My first yixing

[Psyck]

This was the first yixing pot I had ordered:
http://www.teavivre.com/xi-shi-yixing-clay-teapot/
The customs declaration in the shipment from Teavivre got damaged in transit resulting in the return of the package to sender. Teavivre reshipped it, and I'm still waiting to receive it, more than two months since ordering it. I now plan to dedicate that to Shu on receiving it.

In the meantime I ordered and immediately received my first yixing from EoT (shipments from Europe reach me in India within a week while packages from China take 1-2 months):
https://www.essenceoftea.com/teaware/cl ... eapot.html

I scrubbed it with a brush under running water and immersed it in a heavy pot of slowly boiling water for half an hour. In my brief perusal regarding the first time seasoning of yixing, there were various conflicting opinions (re. possibility of clogging the pores of the clay) on the next step of immersing it in the tea it is going to be dedicated for. Some skip this step, while some immerse it in a pot of boiling water containing the tea leaves. I choose the alternative of steeping some sheng separately, then filtering it through a fine mesh and then immersing the pot in that brew for a while.

Here is the pot after the seasoning:
https://goo.gl/photos/N3LwyerVijmhHKmN7

The pot has a slow pour, about 15 seconds, though on my first tasting I didn't find even the initial steeps of sheng particularly bitter in spite of not so quick steeps. Of course, it is still new and may be absorbing some of the bitterness, in which case I will have to take care to flash steep initial brews in future.

[PolyhymnianMuse]

Of course, it is still new and may be absorbing some of the bitterness, in which case I will have to take care to flash steep initial brews in future.

In my own limited experience, but also from reading quite a bit on others experiences, I would wager this pot is cutting through any bitterness present in the tea your drinking rather than absorbing it. Yixing pots seems to minimalize certain characteristics depending on the pot as well as the tea more-so than bringing out certain characteristics otherwise unnoticeable.

To put it more simply, yixing tend to even out flavors so other background flavors are more noticeable, rather than the misconception that yixing magically brings out flavors on it's own.

[PolyhymnianMuse]

To elaborate a bit, I have a duan ni clay yixing at about 140ml. I used it solely for A LOT of semi aged sheng (5-8 years old mostly). Then I started alternating between oolongs and black teas in it. I have yet to notice any crossing of flavors or any other undesirable effects.

[LouPepe]

I think you made the right choice the second time by purchasing that zini pot from EoT. I own one of those shuipings and really love it for what it cost. The clay is pretty good and hard to find better at that price range online it seems. The pots are well made for being apprentice grade. I don't think I did a major "pre" seasoning before starting to use it and quite frankly it's brewed good tea from the start. Mines dedicated to shu, and does a marvelous job of rounding it out.

[kuánglóng]

Congrats on your new pots, Psyck. They both look fine to me too (but then I'm no expert). Regarding the relatively low pour rate of the second pot maybe there's something you or somebody else (your dentist ) can do about it, 15s seems a bit long to me.
Anyway, happy experimenting !

[Zacherywolf7]

i have the same essence of tea yixing, i brew sheng in it too. Any idea what sort've sheng you are going to use it for. Mine has really varied as to what I put into it some really good fresh gushu, 5 year old smoky factory stuff, decent 10 year old tea. Varying outcomes, some fresh bulang it helps, but either way there are ups and downs (aftertaste is almost always more noticeable).

Any thoughts from you?

[bagua7]

while some immerse it in a pot of boiling water

That's what I have been doing so far. It removes some unwanted stuff deposited/formed during the making and firing of the pot.

[Psyck]

<...>To put it more simply, yixing tend to even out flavors so other background flavors are more noticeable<...>

That could well be the case from how I found the tea to taste when brewed in a gaiwan vs this pot; but my knowledge and experience in this is very limited.

<...>it's brewed good tea from the start. Mines dedicated to shu, and does a marvelous job of rounding it out.

Sounds good, I really like the brews it is producing too.

<...>Regarding the relatively low pour rate of the second pot maybe there's something you or somebody else (your dentist ) can do about it, 15s seems a bit long to me<...>

I don't mind the slow pour, it is just a matter of getting used to it and timing the steeps accordingly. Oh, and well there is nothing that can be 'done' about it, others who own the same reported similar pour times

i have the same essence of tea yixing, i brew sheng in it too. Any idea what sort've sheng you are going to use it for. <...>

I plan to use it for all kinds on sheng too.

while some immerse it in a pot of boiling water

That's what I have been doing so far. It removes some unwanted stuff deposited/formed during the making and firing of the pot.

Yes, I don't believe any more seasoning is required other than some immersion in boiling water.

[LouPepe]

This was the first yixing pot I had ordered:
[url]<a class="vglnk" href="http://www.teavivre.com/xi-shi-yixing-clay-teapot/[/url" rel="nofollow"><span>http</span><span>://</span><span>www</span><span>.</span><span>teavivre</span><span>.</span><span>com</span><span>/</span><span>xi</span><span>-</span><span>shi</span><span>-</span><span>yixing</span><span>-</span><span>clay</span><span>-</span><span>teapot</span><span>/[/</span><span>url</span></a>]
The customs declaration in the shipment from Teavivre got damaged in transit resulting in the return of the package to sender. Teavivre reshipped it, and I'm still waiting to receive it, more than two months since ordering it. I now plan to dedicate that to Shu on receiving it.

In the meantime I ordered and immediately received my first yixing from EoT (shipments from Europe reach me in India within a week while packages from China take 1-2 months):
[url]<a class="vglnk" href="https://www.essenceoftea.com/teaware/cl ... eapot.html[/url" rel="nofollow"><span>https</span><span>://</span><span>www</span><span>.</span><span>essenceoftea</span><span>.</span><span>com</span><span>/</span><span>teaware</span><span>/</span><span>clay</span><span>/</span><span>yixing</span><span>/</span><span>95ml</span><span>-</span><span>zini</span><span>-</span><span>shui</span><span>-</span><span>ping</span><span>-</span><span>yixing</span><span>-</span><span>teapot</span><span>.</span><span>html</span><span>[/</span><span>url</span></a>]

I scrubbed it with a brush under running water and immersed it in a heavy pot of slowly boiling water for half an hour. In my brief perusal regarding the first time seasoning of yixing, there were various conflicting opinions (re. possibility of clogging the pores of the clay) on the next step of immersing it in the tea it is going to be dedicated for. Some skip this step, while some immerse it in a pot of boiling water containing the tea leaves. I choose the alternative of steeping some sheng separately, then filtering it through a fine mesh and then immersing the pot in that brew for a while.

Here is the pot after the seasoning:
[url]<a class="vglnk" href="https://goo.gl/photos/N3LwyerVijmhHKmN7[/url" rel="nofollow"><span>https</span><span>://</span><span>goo</span><span>.</span><span>gl</span><span>/</span><span>photos</span><span>/</span><span>N3LwyerVijmhHKmN7</span><span>[/</span><span>url</span></a>]

The pot has a slow pour, about 15 seconds, though on my first tasting I didn't find even the initial steeps of sheng particularly bitter in spite of not so quick steeps. Of course, it is still new and may be absorbing some of the bitterness, in which case I will have to take care to flash steep initial brews in future.

Part of the reason I chose to dedicate it to shu-pu was because of that slower pour time. Shu isn't as finicky to brew as young sheng IMO. But like most teawares, you can try to improvise with rate of pour and amount of tea you use to find some sort of balance. Enjoy your pot.

[TuoChaTea]

Essence of Tea ships from Malaysia, that may be why it reached you so soon