Seasoning yixing. (through use)

[Cyphre]

I am just curious if it is better to leave the used leaves in the pot after I have used them and am done for at least a few hours. Or does it even matter?

[teaisme]

The advice from houde is to rinse with hot water after done, seasoning more slowly then not washing and just leaving leaves in there, but he thinks its kinda dirty I guess

I figure it would depend on many things. If the tea is of real high quality and the brewed leaves still hold good fragrance and last brew did not come out bitter I wouldn't see anything wrong with leaving the leaves in there for a couple hours (not too long though because then you get bacteria and off smells). Then rinse with boiling water and let it dry.

[MarshalN]

I don't see how having leaves of high or low quality will make any difference in this regard. If the rationale is that the tea will start spoiling (which it won't) after a few hours, then the same process will happen regardless of the quality of the tea -- the physical changes will still take place, good or bad aside.

[tingjunkie]

As long as the leaves are close to spent, I put boiling or room temp water in the pot overnight. The long brew usually tastes very nice in the morning too.

[britt]

I am just curious if it is better to leave the used leaves in the pot after I have used them and am done for at least a few hours. Or does it even matter?

I think it's the brewed tea that seasons the pot, not the leaves themselves. If anything, I'd add hot water to the leaves and let them sit overnight. I don't do this myself, but this is similar to method I've read about on how to season an Yixing. They recommended filling the pot with leaves, adding boiling water, when cool emptying the water and replacing with more boiling water, etc.

I just let my Yixings season as they're used and rinse them out with very hot water when I'm finished using them.

[NOESIS]

Also, remember to pour your rinse over the pot at the end of your session.

[Proinsias]

As long as the leaves are close to spent, I put boiling or room temp water in the pot overnight. The long brew usually tastes very nice in the morning too.

+1

Sometimes the tea comes back to life and can take another few brews. I've heard Gerlado/grasshopper say he removes the leaves on occasion, dries them and then rebrews. As winter is arriving, and the heating will be on soon making drying easier, I can see me giving this a shot.

I don't bother too much about leaving leaves in the pot either although I don't tend to leave leaves in the pot for more than about 24hrs, maybe 48 at a stretch.

[Proinsias]

Also, remember to pour your rinse over the pot at the end of your session.

I often give a little of each brew to the pot.

Recently I had the idea, since I've loads of little cups, to pour 20ml or so of each brew into a little cup and leave it for later. After finishing a tea off it's nice to drink five or six little cups in quick succession as a recap. It also looks quite cool to have a history of the brews. I might have stolen this idea from Tim.

[Cyphre]

Also, remember to pour your rinse over the pot at the end of your session.

I wish I could but since I am at work there is just not room for that.

[Alex]

"Hello tech support?....I just seasoned my keyboard"

[FrazzyDee]

Do you guys use hot water or tea to wash your yixing teapots? I've seen both suggested.

Here's a video of a guy cleaning his teapot using tea: http://ancientteahorseroad.blogspot.com ... -pots.html

I wonder whether this would allow the pot to get seasoned faster/more effectively?

[Proinsias]

That pretty much sums it up, you're just speeding up the seasoning process as far as I'm aware. I have done it in the past but don't bother these days. If everything smells and tastes ok with a few hot water rinses, it should be fine.

[Cyphre]

Do they even need to be washed? If you are not drinking from the pot itself and all you are doing is using it to brew the tea then shouldn't it be fine to just empty the leaves from the pot and let it air dry?

[Proinsias]

The above was for newly aquired pots.

For pots in use I tend to empty out the leaves and then rinse with boiling water. I pour quite a bit of hot water over the top of the pot to get the heat up and then leave it with the lid off for a bit, seems to help with the evaporation

[FrazzyDee]

I was talking about non-new pots. I always boil in tea the first time, but I'm not sure if, after each brew, it's better to wash with boiling water or tea.

Do they even need to be washed? If you are not drinking from the pot itself and all you are doing is using it to brew the tea then shouldn't it be fine to just empty the leaves from the pot and let it air dry?

IMO it should be fine, but it's really hard to get every last leaf out without washing it with some kind of liquid.