Teapot size

[nataly]

Hi all,

I am a beginner in the world of loose tea. It all started with me buying a 30 oz cast iron teapot at Teavana. Now that I’ve been using it for about a month and have experimented with different types of tea and read some info on this forum, I think I need a smaller teapot (or two). The big cast iron still works well for 2 big mugs of herbal or black tea, but for greens and whites I would like to use smaller cups and re-steep.

After doing my research, I think I’d like an inexpensive glazed kyusu. I probably need two sizes: one for just myself and one for when my husband joins me. I think two steeps at a time of 6 – 6.5 oz per cup would suite me well. Now, my question is what teapot capacity should I be looking for? I saw one of the sites say that the capacity of the teapot is how much water it holds when you fill it to the rim and that normally you fill flat ones 50 – 60% and round ones 70 – 80%. If that is true, it means I need to look for a larger size than I initially thought.

My calculation leaves me with a flat kyusu for one about 10 – 13oz size. Den’s glazed one that everyone seems to like is 9oz, so it seems to be a little on a smaller side, but could do?
I know I can re-steep more than twice, but I don’t know that I want to bother with that on a regular basis within the same tea drinking session… Maybe sometimes.

Then, thinking about my two person teapot I get a 15 – 18oz round or 20 – 26oz flat. That sounds big… Initially I liked an 11.8oz Tsuki teapot from rishi-tea, but now I wonder if it is too small for the two of us… It almost sounds like I need to just use my tetsubin and just half fill it to allow for a re-steep when there are two of us. But then the water probably will not cover the tea in the basket… And is it a good idea in general to half-fill a teapot? Does it depend on what it is made of? This teapot capacity is confusing me. In addition to filling a teapot not completely there is also a matter of some water getting absorbed into the leaves, so I get less tea out than I put water in. Am I needlessly driving myself nuts with all this?

I don’t want to end up with 20 teapots that I don’t use. Please help…
As an additional info we drink a lot of whites and greens, some flavored, herbal and occasionally black – all over the place. Also for some reason I don’t like glass teapots…

Thanks,
Nataly

[entropyembrace]

the 9oz and 12oz pots sound good, you´ll most likely be wanting smaller pots again as you progress in your tea journey so if you´re not sure about what size you want it´s probably a good idea to err on the smaller side.

[debunix]

Am I needlessly driving myself nuts with all this?

Yes. Resteeping is not a problem if you can find a way to keep the teakettle close to the teapot and the teadrinking. I use electric kettles that I keep right next to my tea tray, but there are a lot of other possible solutions, from thermoses to a hotpad for your teakettle to take it from stove to table, to a fancy ceramic stand fueled by charcoal etc.

And you have correctly noted that half-filling a pot with an infuser insert doesn't work as well in most cases because the insert won't let the leaves expand enough or come into contact iwth enough of the water for efficient brewing. But most of the Den's have a filter lining rather than an insert so it's ok to fill them however full you want.

For brewing for just me, my my favorite vessels are a 5 oz unglazed kyusu used only for sencha or other green teas, and 2-3 oz gaiwans, shiboridashi, and pots for most other teas (and at this point I have more of them than I really need because I like the teawares). I save the under 2 oz pots & gaiwans for very special teas, and only bring out the bigger pots for occasional herbal tea or filling the big thermos for tea to go.

[Chip]

... it generally seems that as we drink tea over time, our pots shrink. In a manner of speaking ... we discover how smaller steeps and serving sizes are often the way to go for better teas.

For black teas this is not so much the case as most of us still drink black teas "Western style."

Having a variety of pots available in various sizes and styles helps keep the tea experience fresh and imminently enjoyable.

Welcome to the forum, please introduce yourself under Introductions.

[iannon]

the 9oz and 12oz pots sound good, you´ll most likely be wanting smaller pots again as you progress in your tea journey so if you´re not sure about what size you want it´s probably a good idea to err on the smaller side.

+1 good place to start with pot sizes. and yes you will definately end up going smaller in the long run if/when you really delve into the finer teas. At that point I think you will definately rethink your only "steeping twice" thing. With nicer teas its critical to resteep or you are really losing out on the full experience and money! The DHP I had last night i went probably 10 steeps with and probably could have kept going. actually its sitting in wait for some longer steeps to extract more out of it

[nataly]

Thanks everyone! Den's kyusu is out of stock... I haven't found a good alternative yet. Any suggestions? Or should I just get this for now and use it for one-person brewing too?
http://www.rishi-tea.com/store/tsuki-teapot.html
This is what I originally planned to get for when there are two of us...
There is also this one:
http://zencha.net/c04601.php
But it is much more expensive and has a basket infuser... It has a Japanese style handle, but I'm not sure this worth the price difference? There is also shipping fee there whereas at rishi I can just order some tea to get the free shipping...
Chip, I will also post an intro at the intro thread.

Nataly

[debunix]

That Rishi pot looks cute, highly practical with the omi-abi filter, useful for smaller or larger volume of tea because you don't have to worry about the tea being lifted above the base of the pot by a basket filter, and not too expensive--a very nice starter pot.

[Chip]

Nataly,

I activated your links, since you are a new member, they are not automatically clickable ... anti spam measure.

Wow, the Rishi pot at that price would make an excellent addition and is very functional as well. Even if and when you upgrade, you will continue to find purpose for this one, IMHO.

[nataly]

Thanks! BTW, I have contacted den's and their sencha kyusu will be available again mid next week. Just in case anyone else is interested, since it is so highly recommended on this chat.

Nataly