Tea time with new teaware

[Tea4Todd]

So, as promised, I finally have some pics of some of my teaware.

Nice little setup I have so far, still working on technique and everything, I tend to overflow the little Chao Zhou with water a lot. The tea is from iShopo and it's Lishan Cui Feng Oolong, really nice brew, very mild, has a tart almost citrusy taste to it, really sour aroma too reminiscent of a lemon rind or almost like kimchee sour in smell. I enjoyed it, very nice color too.



Pictures complements of new teachatter friend Kara. Hope you all enjoy! (Brandon, my pics are no where near as excellent looking as yours, please teach me lol)

[Fredrik]

That set looks really nice. How big is the teapot?
I have never tried the tea you brewed but the way you talk about it, it sounds delicious.

[Tea4Todd]

That set looks really nice. How big is the teapot?
I have never tried the tea you brewed but the way you talk about it, it sounds delicious.

Hey Fredrik, welcome to TeaChat, the little Chao Zhou is about 3.5 ounces, if you fill it all the way to the top it can hold about 4 ounces. The Lishan is excellent, really nice High Mountain Oolong, I like the fruity tartness of the brew too. After the 8th infusion, the tartness goes away and the brew becomes a little bit buttery and creamy.

[Tead Off]

That set looks really nice. How big is the teapot?
I have never tried the tea you brewed but the way you talk about it, it sounds delicious.

Hey Fredrik, welcome to TeaChat, the little Chao Zhou is about 3.5 ounces, if you fill it all the way to the top it can hold about 4 ounces. The Lishan is excellent, really nice High Mountain Oolong, I like the fruity tartness of the brew too. After the 8th infusion, the tartness goes away and the brew becomes a little bit buttery and creamy.

Usually, the shape of the pot will give you the type of tea to use in it. It's not a hard and fast rule, just practical. With a wider pot, it's natural to use longer leafed tea like DC or Yancha. I have a few CZ pots that I like a lot. One I even use for black teas like Darjeeling. One I use for DC, and the other I use for rolled oolongs and some TGY.

[Alex]

Glad you finally got your little set up Todd. Is the tea boat improvised?

[Oni]

I think we own a similar teapots, did you buy yours from IMEN?


I am really satisfied with this teapot, I think this will become a good friend of yours, it brews very good DC and light oolongs, or sheng puerh, it has a thin wall and good iron content, it has a nice ring to it, I must be honest and tell you that these CZ post outperforme most of the yixing in the same price category found troughout the tea vendors. Use it with care.
P.S. When you pour into the faircup, pour from low, it is a general practice, otherwise you might loose aroma and flavour, the best thing is to pour directly to the cups from low height, this is the recomendation by Imen at teahabitat.

[tortoise]

Those are nice!

[Tea4Todd]

Usually, the shape of the pot will give you the type of tea to use in it. It's not a hard and fast rule, just practical. With a wider pot, it's natural to use longer leafed tea like DC or Yancha. I have a few CZ pots that I like a lot. One I even use for black teas like Darjeeling. One I use for DC, and the other I use for rolled oolongs and some TGY.

Yeah, the little chao zhou is a little bit shorter and squatter but I found it a little difficult to get the Dan Cong in there as some of the leaves were rather long. It seems to work well with rolled oolongs and also the Beipu Oriental Beauty. I'm still in the experimental process and when I receive a wider variety of teas I'll start setting which wares I use for what teas. I've been using my gaiwan too and I burn myself almost every time...lol takes some getting used to. I'll be posting pics of my gaiwan setup soon.

Glad you finally got your little set up Todd. Is the tea boat improvised?

Not improvised, it was donated to me as well, but fits perfectly with the little CZ and to be honest, I really like it. I was using the waste water bowl as well and it really is a good thing to have especially since I don't have a nice gong fu tea tray yet. I like the teaboat because I tend to overflow the pot sometimes and also my kettle doesn't have a small spout so water tends to get everywhere. The teaboat helps to catch some of that and also keep the pot warm in between infusions.


@ Oni

Yes ours seem very similar indeed! Yours is slightly taller and rounder than mine. I'm really liking it with Oolongs, the person who donated it to me had been trying it with Puer and it just wasn't working out, I was able to remove almost all traces of the seasoning as well so it was like starting with a fresh pot. Oh ok, so when pouring into the cups I should pour from a lower height? I was pouring from higher heights to allow the water to cool and I thought that perhaps that aeration would help open up the aromas. My technique is probably all horrible on all ends lol. I definitely need practice.

[Alex]

Not improvised, it was donated to me as well, but fits perfectly with the little CZ and to be honest, I really like it.

Yes its very nice. Simple and clean, bet it looks good with the pot sat in it. If you've got a waste water bowl and tea boat you may want to look at just getting a nice piece of wood. I use to use trays but much prefer the simple clean nature of a piece of wood and water bowl. I tend to use really sloppy technique on tea trays.