Should I have a seperate yixing for roasted tie guan yin and other roasted oolongs?
OR
Is it OK to brew all of them in the same yixing?
thanks for the help.
Apr 22nd, '08, 23:16
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trent
Apr 22nd, '08, 23:53
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Delusions of a pot head
Now you have entered the realm of Chinese philosophy. There is no answer for this question. I have been trying to decide how fine to draw the line myself. That Just4Tea TGY has a max roast, but it sure seems nothing like a roasted Wuyi yancha.
For a while I was using the same pot for everything except blacks and shu. It worked just fine. I suspect the dedicating of pots is an overblown issue.
Still, I guess I would not use the same pot for gaoshan and roasted TGY or any Da Hong Pao or any Dan Cong. I think I would concentrate on protecting the light, elysian elixirs, to wit, Dan Cong, green gaoshan, & Se Zhong (a lighter cousin to TGY). I've been brewing Dan Congs exclusively in a gaiwan lately just because I worry that any pot will mute their floral scents, and so often the brew times need to be ultra-short. The Just4Tea TGY makes me happiest in a mug with infuser basket. The Wuyi and most TGY (except the very lightest) and maybe even Bai Hao I would brew in the same pot.
I guess this is one of those areas where I don't try to control as much as in other areas like measuring and timing. I sometimes just grab a pot that looks neglected.
Sorry, this has probably amounted to no help at all, but at least I feel better! Nothing like auto-psychotherapy.
For a while I was using the same pot for everything except blacks and shu. It worked just fine. I suspect the dedicating of pots is an overblown issue.
Still, I guess I would not use the same pot for gaoshan and roasted TGY or any Da Hong Pao or any Dan Cong. I think I would concentrate on protecting the light, elysian elixirs, to wit, Dan Cong, green gaoshan, & Se Zhong (a lighter cousin to TGY). I've been brewing Dan Congs exclusively in a gaiwan lately just because I worry that any pot will mute their floral scents, and so often the brew times need to be ultra-short. The Just4Tea TGY makes me happiest in a mug with infuser basket. The Wuyi and most TGY (except the very lightest) and maybe even Bai Hao I would brew in the same pot.
I guess this is one of those areas where I don't try to control as much as in other areas like measuring and timing. I sometimes just grab a pot that looks neglected.
Sorry, this has probably amounted to no help at all, but at least I feel better! Nothing like auto-psychotherapy.
Apr 23rd, '08, 00:02
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tenuki
There is only one rule RE gaiwan vs yixing....
- You should become familiar enough with various teas and your equipment to choose the vessel that will brew a particular tea to _your_ taste the best.
Two examples that probably go counter to what everyone thinks is the 'correct' answer:
I don't like certain ali shans brewed in a gaiwan, the aroma is too distracting and the body is maybe a bit weak for my taste. I have a favorite yixing that mutes those aromas and also 'shores up' the vegital and thicker aspects of those teas nicely. So there I am brewing a delicate green gao shan in a yixing. Then there is this WuYi that is perfect, just the right balance, it goes in the gaiwan because I can't imagine changing it one little bit, there are these interesting cinnamon notes that get lost in a yixing.
- You should become familiar enough with various teas and your equipment to choose the vessel that will brew a particular tea to _your_ taste the best.
Two examples that probably go counter to what everyone thinks is the 'correct' answer:
I don't like certain ali shans brewed in a gaiwan, the aroma is too distracting and the body is maybe a bit weak for my taste. I have a favorite yixing that mutes those aromas and also 'shores up' the vegital and thicker aspects of those teas nicely. So there I am brewing a delicate green gao shan in a yixing. Then there is this WuYi that is perfect, just the right balance, it goes in the gaiwan because I can't imagine changing it one little bit, there are these interesting cinnamon notes that get lost in a yixing.
Apr 23rd, '08, 00:22
Posts: 2299
Joined: Oct 23rd, '06, 19:46
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tenuki
No, Gaiwans are neutral, YiXings are not.trent wrote:Thanks for the help tenuki. So... do gaiwans generally enhance the aroma, but bring out a weaker flavor? and, do yixings generally bring out a stronger flavor but weaker aroma?
Another way to think of it....
In the mid 60s CBS bought Fender Guitar. At first they didn't change anything, then in the early 70s they brought in some new technology, notably they 'improved' the transformers, made them more efficient.
So now, 40 years later which amplifiers do you think guitarists favor? the 'pre-CBS' era ones of course. Why? Because the job of a guitar amplifier is not just to amplify the sound efficiently and accurately, that sweet sweet tone you hear on a BBKing record comes from inefficient _inaccurate_ amplification. The best amps are best precisely because of the way they color the sound. My pre cbs delux reverb gets really pretty when I push her hard, my friends post cbs twin, not so much. Fender has actually started reissuing the old designs, but they don't quite have the magic because nobody makes such sucky transformers as they used to. lol.
Think of your YiXing's job as 'adding to the color' of the tea. You will learn what your pot does, how it colors the tea ( subtracts or adds certain notes ) and this will help you find the right brewing vessel for the tea.
The Gaiwan's job is to let the tea stand on it's own and be totally honest about itself. This is why I always use a gaiwan first when trying a new tea.
Remember though, it's just tea, you soak it in water then drink the water.
