Few questions about pairing tea with a new yixing teapot

[Grill]

After what seems like reading every yixing thread on the Internet I have a couple questions that I can't seems to find answers for. Little background first...

Just purchased my first yixing ( http://www.chawangshop.com/index.php/te ... -85cc.html ) Ran hot water through it a bunch of times, soaked it in near boiling water for a couple hours followed by soaking it in some tea for a couple more.

1. So I brewed up a young sheng puerh that I've brewed a bunch of times in my gaiwan and it was very much inferior out of the yixing. The tea was not as flavorful, the mouthfeel was thinner and even the throat feel was subdued. After what I read here and on other sites this wasn't unexpected since new yixings are "thirsty". I was just wondering how long it takes for a pot stop stealing from the tea. This brings me to my second question.

2. How to figure out that a type of tea isn't pairing well with a particular yixing teapot. Do I need to give it a few weeks or months or is it recognizable with in a couple brews?

3. And finally, Is it ok to brew a bunch of different teas in a pot initially to help in figuring out what might pair well with it or will the flavors get muddled up.

Just realized this is my first post here and I should introduced myself.

I've been drinking chinese teas for about 6 months now. Originally I was looking for an alternative to coffee and espresso since they did not agree with me at all anymore. So it was regular ole bagged Lipton (which I was never a big fan of) for awhile. Everything changed when a friend of mine from England brought me a whole bunch of English black teas when she came to visit. To keep it short since this post is already reaching war and peace levels in length is that it opened my mind to what else is out there and I dove in head first.

And finally I'd like to thank the community for all the information that's been posted on here. It's been invaluable in my short but exciting tea journey. Thanks in advance to anyone who's spent time reading this, take care and have a great day

[theredbaron]

1) difficult to say without really knowing the tea. But generally speaking, it depends on the pot, some pots take longer time, some less. But it also depends on the water you use, or even on your daily mood.

2) again, it depends on many factors, not the least on your own level of experience

3) now worries - you can and should try different teas in order to find out what works best with your pot. Any ghosting of taste and flavor will be gone soon. And generally speaking - you do not need to drink one particular tea in a pot, categories of tea is enough. Such as one for Yancha, one for low oxidation, low fire Oolong, one for aged Sheng, etc.

[Grill]

Thank for the response. I generally use my tap water here, filtered to remove chlorine. It's very soft, I have a water report from my beer brewing days I can dig up and post if it's helpful. I ment category when I said type, I should have worded it better. If I had one pot for each specific tea I drink I'd be buried by yixing pots lol. I'll try a couple more young shengs and then switch to some aged ones to see if I like the results better

[theredbaron]

Thank for the response. I generally use my tap water here, filtered to remove chlorine. It's very soft, I have a water report from my beer brewing days I can dig up and post if it's helpful. I ment category when I said type, I should have worded it better. If I had one pot for each specific tea I drink I'd be buried by yixing pots lol. I'll try a couple more young shengs and then switch to some aged ones to see if I like the results better

I can't give you any advice on young Sheng, i just try young Sheng and then wait around ten years or 15 before properly drinking it

But yes, just continue, and see how it goes. Try different teas, different amounts of tea. And for a comparison, try a good bottled water such as Fiji or Volvic and compare it to the water you generally use.

[wyardley]

I wouldn't worry too much about brewing different teas in the pot (as long as they're not flavored /scented teas) while you're trying to figure out what to use it for. People's opinions vary on how much truth there is to the idea of pairing particular teas / types of tea with a pot, but either way, it takes a long time for this to happen.

Try against glazed porcelain as well. For many teas, you may prefer the result.

[tingjunkie]

Welcome! In my experience, if a pot doesn't take to a tea pretty much right away in the first session or two, it's not a good pairing. I don't think continuing to use the pot with that tea will result in a point where the pot suddenly stops being "thirsty" and comes to life.

If you haven't already seen it, this method is highly recommended (parts I & II). In addition to those excellent instructions, I find you can tell a lot from the smell from inside the lid too. If it's a good pairing, the lid will often take on the clear fragrance of the tea, and if it's not, the lid will smell dead or muddled.

I have a pot very similar to yours- Factory 2, very dark zini- and find it pairs well with high fired oolongs- especially ones that are not of the top quality and benefit from a little bit of rounding. It would probably do well with cooked puerh as well.

