Which Yixing Type best for Pu'er?

[VanFersen]

Hi there,

I read a lot of stuff about Yixing clays and which are the best for what type of tea. But what is your opinion? What types of Yixing are the best to use for Pu'er? And should I use one for Shu and one for Sheng? Or just one for both in one?

[Chris418]

IMO
1 for shu pu
1 for young puer (0-7yrs)
1 for (7-15yrs)
1 for (15+yrs)

Maybe its overated for some people but i use it like that!

The clay really depend with the tea, i dont think there one type of clay that beat all the other for puer..
of course it depend of your taste too.

[bonescwa]

I've read everything on the internet I could find about this, so my opinion just reflects my reading and I have virtually no experience with pots. But some people say the type of clay really doesn't make much of a direct difference. That being said, some clays are able to tolerate higher firing. The shape and the firing level are what are going to play an important role in the tea itself. The color and texture of the clay should give clues to the quality (rule out slipcast made with liquid clay poured into molds, etc), but it seems there is some doubt as to a specific effect the clay itself has on the tea.

Here's a good article: http://www.kyarazen.com/articles/tea-ta ... ing-wares/

And he just wrote another one about yixing pots in general, not specifically the clay types though.

[Emmett]

IMO
1 for shu pu
1 for young puer (0-7yrs)
1 for (7-15yrs)
1 for (15+yrs)

I agree and have a similar setup except for the 15+yrs as I dont have much. But use 2 pots of different size for the 7+yrs shengs.
I like to use a very high porous clay for shu. and high to medium porous for the shengs. usually pin zi ni or quing shui ni. Dark brown / purple color clays I like best. The more simple and traditional the shape the better.

[gasninja]

IMO
1 for shu pu
1 for young puer (0-7yrs)
1 for (7-15yrs)
1 for (15+yrs)

Maybe its overated for some people but i use it like that!

The clay really depend with the tea, i dont think there one type of clay that beat all the other for puer..
of course it depend of your taste too.

I use the same classification system for my pots with the addition of a traditional storage 15+ pot. I also have a low fired factory one zini pot I use to take a little of the edge off face melting Bulangs

My favorite clay for Puerh is Master Zhou's #2 zini from Essence of tea. It is definitely an investment. But that pot makes every tea shine.

[bankung]

In my opinion, the size of clay particle along with the pot shape are the most crucial aspects, if we are talking about pure yixing clay.

It is not mentioned by most of the vendors but various sieve sizes for yixing clay are available, ranging from 30-60 or so. With size 30, the finished pot would be very porous that the tea could leak out from the pot quite fast if it is half covered by water.

It is hard to find pots with same sieve, same size, and same potter to compare with. So I don't really know if the different yixing clay colour would make the tea taste significantly different or not.

[BW85]

IMO
1 for shu pu
1 for young puer (0-7yrs)
1 for (7-15yrs)
1 for (15+yrs)

Maybe its overated for some people but i use it like that!
.

I have a similar arrangement of pots. Sometimes, though, I'll make mature sheng in my Shu pot to switch things up a bit (but not Shu in my sheng pot). Does anyone else ever have mature sheng and shu share a pot?

[mcrdotcom]

IMO
1 for shu pu
1 for young puer (0-7yrs)
1 for (7-15yrs)
1 for (15+yrs)

Maybe its overated for some people but i use it like that!
.

I have a similar arrangement of pots. Sometimes, though, I'll make mature sheng in my Shu pot to switch things up a bit (but not Shu in my sheng pot). Does anyone else ever have mature sheng and shu share a pot?

I have a few new pots that I'm currently figuring out, my plan is to have a shu and traditional storage pot, I don't really see much need to separate the two! As for sheng, I have no ultra mature sheng, and I wouldn't mix lower aged sheng in that pot!

[AllanK]

Another good question is what size Yixing is best for Puerh? I tend to use a 350ml for Shu and a smaller one for Sheng.

[BW85]

I like 150 - 210ml for Shu, 100 - 150ml for sheng

[chrl42]

Another good question is what size Yixing is best for Puerh? I tend to use a 350ml for Shu and a smaller one for Sheng.

It's just about how you'd like to brew in. Oolong had some prefered size for brewing back then. And English-style Black prefered bigger sizes, but Puerh has various sizes and preference I've witnessed unless you brew vintage Pu (usually they use very small pots).

[bagua7]

For me:

Shou puerh: jiangpo ni, aged duan ni and quality di cao qing. They enhance hidden notes that other clays miss completely.

Sheng: zhu ni, hong ni. Period. I don't want clays that erase/tone down anything. I love aggressive sheng, the more the merrier (I want to drink it with cinnabar from Huashan mountain).

[kyarazen]

Another good question is what size Yixing is best for Puerh? I tend to use a 350ml for Shu and a smaller one for Sheng.

shu is a much "stronger" tea, goes with a bigger pot. the bigger pot has the advantage of volume and stays hotter than smaller pots, so will be able to push the shu pu-er juices into the brew, giving it a fuller taste.

clay type is not so critical with shu, if you use a pot for shu long enough, the insides of the pot is so easily and heavily stained that it does block up a good proportion of porosity, and subsequently eliminating the clay type advantage

[Tead Off]

For me:
Sheng: zhu ni, hong ni. Period. I don't want clays that erase/tone down anything.

Some of my best zini outperform the red, higher fired clay. Same pots also brew yancha and roasted TGY superbly.

[chrl42]

For me:
Sheng: zhu ni, hong ni. Period. I don't want clays that erase/tone down anything.

Some of my best zini outperform the red, higher fired clay. Same pots also brew yancha and roasted TGY superbly.

+1

My favorite would be CR Qing Shui Ni..those 7~80s Factory-1 SPs are real killer for Sheng.