mixing different kinds of tea in one clay teapot

[myav]

Is it possible to "break" a clay teapot by brewing different teas in it ?

Recently I have bought an excellent teapot from HOJO. At first I brewed Taiwanese oolongs in it and the result was just fine. Later I tried to brew different blacks and darjeeling teas in it, then one time Tieguanyin and it was just excellent with rich aroma. Later again different blacks and darjeeling teas and when I again returned to Tieguanyin I got bad results. I tried to brew TGY many times but I couldn't get such great results with rich aroma as at first time. As if I brewed tea from two different packs :) It seems Taiwanese oolongs also give worse results now :( Is it possible to fix this teapot ? Thanks.

[Gitana]

Is it possible to "break" a clay teapot by brewing different teas in it ?

Recently I have bought an excellent teapot from HOJO. At first I brewed Taiwanese oolongs in it and the result was just fine. Later I tried to brew different blacks and darjeeling teas in it, then one time Tieguanyin and it was just excellent with rich aroma. Later again different blacks and darjeeling teas and when I again returned to Tieguanyin I got bad results. I tried to brew TGY many times but I couldn't get such great results with rich aroma as at first time. As if I brewed tea from two different packs It seems Taiwanese oolongs also give worse results now Is it possible to fix this teapot ? Thanks.

Unfazed clay is porous and will absorb the tannins and flavors of what is brewed in it. That is why it is recommended to use only one kind of tea in an unfazed pot.
You can probably get rid of some of the flavor the pot has absorbed with a good scrubbing of baking soda. You could even try letting baking soda sit in the pot to absorb flavor.
Reseason the pot by soaking your chosen tea in the pot for an hour. You can use used / previously brewed leaves for this.
You might not be able to get all of the funky flavor out the first time but consistently using just one kind of tea in the pot will overwhelm that flavor eventually. Since the pot is new though it will probably taste just fine just cleaning the pot with baking soda.
Don't forget that your tastebuds can be affected by colds and allergies too. In fact, your tea tasting off can be a good barometer for your health.
Also, be sure your tea us stored properly away from other things that cause odor. Your tea can absorb whatever is near by. Make sure your tea storage container is airtight!

[myav]

Unfazed clay is porous and will absorb the tannins and flavors of what is brewed in it. That is why it is recommended to use only one kind of tea in an unfazed pot.
You can probably get rid of some of the flavor the pot has absorbed with a good scrubbing of baking soda. You could even try letting baking soda sit in the pot to absorb flavor.

Thanks a lot for your advices! I just tried to check how this new teapot brews different teas :) So can I mix Taiwanese oolongs (Dong Ding, Ali Shan) and Tieguanyin ? They look similar, but now I have doubts.

[Gitana]

Unfazed clay is porous and will absorb the tannins and flavors of what is brewed in it. That is why it is recommended to use only one kind of tea in an unfazed pot.
You can probably get rid of some of the flavor the pot has absorbed with a good scrubbing of baking soda. You could even try letting baking soda sit in the pot to absorb flavor.

Thanks a lot for your advices! I just tried to check how this new teapot brews different teas So can I mix Taiwanese oolongs (Dong Ding, Ali Shan) and Tieguanyin ? They look similar, but now I have doubts.

I don't see anything wrong with mixing green oolongs in the same pot. But I would use a different pot for roasted oolong tea. Really, it all comes down to your own taste buds. Someone who has a sensitive tongue might be bothered by mixing, others not so much.

Scented tea, such as Jasmine, might do best in a glazed pot even if it a green oolong, to be sure the strong flavor does not contaminate other teas.

[imkvn]

Unfazed clay is porous and will absorb the tannins and flavors of what is brewed in it. That is why it is recommended to use only one kind of tea in an unfazed pot.
You can probably get rid of some of the flavor the pot has absorbed with a good scrubbing of baking soda. You could even try letting baking soda sit in the pot to absorb flavor.

Thanks a lot for your advices! I just tried to check how this new teapot brews different teas So can I mix Taiwanese oolongs (Dong Ding, Ali Shan) and Tieguanyin ? They look similar, but now I have doubts.

I don't see anything wrong with mixing green oolongs in the same pot. But I would use a different pot for roasted oolong tea. Really, it all comes down to your own taste buds. Someone who has a sensitive tongue might be bothered by mixing, others not so much.

Scented tea, such as Jasmine, might do best in a glazed pot even if it a green oolong, to be sure the strong flavor does not contaminate other teas.

I know when I mixed from the same type it threw off the taste for a couple of sessions. For example, a low grade tea is drastically different from a higher grade. One tea for one pot generally. If you want to switch feel free to, but try to finish the tea beforehand. Then switch the tea with a similar or same profile.

If changing teas I would heat the pot up and use a soft bristle brush to scrub the inside to open up the pores. Then season, boil, or just use it.

Using it is probably the preferred way as most other ways don't guarentee you not messing up the clay or changing the taste. It'll taste weird till the new tea sets up like strigient flavors for the prior tea.

Again you can do whatever you want its your pot.

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[DrJacoby]

Is it possible to "break" a clay teapot by brewing different teas in it ?

My short answer would be "no," unless you're brewing scented/flavored teas. The classic yixing marketing line is that you should only brew one tea per pot, but in my nearly 15 years of making tea with yixing, this is an unnecessary rule, as the amount of residue/aroma retained by the pot from one session is infinitesimal. If you'd been using the pot for years with one tea type, maybe, but even brewing green oolong for 2 years and brewing shu puer once, for example, is not going to do anything to the pot. What (in my experience) has more of an effect is clay type: whatever clay your pot is made of may have a different effect on different tea types (could be positive, neutral, or negative).

Now, as for you getting good results with TGY once, trying some other teas, and then repeatedly getting bad results with TGY, there are innumerable factors that affect tea liquor quality, including water quality, temperature, time, leaf quantity, and, most importantly, your taste buds, which many people seem to forget are not infallible. If you had great results with TGY in that pot in the past, I would recommend practicing and getting more control over the brewing variables before giving up. And don't be afraid of using different tea types in a yixing pot...a nice hot rinse is pretty much all you need to remove significant residue from a minimally-to-moderately used pot. Keep experimenting!!

[12Tea]

You can fix your Yixing by cooking it in a pan for 1 hour as if you're seasoning a new pot. Ideally add some unflavoured tofu as it can help to absorb smells. This is kind of like 'resetting' your yixing teapot. Perhaps read this for more info: https://www.teasenz.com/chinese-tea/how ... eapot.html