Does anyone buy and or use small Yixing teapots?

[sygyzy]

I wanted a single serving teapot and I ended up with a 5 oz Yixing pot from FunAlliance. While it's entirely my fault, when it arrived, I was sorely disappointed. The thing looks like a toy!

Does anyone actually use the small (6oz or less) Yixing's? What size(s) do you guys use?

Shipping back to HK would probably be prohibitive. I can't give it away because nobody I know would know or appreciate the Yixing.

[Proinsias]

I have 4 yixing's and all are under 5oz.

When I use them I fill them up, with anywhere between 1/5 full to as much as I can pack in the pots, depending on the type of tea.

It means you can do many short brews and see how the tea changes with each brew. When I bought my dahongpao, which I find rather expensive, pot I made sure it was fairly small as I find I get a better taste the more tea-water ratio I use - a larger pot would taken a lot of tea and would have lasted over many many more brews than I could drink.

Here's a vid of someone using quite a small pot although I suspect you don't need to be quite so formal to get a few nice cups of tea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkElV9mA ... ed&search=

[streetspirit]

Hi there,

Small Yixing pots are used with gong-fu style brewing, for teas that are good for multiple infusions, in particular puerh and some oolongs and greens.

Usually the teapot is filled so that as the loose leaves expand it fills up the entire vessel. Multiple short infusions are done so that you can enjoy the changes of the character/taste of the tea as the leaves 'give up'.

I have a small yixing and typically can get 5-7 small infusions in each sitting. As you see if I use a typical teapot then I would be drinking 5-7 large cups of tea in one sitting which would be a recipe of disaster

Here is a site with illustrations, I hope it helps:
http://www.imperialtea.com/classroom/GongfuPrep.asp

Video illustrations of the formal gong-fu method:
http://s171.photobucket.com/albums/u287 ... -erh-1.flv
http://s171.photobucket.com/albums/u287 ... inking.flv

I have to say though I don't do 90% of the formal stuff shown on those videos, but it is still interesting to see. For me, its simply pour and serve

[Mary R]

If it makes you feel any better, I felt the same way when I first got a gongfu-sized pot. Really. My first thought was "Dang...this would have come in handy when I was 4."

However, 'small-scale' brewing grows on you, particularly if you're into greens, puerhs, or oolongs--anything where you do multiple steepings. I can't remember the last time I hauled down my large pots, and lately I've been thinking my 5oz gaiwan is too big.

[sygyzy]

All your responses definitely have made me feel better. May I ask the obvious question - How do you deal with water temperature with each steeping? Even if you are doing less-than-boiling, you'd have to turn on the kettle each time. I don't like boiling the same water twice. If it takes me 10 minutes to casually sip a tiny bit of tea, when I am halfway through, I'll have to stand up and heat up more water. If you don't make fresh hot water, the water would be too cool by the time you pour it in again.

Also, how much tea do you use for a small pot? Mine is 5oz.

5/6th of a teaspoon? 5/8ths?

[Mary R]

Hm. I've always just shuffled back to the kettle and flicked it on again. You can sort of streamline the process by brewing with a thermometer in the kettle. Just turn it off when it reads 3-5 degrees before your desired temp and you should be fine.

As far as amount of tea goes, I try to use the 2g per 6oz ratio to start with, then decide if I want to use more or less tea the next time I make it. For five ounces, it would be 1.7g leaf.

2.0 g can be half a teaspoon or two tablespoons depending on the type of tea I'm using, so I tend not to quantify the measurement by spoon.

[sygyzy]

Great feedback Mary. Thanks a bunch, you just made my day!

[Space Samurai]

I have a 6 oz yixing pot and a 5 oz gaiwan that I use for oolongs and puerhs respectively. For everything else I have an assortment of Tokoname pots ranginfrom 9-ll oz. Smaller sizes work best for gongfu, but for everything else, I prefer making tea 8 oz at a time

[sygyzy]

What's Tokoname?

[scruffmcgruff]

Tokoname is a town in Japan that is well known for producing high quality stoneware, but it is commonly used in the tea world as slang for a teapot made in Tokoname. Kyusu pots, one of the more popular designs, have a distinctive shape with a handle attached to the side, like this one:



I'm not positive about this, but I think Tokoname pots are made using a style originally learned from potters from Yixing. The clay in Japan is not as fine as in the Yixing area, so Tokoname pots are not usually as porous, but they are unglazed. Also, Japanese teapots are generally a bit larger than Chinese ones, though still nothing like the massive 10-cup ones we have in the west.

[Chip]

Good job, Scruff.

Also, Tokoname pots are also more expensive than kyusu produced elsewhere in Japan. It is like Tokoname is the Yixing of Japan.

Artisan quality kyusu from Tokoname generally cost several hundred dollars, while mass produced ones are usually 25-75.

One correction though. There are unglazed and glazed Tokoname kyusu and teacups. Generally, the Tokoname kyusu are not glazed on the inside. Teacups on the other hand, anything goes.

[sygyzy]

Wow, this thread is a treasure trove of knowledge.

What's a good source for Tokoname pots? Also, are these pots involved in any special Japanese tea ceremonies?

[Space Samurai]

(Wow, I get to do two plugs for Rishi in one morning).

A "good source" will depend on personal taste.

I purchase all of mine from http://www.rishi-tea.com. They have a great range of prices, $35 - $200, and I adore their simplicity and function. I also prefer the sasame, clay mesh screens to stainless steel. This is my personal taste.

http://www.o-cha.com has a nice selection as well.

I don't know enough about Japanese tea ceremonies to say if these pots are used in them or not. I think usually what's used is a chawan, chasen and what not.

[Chip]

Infused leaf is not used for "the Japanese Tea Ceremony." Kyusu are used for infusing leaf like sencha and gyokuro. However, most of us have our own personal tea ceremonies!!! My kyusu is a vital part of mine.

Powdered matcha is used for the actual ceremony and that has its own set of really cool accesories.

[sygyzy]

I also prefer the sasame, clay mesh screens to stainless steel. This is my personal taste..

Can you elaborate on this statement? What is a clay mesh screen? They made a filter out of clay? I can't imagine that being very fine.