Help with a Duan Ni yixing pot?

[asewonder]

Hey Everyone,

I'm hoping the collective of knowledge and experience on TC can help me out here. I'm new to the forum but have been reading it for a few months, contemplating when to ask some specific questions.

I bought this Yixing pot in September 2011 from Ching Ching Cha in Washington DC.






I really like the pot itself but tried using it for Taiwan oolongs/gaoshan and even green TKY, but learned from experience and advice that this probably wasn't the best combination. I felt the pot was simply absorbing way too much of the notes I like most with these teas.

I was advised to try Sheng Pu-Erh with it, so I did and have the following questions:

1.) I brewed the afore mentioned oolongs in the pot after seasoning it with one of them maybe for a total of 10 - 12 times over several months. When I decided to move to sheng instead, I didn't feel the need to "reseason" beyond pouring some boiling water in and a strong brew of young Sheng. Am I ok switching like this?

2.) I've now brewed a few different young (5 - 8 years) sheng in the pot. The results are interesting. The first one is a 2007 cake I got randomly that was way too strong/astringent for my tastes but when brewed in the yixing, it helped take some of the "bite" out and made it much more enjoyable. Then I tried some of the Sheng from Verdant Tea and I found that the taste in the yixing was a bit flat, especially the first few brews. My question here: Is this just part of the process and eventually the yixing will absorb less of the flavor? Or is this simply the effect of the duan ni pot with young sheng?

3.) I guess my last question is that I like this pot and would like to use it with something rather than just have it sit on a shelf. I'm developing a taste for Young Sheng so that works, but my whole reason for even exploring them more was the pot. Any ideas about the pot in general and pairing?

Thanks in advance to any responders!

[tingjunkie]

Welcome to the forum!

Unless duan ni is thin and very high fired, it can really absorb a ton of flavor. For this reason, it's really not one of my favorite clays. I have two duan ni pots. One gets used for an aged liu an "discovered" in a Chinatown supermarket. The pot helps eat up enough of the funky storage notes and allows more of the tea's true flavor to come to the forefront. It's not exactly a tea I drink for the dynamic range of flavors though, and that's why the duan ni pot works well.

My other duan ni pot was a gift, and truth be told, I pretty much never use it. It does well with taming bitter young sheng, but then I decided life is too short to drink bitter young sheng. If I use it at all now, I use it for cooked puerh.

Long story short, I think most modern duan ni is good for teas that have a flaw to be covered up (like odd storage or too bitter) or teas that you drink for their simple comforting energy, rather than their complex flavors.

Of course, any real Yixing pot will season and eat less of the flavor if you are patient enough to keep using it regularly. It's just up to you if the pot is special enough to invest all that time and tea in?

[asewonder]

Thanks, tingjunkie!

I was afraid that the answer may be "tough luck" with the duan ni!

Ideally I'd have pots for the major types of tea I enjoy, but that Gaiwan sure seems a lot easier right now...

[tingjunkie]

All is not lost. It might be a great pot for cooked puerh.

[BioHorn]

A bit off topic, but

One gets used for an aged liu an "discovered" in a Chinatown supermarket. The pot helps eat up enough of the funky storage notes and allows more of the tea's true flavor to come to the forefront."

"funky storage notes" LOL
Now there is an understatement! What an extreme, difficult to drink tea.

[MarshalN]

One gets used for an aged liu an "discovered" in a Chinatown supermarket. The pot helps eat up enough of the funky storage notes and allows more of the tea's true flavor to come to the forefront. It's not exactly a tea I drink for the dynamic range of flavors though, and that's why the duan ni pot works well.

If we're talking about the same tea, I think you need to air out the tea more - try dismantling the entire basket and stick it in a jar. Also, aged liu'an does have that funny taste.

[bagua7]

Have your tried brewing any high-fired oolongs on it? Not only TGY but even gaoshan oolongs. That clay will hep round the "roastiness" and mellow the strong aroma of the tea somewhat. I haven't tried it myself, just thinking a bit here.

I got four duan ni pots and I use them for raw and ripe puerhs, all are high-fired pots but one has got thick walls so I have been using this one exclusively for ripe pu and I'm quite satisfied with this baby. I am not sure if I could use a duan ni pot (as tingjunkie already mentioned) that isn't high-fired since it will really mute some of the notes and soften up the tea greatly. But generally speaking duan ni clay is already high-fired, so this shouldn't be an issue.

[asewonder]

Hey Bagua,

I have not tried that yet. I think I'm ok with what its doing to the young sheng, but probably need to experiment more and perhaps adjust brewing habits.

Is there a way to tell if its high fired?

Also, I'm wondering how much I can "experiment" with different teas before needing to settle on type to dedicate the pot to?

[BioHorn]

One gets used for an aged liu an "discovered" in a Chinatown supermarket. The pot helps eat up enough of the funky storage notes and allows more of the tea's true flavor to come to the forefront. It's not exactly a tea I drink for the dynamic range of flavors though, and that's why the duan ni pot works well.

If we're talking about the same tea, I think you need to air out the tea more - try dismantling the entire basket and stick it in a jar. Also, aged liu'an does have that funny taste.

Thanks for the tip, M!

[tingjunkie]

One gets used for an aged liu an "discovered" in a Chinatown supermarket. The pot helps eat up enough of the funky storage notes and allows more of the tea's true flavor to come to the forefront. It's not exactly a tea I drink for the dynamic range of flavors though, and that's why the duan ni pot works well.

If we're talking about the same tea, I think you need to air out the tea more - try dismantling the entire basket and stick it in a jar. Also, aged liu'an does have that funny taste.

Yes, airing out in another jar for 2-3 weeks+ is absolutely necessary for this tea. I bought 8 baskets, and 2 of the 8 were ruined from moisture exposure at some point in their storage, so if your taste buds and gut are telling you it's hard to drink, then trust your own instincts BioHorn! I'm looking forward to seeing how the other 6 baskets continue to develop over the next couple decades.

[bagua7]

Is there a way to tell if its high fired?

Just tap on it gently with the lid, if it has a clear metallic ping then you know it is. Kind of like this but not so pronounced, obviously as that pot is a zhu ni one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_OoIxP5zYE

[asewonder]

Thanks again, Bagua. Definitely doesn't seem/sound high fired especially compared to another modern zhuni pot I have.

[tingjunkie]

Is there a way to tell if its high fired?

Just tap on it gently with the lid, if it has a clear metallic ping then you know it is. Kind of like this but not so pronounced, obviously as that pot is a zhu ni one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_OoIxP5zYE

Apples and oranges. Comparing the sound of duan ni to zhuni is pointless. The only way to tell is to handle and "listen to" a good number of pots.

[TIM]

Can you take a picture from the top down, and with the lid on?

[asewonder]

Hows this , Tim?