English/Irish tea in a Yixing?
Hi folks! I love English/Irish tea and especially the malty Assams. Would brewing in a yixing pot help enhance flavor and aroma of these kinds of tea? I know it's not "traditional" but I'm wondering if brewing this kind of tea in a larger than normal yixing pot would be worth the cost of buying one. Any help would be appreciated. thanks!
Re: English/Irish tea in a Yixing?
I don't see why not, however you are looking at several big issues...
Your biggest problem is that you can't really choose a Yixing pot for a certain tea. The teapot chooses the tea it will be best suited with. In other words, you'd be pretty bummed to buy a Yixing pot for your favorite Irish Breakfast tea only to find out that it mutes or erases some of the higher notes, or worse, radiates too much heat and makes the tea a bit sour.
There are some pots which have excellent clay and are on the higher fired side that will be good for almost any black tea, but are you willing to pay $150+ for such a pot?
Lastly, Yixing pots generally max out at 300ml (10oz) this is pretty small for traditional western brewing of Assam teas. Are you willing to switch to a gongfu (multiple shorter steepings) style of brewing?
Just because Yixing pots are traditionally used for Chinese and Taiwanese teas doesn't mean they can't be used successfully for Indian/Chinese/African tea blends, but sadly, it's not as simple as shelling out $50 and hoping for the best. Yixing pots take a whole lot of learning, experimentation, and paying of dues before you can learn to pair them with the right teas and enjoy their benefits.
Before answering your original question, you should begin by asking 1) Why does a Yixing pot appeal to me? Is it the idea of putting care into it and watching it season and change over time? Do I think it will somehow improve certain qualities in the tea itself? 2) What difference would I hope to see in my tea by using a Yixing pot? Smoothing out rough edges and hiding flaws? Making the flavor deeper or sweeter? 3) How much am I willing to spend? 4) How large do I want my teapot to be?
I hope I haven't discouraged you too much, but Yixing is a very complicated world once you scratch the surface. If you can figure out the answers to some of these questions and report back, we can probably be of more help to you, or point you in the direction of some vendors which might have a suitable pot. Cheers, and welcome to the forum!
Your biggest problem is that you can't really choose a Yixing pot for a certain tea. The teapot chooses the tea it will be best suited with. In other words, you'd be pretty bummed to buy a Yixing pot for your favorite Irish Breakfast tea only to find out that it mutes or erases some of the higher notes, or worse, radiates too much heat and makes the tea a bit sour.
There are some pots which have excellent clay and are on the higher fired side that will be good for almost any black tea, but are you willing to pay $150+ for such a pot?
Lastly, Yixing pots generally max out at 300ml (10oz) this is pretty small for traditional western brewing of Assam teas. Are you willing to switch to a gongfu (multiple shorter steepings) style of brewing?
Just because Yixing pots are traditionally used for Chinese and Taiwanese teas doesn't mean they can't be used successfully for Indian/Chinese/African tea blends, but sadly, it's not as simple as shelling out $50 and hoping for the best. Yixing pots take a whole lot of learning, experimentation, and paying of dues before you can learn to pair them with the right teas and enjoy their benefits.
Before answering your original question, you should begin by asking 1) Why does a Yixing pot appeal to me? Is it the idea of putting care into it and watching it season and change over time? Do I think it will somehow improve certain qualities in the tea itself? 2) What difference would I hope to see in my tea by using a Yixing pot? Smoothing out rough edges and hiding flaws? Making the flavor deeper or sweeter? 3) How much am I willing to spend? 4) How large do I want my teapot to be?
I hope I haven't discouraged you too much, but Yixing is a very complicated world once you scratch the surface. If you can figure out the answers to some of these questions and report back, we can probably be of more help to you, or point you in the direction of some vendors which might have a suitable pot. Cheers, and welcome to the forum!
Sep 7th, '11, 00:01
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Joined: Jan 10th, '10, 16:04
Location: Los Angeles, CA
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debunix
Re: English/Irish tea in a Yixing?
(6) Have I simply caught Yixing fever by virtue of spending too much time on TeaChat forums?tingjunkie wrote:1) Why does a Yixing pot appeal to me?
------------------------------------>Re: English/Irish tea in a Yixing?
Thanks so much, tinjunkie and debunix for responding and fwor the welcome! I've been lurking here for a while, trying to learn more about the fascinating world of tea. I live in Cuba...which produces some of the world's best coffee...and I love coffee, too. But there's not much tea culture here. I'll be going to the States in Oct. and hope to replenish my stash of tea there. I have drunk black tea for years...mainly the Lipton teabag variety. But last year I bought a Chatsford 6 cup and earlier this year another Chatsford 4 cup bone china pot, which I love.
I don't have a teapot for brewing just one cup...and at least for now, I'm not interested in gong fu brewing techniques. (In fact I've read about it, but never seen how it's done.) But I am very interested in the heat retaining properties of Yixing clay and I do like the idea of "cultivating" a teapot over the years. My coffee pot is over 20 years old and I take care of it "like a fine rooster" as we say here in Cuba. So, caring for a teapot and cultivating its properties and character appeals to me.
