What Are You Brewing in Your Seong-Il Pot?

[JRS22]

I finally ordered a Seong-Il teapot. It's a 100 ml shino porcelain - and it won't get lonely being the only piece of korean teaware because I also ordered a serving vessel. So now I'm curious to know how other people are using theirs.

I drink greens, Puerh (sheng and shu), and I've just discovered rock oblongs. I've been thinking about using it for the oolongs, since I have 2 small yixings I've been using for sheng.

[debunix]

Right now, I have some Shade-grown Tie Guan Yin from Norbu in my smaller Seong-il pot, that is used for green oolongs, and the larger one is used for darker roast oolongs--traditional TGY, yancha, etc. I'm not so sure about the fit between the larger pot and the yancha, but haven't put them together enough times to be sure yet.

[AdamMY]

In My Seong Il Teapot I brew Balhyocha a Korean Yellow tea, which doesn't fit quite nicely in any Chinese tea category. But I am considering getting another Seong Il teapot (It would have to be one of his Shino teapots with the lovely green patches on it), which I am really not sure what I would brew in it, maybe a second pot for Korean Greens, or Taiwanese Gaoshan oolongs.

[Chip]

Which pot?

Though I have not dedicated any particular one to a particular type of tea, I have been impressed and pleased with their adaptability to various teas with very pleasing results.

Greener oolongs, Chinese greens have dominated, but also a few Yancha. Each time the results have been outstanding and the session enhanced by the charm of Seong-ils art in fluid motion.

Today, christened a new onggi clay pot and coordinating pitcher and new cups with Long Jing from a friend's visit to China. I would say the results were stellar, perhaps the best session with this tea to date. The clay seemed to enrich its aroma which was exquisite ... sweet, floral, vegetal and all heightened. Flavors were equally impressive.

Aesthetically, the session was a 10 out of 10. Took some photos, will try to post tomorrow.

[Tead Off]

This is a thread in which I obviously have an interest in. I have often wondered what the people I have sold to are brewing in their Seong il teapots. I would encourage people to try different teas in them to decide what are suitable partners. Koreans tend to drink their own green teas, Balhyocha, and, assorted herbal teas, like wild persimmon leaves, mulberry, dandelion, etc., in these pots. But, there are a growing number of Chinese tea drinkers like Puerh, Wuyi teas especially Da Hong Pao, and, Taiwan oolongs. All of these teas can be drunk successfully, IMO. Some will shine better than others.

In my own case, beside Korean teas, I love Darjeelings in the Seong il porcelain teapots, Balhyocha and ripe Puerh in the onggi teapots. Please keep in mind that most of Seong il's teapots are unglazed on the inside. In the long term, I would suggest settling for 1 tea type per pot. So using the same pot for Korean green tea and Chinese Shui Xian may not be a good idea over time.

[JRS22]

It's encouraging to learn that TCers are having success with brewing such a wide range of teas in their Seong-Il pots. I suspect that in my case the size will determine the use.

I have an unopened package of sejak in my tea cabinet so it probably would be appropriate to use that for my first session with my new pot. After that I expect to devote the pot to wuyi rock yan Cha. My last order from EOT included a free sample of one of the handmade wuyis, and we were blown away by its 'wonderfulness.' Now an order of 12 samples is on the way. A 100 ml pot such as the one I purchased is just the right size for a session with a tea that can last for 10 to 12 steeps. And since I often share that type of tea with my resident coffee drinker I was able to justify a serving vessel.

The onggi teapots are gorgeous but too large for me. Maybe someday smaller onggi pots will be offered?

[Chip]

I have thought this would be well suited for Korean greens ... unfortunately I do not have any ...

I also have not brewed any pu-erh in one. Nor Japanese greens.

[JRS22]

I have thought this would be well suited for Korean greens ... unfortunately I do not have any ....

This could be easily remedied if only the moderator would offer a Korean greens OTTI......

[Chip]

I have thought this would be well suited for Korean greens ... unfortunately I do not have any ....

This could be easily remedied if only the moderator would offer a Korean greens OTTI......

YES!!!

... not to mention the gyokuro one I promised. I have 2 OTTIs that both are in a holding pattern, well 3 including the gyokuro, for various yet uncontrollable circumstances.

But the mod should stop making excuses and "make it so!"

[iannon]

i decided to use my little Seong Il Shino (with the lovely green patches ) for Yancha's thus far. I have enjoyed the results.

[hopeofdawn]

Resurrecting this thread to ask a question ... Just received two lovely new Seong-Il teapots (thanks Tead!), bringing my collection to three so far. All of them have unglazed interiors--two are porcelain, and one is stoneware. I've been brewing Japanese and Chinese greens in my first porcelain pot, and it's definitely aquiring a very 'green' (seaweedy?) scent on the interior. Having read Chip's cautionary tales about cross-brewing different teas in unglazed Japanese pots, I'm wondering if the same thing should apply here.

Should I be dedicating each of these pots to a different category of tea? (i.e. oolong, black, green--I can't afford to break it down further than that, or my poor pots will spend more time sitting on the shelf than being used!) And if so, does anyone have any suggestions? Or do I not need to worry as much about Korean pots picking up flavors/odors from the tea brewed in them?

[Chip]

Very interesting. I have purchased several Seong-Il pots but have only been thinking about directions for each one and use has been minimal to this point.

This is a tough call since this is a newer "type" of teapot for most of us ... so you are part guinea pig.

What I can say is, if you can smell it, then it will ultimately be a factor in taste ... even if it is not so much of a factor now.

Brewing all your greens in one should be OK ... time will tell. But for the most part I don't even cross brew greens based on national origin. (however if you ever get around to purchasing a Japanese kyusu, you might never use anything else for your Japanese greens)

Oolongs on the other hand vary tremendously and brewing all types of oolong in one may be problematic down the road.

As for my Japanese kyusu, a few years of previous cross brewing simply led to a similar odd taste in every tea I brewed in it. I was able to pretty much "reset it" even though I was clueless at the time. But this may also defeat the purpose of the unglazed pot.

[hopeofdawn]

Thanks for the info, Chip. As it turns out, I was mistaken--my smallest Seong-il pot does have an interior shino glaze, so I should be okay for cross-brewing in that one, I hope.

The stoneware one I'm trying out with a variety of teas, trying to decide if it works better/worse for any of them--it may get reserved for more heavily roasted oolongs and/or blacks, though, if it does start picking up aromas. While the little unglazed porcelain one may simply just be destined for greens in general, and Japanese greens in specific ... in all honesty, I'm not sure my palate is refined enough to pick up any alterations in taste to my Chinese greens from that pot anyway.

[Tead Off]

Both of the potters that I sell create high-fired teaware. The glazed porcelain teapots can be used for all teas. The unglazed ones are still high-fired enough that porosity is not really much of an issue. In my own use, I have noticed no cross over of aromas in any of the Seong-il teapots I use. But, with Japanese greens, I use Banko teapots, and, even with these, I have noticed no particular build-up which color my use of Chinese greens brewed in them.

The only teas I reserve for Yixing are Taiwan oolongs and certain Wuyi teas. I also drink red teas in Yixing and Puerh. But I have brewed all these teas in Seong il's pots and see no problem with using them for almost anything. But, maybe you should consider a different Seong il teapot dedicated for every tea that you drink.

[debunix]

I bought my Seong-Il pots specifically with oolongs in mind, as I already had some nice unglazed teawares dedicated to other things (greens, dan congs, puerhs). In theory I dedicate the larger to dark roast and the smaller to the greener teas, but I go back and forth often enough and it hasn't been a problem yet.