Celadon vs. Porcelain

[Midwinter_Sun]

Still I feel an extreme and deep impact on teas when celadon is used .. maybe Im going crazy, possible after all!

William, so do I

The magic of subjective experience.
Do you brew in celadon? Under what conditions do you feel the most profound effect? Is the brewing vessel aged and enriched with one particular type of tea?

One thing to consider, of course, are the thermal properties of the brewing vessel. Heat absorption, reflection all affect the brew.

[William]

William, so do I

The magic of subjective experience.
Do you brew in celadon? Under what conditions do you feel the most profound effect? Is the brewing vessel aged and enriched with one particular type of tea?

One thing to consider, of course, are the thermal properties of the brewing vessel. Heat absorption, reflection all affect the brew.

I use different cups of different eras in order to have different profile of the same tea, even brewed with the same gaiwan. For example with an old iron glazed cup I often feel the body to be much stronger, while with old celadon I feel the aftertaste to be stronger, while (again) with old porcelain I sometimes feel good effect on body or aftertaste and sometime not-so-good effect on the tea (and usually I stop using that particular cup). Still I feel a different profile of the same tea if I am comparing an old porcelain cup with a modern made porcelain cup.

So far, the celadon ones gives me the most profound and radical effect on the tea, especially if the quality of it is already good.

[Midwinter_Sun]

I use different cups of different eras in order to have different profile of the same tea, even brewed with the same gaiwan.

We should ask a friend to help us with a blind test! the assistant should probably have to put the cup to the mouth so we cannot identify the cup by how it feels in the hand.
Now some of the rougher cups I can identify by lip feel alone

[William]

We should ask a friend to help us with a blind test! the assistant should probably have to put the cup to the mouth so we cannot identify the cup by how it feels in the hand.
Now some of the rougher cups I can identify by lip feel alone

Already (successfully) done a couple of times!

[Midwinter_Sun]

We should ask a friend to help us with a blind test!

Already (successfully) done a couple of times!

That is amazing!
Something for me to try next time I have friends over for some tea!

[William]

We should ask a friend to help us with a blind test!

Already (successfully) done a couple of times!

That is amazing!
Something for me to try next time I have friends over for some tea!

You should definitely try!

[Midwinter_Sun]

You should definitely try!

Oh, I certainly plan to!

I am under the impression we share the philosophy of letting the body be the guide to the ways of tea, as the quote in your profile attests.

A Daniel M. Burkus translation, if I am not mistaken?

As a note on staying on topic, I feel the quote William has in his profile is very much applicable to the subject.

[ethan]

My amateur blind-testing:

Subject: Nit, a 43-year old Thai lady who has been blind for 11 1/2 years & usually does not drink tea. She loves the one used for this observation though.

Tea: Oriental Beauty from Taiwan

Method: How many times she asks for another cup & how happy she looked. Subject unaware she is being observed.

Pot chosen: Of porcelain, pot or gaiwan, or celadon pot or jagged cup
w/ lid (sort of a gaiwan), Nit definitely prefers porcelain pot. She also prefers drinking out of a small thick-walled thinly glazed Japanese cup.

[William]

A Daniel M. Burkus translation, if I am not mistaken?

Correct, my dear friend!

Subject unaware she is being observed.

[kyarazen]

We should ask a friend to help us with a blind test! the assistant should probably have to put the cup to the mouth so we cannot identify the cup by how it feels in the hand.
Now some of the rougher cups I can identify by lip feel alone

the lip feel is a major key player in determining the suitability of a cup

[JBaymore]

the lip feel is a major key player in determining the suitability of a cup

The human lips are VERY sensitive. "Lip feel" alone would likely allow people to identify which cup they were using of most any type if they were already familiar with the cups,..... and bias any "blind" testing of the impact of the glaze (or clay) on tea taste.

best,

.................john

[steanze]

the lip feel is a major key player in determining the suitability of a cup

The human lips are VERY sensitive. "Lip feel" alone would likely allow people to identify which cup they were using of most any type if they were already familiar with the cups,..... and bias any "blind" testing of the impact of the glaze (or clay) on tea taste.

best,

.................john

+1
as John says it's often easy to tell the cup one is drinking from based on lip feel, so it is hard to do blind testing. At the same time, as kyarazen says lip feel affects our tea drinking experience, and different types of lip feel can be more or less suitable for different types of tea. For example, I tend to like cups made of thick smooth celadon for aged pu-erh and taiwanese oolongs, but I don't like using those same cups for dancong and yancha, for which I prefer thin porcelain cups - I think lip feel plays an important role in this preference, and it does not necessarily need to be factored out.

[kyarazen]

+1
as John says it's often easy to tell the cup one is drinking from based on lip feel, so it is hard to do blind testing. At the same time, as kyarazen says lip feel affects our tea drinking experience, and different types of lip feel can be more or less suitable for different types of tea. For example, I tend to like cups made of thick smooth celadon for aged pu-erh and taiwanese oolongs, but I don't like using those same cups for dancong and yancha, for which I prefer thin porcelain cups - I think lip feel plays an important role in this preference, and it does not necessarily need to be factored out.

lip angle too! it is a really fun subject

[Midwinter_Sun]

Now what do you fine gentlemen think about eliminating the lip feel factor by pouring from the cups being tested into neutral glass vessels with same shape and feel?

Only thing I can think as far as affecting the test are the added factors of cooling and addition of oxygen during the extra pour.

Any other comments?

[Midwinter_Sun]

Subject: Nit, a 43-year old Thai lady who has been blind for 11 1/2 years & usually does not drink tea.

Here is an interesting conundrum, does the lack of sight increase the development of other senses, in this case, tea.
Some research appears to point in that direction. ( http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 152002.htm )
But I have not stumbles across any in regards to tea tasting.

There has been some research as to wine tasting being useless, with judges assigning varying scores to the same wine ( http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle ... e-analysis )

I guess i shall continue letting my body be the judge of what it likes