Brewing: infuser vs. pot

[Guest]

What is a Gaiwan.....and where can I get a Yixing Teapot for $20

A gaiwan is a cup made in porcelain (and now in glass too) that was created during the Ming Dynasty. It consists of a saucer, a cup, and a lid. It is used in province like Sichuan to drink tea but it is also used by all tea professional in China to taste tea.

The advantage of it is that you can see clearly the quality of the wet leaves, experience the quality of the fragrance of the tea, and the most important the quality of the leaves. If you type gaiwan in google, you will find several vendors that carry some. FYI, best porcelain is the one from Jing de Zhen.

You will hardly find a yixing teapot for $20 on the market in the west. What i was saying in a previous post is that a lot of vendor from the west buy teapot that are worth $20 on the b2b market in China and resell them for $150 or more in the USA. Usually for a decent Yixing teapot made of Zi ni (purple clay) you can count around $50, if you tackle for Zi Sha like Zhu ni, you will have to spend several hundreds.

Yixing teapot are made of zi sha (purple sand) clay which has mainly five colors: zhu ni (red clay), Zi ni (purple clay), Hei Ni (black clay), Ben Shan Lu (green clay), and Duan Ni (yellow clay)

SEb

[Guest]

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Oops, sorry about that will do next time!

There is a large, unresolved rift in the tea community about traditional v. contemporary brewing methods. I'd like to see what other folks think!

Chris, what we are calling "contemporary methods" isn't contemporary at all. The small amount of leaves with long steeping was how tea was already consummed during in early 17th century by the Dutch and English. The question is why people who have made of tea their life have stick for centuries to one same way? Afterall, wouldn't it be presumptuous to think that these people never tried the "western way" of brewing tea?

However, I don't think any tea afficianado should want to or have to suffer with Tazo's bottled teas.

Amen to that!

SEb

[teaspoon]

However, I don't think any tea afficianado should want to or have to suffer with Tazo's bottled teas.

*snifle* But... but... I LIKE Tazo! LoL... It has its place. It's all about expectation. If you want real tea and you buy a Tazo bottled thingie, you'll be disappointed. If you want something completely different that can only be described as one of those strange but fruitily delicious Tazo tea and juice drinky things... well then you'll be much happier than the guy that wanted real tea! Mmmm brambleberry...

~the spoon
equal opportunity consumer

[PeteVu]

I appreciate tea preparation and tea drinking in Chinese old fashion

i feel like i dont lose in the preparation of tea using contemporary methods. I also appreciate the methods of brewing tea and enjoy brewing tea almost as much as drinking it. if i didnt i would just buy a Trinitea. Old chinese ways are not the only way to appreciate brewing tea.

All I can say is that at the end the best tea is the one that fits you, so cheers.

i agree ^^ i suppose we can both enjoy tea brewing it different ways.

[chris]

Glad we could come to an agreement, gentlemen.

[Mike B]

I feel a hug coming on. Not from me, mind you. I'm not the huggy type. But now you two can totally be BFF.

[PeteVu]

hahaha. i forsee a problem though... eventually one of us would get a craving for tea and well, somehow i imagine we would end up with two differently brewed pots. ^^

[chris]

But... but... I LIKE Tazo! LoL... It has its place.

True, true, teaspoon. It has its place and i shouldn't be so quick to judge. "Let he without tea-sin cast the first stone..."

In that vein, I've got a confession: when my tea stock is in short supply, I sometimes turn to Coca-Cola.

Thanks, guys..... I feel so much better now that it is out in the open.

Anonymously,

C---s
Ada--- Mae---

[Mina]

I didn't mean to start a fight.

I'm not sure I'm ready to invest in really high-quality teaware. Besides the fact that I'm a klutz who destroys everything (I've already broken two bowls in two days), I don't want to buy "authentic" items without a true understanding of their purpose (society ritual). I'm just a casual tea-drinker who likes the variety and freshness of loose leaves. I don't think I even have any Chinese tea (most of mine are Indian and Sri Lankan), so it's all moot anyway, lol.

I saw some cast iron teapots in a store. They were pricy, and small, but I liked the weight and how solid they felt. If I can find a good deal somewhere (under $50), maybe I'll buy one of those to be my decanting (decantee?) pot, since the tea will stay warm in it longer.

[PeteVu]

i bought mine from www.teavana.com Their cheaper cast iron pots are around 65 dollars but i really liked the designs.

[Tracy]

But are there major advantages that leave you to prefer inside the pot over infusers?

Hi Mina,
Not to belabor the subject, but I've seen strong arguments both ways in answer to what you're asking (the preceding comments notwithstanding).

For me, the answer comes down to a combination of tea type (size/shape/processing of leaf), amount of time I have, and teaware available. Personally, for the large leafed oolongs and whites, I like to set 'em free, and usually don't even need a strainer (I currently use either a gaiwan or different yixing teapots for these, but a smaller Beehouse or personaliTEA teapot would work well too). I agree with Seb on the seasoning of yixing pots--truly worthwhile. Yixing pots can be expensive, but cheaper ones can be found, and for really nice oolongs, they're very worth it. You'll start to notice a big difference in flavor in your oolongs after using them for awhile because of the "seasoning" that takes place.

For senchas and blacks (either broken or whole), I use either a glass or mesh infuser, and almost always have to use a very small-meshed infuser or strainer for Rooibos. I have made these teas both with and without an infuser, with very similar results. Some might argue that the larger leafed Ceylons (the Vithanakande teas come to mind) might "give up" their liquor better if set freer, but if your infuser is a nice size, I think this would help.

Sorry if I confused you more! Just trying to help. The main thing is to enjoy and appreciate your tea time.....

[cha cha]

what is teasac? could anybody send some picture here to let me have a look. Thank you so much!

[klemptor]

Mmmm brambleberry...

Amen! Although if you look at the ingredients, there's no actual tea in it at all - they call it a "Juiced Tea" - I think that's their way of saying "tisane."

But yes, Brambleberry is the greatest

[chris]

Here is a t-sac. It is just another brand of the paper filters Adagio sells.

Hope this helps,

Chris
Adagio Maestro

[cha cha]

Thank you, Chris.
I'v got it.