickness in brewing! I hadn't thought of it quite like that.

[theredbaron]

So my question is, is my description about accurate on what to expect with yixing, will the effects change as it seasons? I did expect a difference, but the sharp notes disapearing altogether seems a bit much (not really complaining, just surprised).

Yes, indeed, that is what you can and should expect from Yixing pots. I have a very similar pot as my small second choice pot for aged Sheng (i don't drink young Sheng, and also very rarely do i drink Shu). I have an older Zini pot that i originally bought for using it with Yancha. It suppressed the taste too much and i just could not make it work. When i switched the pot to aged Sheng however the pot started to shine.
Steanze has already eloquently described the effects of Yixing pots, so i can't add anything to that.
As to seasoning and boiling - i personally would not go over board with this. Pots season in the end by themselves through continued use. If the pots are new, or clean, just some boiling water, and maybe steeping the pot in tea for a little while should be sufficient to get started. It is however important to clean your pot after each use with hot water, and leave the lid off until the inside is completely dry.

[ethan]

That pots looks ideal for high roast oolongs IMO! Will reduce the roast aromas and accentuate the flavor.

I may not understand your meaning here. You refer to roast's "aroma" being reduced & "flavor" being accentuated. I taste too much roast & not enough other flavors w/ some of my teas. I am not bothered by what I smell. I'd love a pot that could make too strong roast somewhat subtle & allow the other flavors to come to be enjoyed more. (Suggestions welcome for types of clay etc.)

[jayinhk]

That pots looks ideal for high roast oolongs IMO! Will reduce the roast aromas and accentuate the flavor.

I may not understand your meaning here. You refer to roast's "aroma" being reduced & "flavor" being accentuated. I taste too much roast & not enough other flavors w/ some of my teas. I am not bothered by what I smell. I'd love a pot that could make too strong roast somewhat subtle & allow the other flavors to come to be enjoyed more. (Suggestions welcome for types of clay etc.)

That's exactly what I mean, ethan--less roast flavor and more of the actual flavor from the leaves. The ideal pot will depend on the roast level. Some of my pots are too muting for Taiwanese-style roasts, which really aren't all that roasty compared to the stuff I drink from HK's old school vendors. With the HK teas, sandy pin zini is ideal, but if I brew something roasted to China/Taiwan levels in there, it mutes too much of the flavor as well. For the stuff you drink, I'd go with something like qingshuini or higher fired zini. Even hongni, depending on the specific tea.

I drank some Fujian-roasted meizhan last night and the pin zini took too much away from the tea. It made it smooth and entirely unoffensive to the palate, but the flavor wasn't as intense as it is in neiziwaihong. Neiziwaihong would also be a good choice for the type of teas you want to brew, but again, it depends on the pot and the specific tea.

[gatmcm]

That pots looks ideal for high roast oolongs IMO! Will reduce the roast aromas and accentuate the flavor.

Will give it a try soon, still not fully familiar with the high roast teas I have atm, will drink them in the gaiwan for now and test them later. It was actually what I was planning for the pot, but I will let it take its pick.