I am willing to spend around $100 on a pot and I am fascinated by a Duani pot on Verdant Tea's website. It is called grey speckled and has an 8 oz. capacity. It sells for around $140. I have not read any reviews here on TeaChat, but they have been very prompt and thorough in answering my questions. I think I'd like something a little larger, like 10 oz., which is big for a Yixing pot. But since I'll be brewing black tea...mainly English, Irish style Assams, I'd like to be able to brew a cup at a time.
Anyway, this is my situation. I don't know if I can post the link to the pot, but I'll try to break it up... verdanttea. com/shop/tea-wares If y'all are able to look at the pot I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions.
Thanks again for your help and interest!
Gilberto
I don't have a teapot for brewing just one cup...and at least for now, I'm not interested in gong fu brewing techniques. (In fact I've read about it, but never seen how it's done.) But I am very interested in the heat retaining properties of Yixing clay and I do like the idea of "cultivating" a teapot over the years. My coffee pot is over 20 years old and I take care of it "like a fine rooster" as we say here in Cuba. So, caring for a teapot and cultivating its properties and character appeals to me.
I am willing to spend around $100 on a pot and I am fascinated by a Duani pot on Verdant Tea's website. It is called grey speckled and has an 8 oz. capacity. It sells for around $140. I have not read any reviews here on TeaChat, but they have been very prompt and thorough in answering my questions. I think I'd like something a little larger, like 10 oz., which is big for a Yixing pot. But since I'll be brewing black tea...mainly English, Irish style Assams, I'd like to be able to brew a cup at a time.
Anyway, this is my situation. I don't know if I can post the link to the pot, but I'll try to break it up... verdanttea. com/shop/tea-wares If y'all are able to look at the pot I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions.
Thanks again for your help and interest!
Gilberto
Re: English/Irish tea in a Yixing?
Duan ni can be a funny clay. The high end stuff usually keeps pace with other clays, but less expensive duan ni can really mute aromas and flavors in my experience. It has to do with clay quality, particle size (porosity), and firing temperature of the pot. Another consideration with duan ni is that I've often heard it takes longer to season when compared to other clays like zi ni or hong ni. You would hope that spending $120+ would guarantee something decent, but that's not always the case.
I have no personal experience with Verdant Tea, but one reputable vendor which comes to my mind right away, who carries larger pots, is China Flair Tea. I own a small hong ni pot from them which I truly love. For you, they have an 11oz duan ni pot called "Large Pumpkin" which looks pretty darn awesome if you are into that shape. They have quite a few other large pots too. Their "Announcing Spring" pot clocks in at a very huge 17oz! As you will see, the prices are more than you had hoped, but it might be worth your time. If I can think of any other reputable vendors of large Yixing pots, I'll post again.
I have no personal experience with Verdant Tea, but one reputable vendor which comes to my mind right away, who carries larger pots, is China Flair Tea. I own a small hong ni pot from them which I truly love. For you, they have an 11oz duan ni pot called "Large Pumpkin" which looks pretty darn awesome if you are into that shape. They have quite a few other large pots too. Their "Announcing Spring" pot clocks in at a very huge 17oz! As you will see, the prices are more than you had hoped, but it might be worth your time. If I can think of any other reputable vendors of large Yixing pots, I'll post again.
Re: English/Irish tea in a Yixing?
Out of curiosity, will you be in the New York area in October? If so, I know the Tea Gallery unearthed a few large Yixing pots from their storage a few months ago. They are currently not available to conduct teapot business via email, but if you are going to be in the area, it might be a possibility.
Re: English/Irish tea in a Yixing?
Thanks very much tingjunkie and debunix for your responses!
I'm sorry I won't be in the NYC area...I'll be between Mississippi (where I'm from) and Tennessee where I have family. Your responses and interest have been very helpful...especially the questions you invited me to answer. I do believe I've caught Yixing fever...but I want to go slowly because I know it's a learning process.
Thanks again and I'll post back once I've tried my English tea in a Yixing.
I'm sorry I won't be in the NYC area...I'll be between Mississippi (where I'm from) and Tennessee where I have family. Your responses and interest have been very helpful...especially the questions you invited me to answer. I do believe I've caught Yixing fever...but I want to go slowly because I know it's a learning process.
Thanks again and I'll post back once I've tried my English tea in a Yixing.
Sep 10th, '11, 11:19
Posts: 5896
Joined: Jan 10th, '10, 16:04
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact:
debunix
Re: English/Irish tea in a Yixing?
that pumpkin is pretty amazing. And they recommend red teas--aka black teas--for brewing in the similarly sized (and also quite beautiful) 'Rosette' farther down the same page.tingjunkie wrote:For you, they have an 11oz duan ni pot called "Large Pumpkin" which looks pretty darn awesome if you are into that shape.