[tingjunkie]

BTW, did you prep the pot before use by giving it a good scrub and boiling it in clean water for a while? That can make a huge difference too.

[Grill]

Welcome! In my experience, if a pot doesn't take to a tea pretty much right away in the first session or two, it's not a good pairing. I don't think continuing to use the pot with that tea will result in a point where the pot suddenly stops being "thirsty" and comes to life.

If you haven't already seen it, this http://www.chahai.net/yixing-evaluation-part-one/]method is highly recommended (parts I & II). In addition to those excellent instructions, I find you can tell a lot from the smell from inside the lid too. If it's a good pairing, the lid will often take on the clear fragrance of the tea, and if it's not, the lid will smell dead or muddled.

Thanks for the link. Missed that one somehow.

BTW, did you prep the pot before use by giving it a good scrub and boiling it in clean water for a while? That can make a huge difference too.

I did scrub the inside. I didn't boil it. I boiled up some water in a pot then placed the yixing in the boiled water and then insulated the pot to hold the heat. I left it in there for a couple hours and the water temp dropped less than 10° Fahrenheit during the soak. I followed that up with another soak in tea for 2 more hours

Try against glazed porcelain as well. For many teas, you may prefer the result.

First I need a small porcelain teapot but I will definitely try that as well. So many tea wares and so much tea...of course it wouldn't be as enjoyable any other way

[tingjunkie]

I did scrub the inside. I didn't boil it. I boiled up some water in a pot then placed the yixing in the boiled water and then insulated the pot to hold the heat. I left it in there for a couple hours and the water temp dropped less than 10° Fahrenheit during the soak. I followed that up with another soak in tea for 2 more hours

That should work. At least you can trust the results you are getting from further tests and pairings. Good luck, and have fun!

[wyardley]

Try against glazed porcelain as well. For many teas, you may prefer the result.

First I need a small porcelain teapot but I will definitely try that as well. So many tea wares and so much tea...of course it wouldn't be as enjoyable any other way

If you don't have a porcelain gaiwan already, that should be the next piece of teaware you purchase. There are plenty of reasonably priced, reasonably sized options out there. Easy to load and clean, quick pour, usable for many kinds of teas and many kinds of brewing, and pretty standard for sampling / comparing new teas.

[Grill]

No I have 2 gaiwans. 160 and 120 ml to the brim. I use the 120 almost exclusively since the 160 makes too much tea though there are a couple of teas I still use the bigger one for. I read porcelain teapot for some reason, my mistake

[the_economist]

+1 on the yixing pairing advice from Brandon's blog.

+1 on TJ's advice on pairing it with highly roasted oolongs or cooked pu.

[Grill]

Tried the pot with 7.5g of White2tea's 90's HK style sheng and liked it better but still preferred that tea in my gaiwan. Since a couple people suggested a high roast oolong I'll give some of the JTS DHP I have left a shot. Wasn't crazy about that tea for a few reasons, roast was extremely fresh and strong when I got it (almost tasted like espresso) and I find it a bit thin so its be sitting collecting dust with the exception of a session or two a few months later. Thanks again everyone for the help and suggestions.

[Tead Off]

Tried the pot with 7.5g of White2tea's 90's HK style sheng and liked it better but still preferred that tea in my gaiwan. Since a couple people suggested a high roast oolong I'll give some of the JTS DHP I have left a shot. Wasn't crazy about that tea for a few reasons, roast was extremely fresh and strong when I got it (almost tasted like espresso) and I find it a bit thin so its be sitting collecting dust with the exception of a session or two a few months later. Thanks again everyone for the help and suggestions.

It's good to let these new roasted teas sit, sometimes for a year or two. Your patience can be rewarded if the tea is a good one. I often try to buy yancha that is a couple of years old, at least.

[Grill]

It's good to let these new roasted teas sit, sometimes for a year or two. Your patience can be rewarded if the tea is a good one. I often try to buy yancha that is a couple of years old, at least.

Yeah I've read that's the case with high roasted teas. I'm pretty sure the tea was hot off the presses when I got it as well. Still haven't found a cheaper priced yancha that I've fallen in love with yet. Recently ordered a couple of small samples from EoT (along with one of their yixing pots, like i said in my first post, dive in head first post eyes closed lol) from 2013 just to try a high end example. I'm sure they will be great but are out of my price range as a daily drinker.