What kind of brewing vessel for what kind of tea?

[go green]

I currently have or have ordered the following:

gaiwan
tokoname
glass teapot with infuser
tetsubin

I was wondering which kind of vessel is best for whihc kind of tea (mainly flavored blacks, whites (flavored and not), japenese greens, and chinese greens (flavored and not). Thanks!

[Mary R]

Gaiwan
I use this when I'm tasting a tea in a semi-formal tasting session (I have no real formal method...I'm lazy.) I'll use it for everything except the teas and tisanes too small for it to be practical, like most senchas (particularly fukamushi!) and rooibos.

Tokoname
I have one, and I use it exclusively for sencha.

Glass pot
I do not have one, but if I did, I'd use it for flowering teas. But I don't have those either.

Tetsubin
This is my lazy pot. I use it for all the daily drinkings where I'm drinking primarily for refreshment. It's fantastic, but doesn't give the control level of a gaiwan, and it's much too big (even my smallest) to use for any sort of gong fu variation.

Because the tetsubin and gaiwan are made from non-porous materials (cast iron and glazed porcelain, respectively), they're multi-taskers and can be used for flavored and non-flavored tea alike.

[Ed]

I wish rishi would not refer to their kyuusu as "Tokoname". Tokoname is a city with a famous kiln for making kyuusu and other pottery. Saying "I have a Tokoname" is like an automobile owner saying "I have a Detroit".

Ok, sorry for ranting. I'll write a nasty email to rishi or something...

[Michael_C]

Is glass not so good for brewing? What are its pros and cons?

[bambooforest]

Though Tokoname is most readily used for green tea, I use it for black also.

I like to make 5 to 7 ounces of tea at a time. So, most pots out there are simply too large, but you can find a small kyuusu.

Furthermore, I love how tokoname do not rely on an infuser basket, but instead it houses a strainer right at the spout!

[scruffmcgruff]

I wish rishi would not refer to their kyuusu as "Tokoname". Tokoname is a city with a famous kiln for making kyuusu and other pottery. Saying "I have a Tokoname" is like an automobile owner saying "I have a Detroit".

Ok, sorry for ranting. I'll write a nasty email to rishi or something...

Well... one could also argue that "kyūsu" is the same thing, as it is the name for the southernmost island in Japan. So calling it a kyūsu is sort of like saying "I have a Michigan."

That said, there are other examples of this kind of naming. For example, we call fine porcelain "China," and we do not confuse it with the country. So conventionally it's okay to call a Japanese yokode (side-handled) clayware teapot a Kyūsu. I do agree that calling it "a Tokoname" seems a bit too far in this direction, though I can't quite pin down why this is.

[Ed]

That's Kyushu.

But I know what you're saying. We tend to use this sort of naming convention. It's just something that irks me I guess. I have also wanted to harass people who say "Let's go get a McDonald's" when they want a Big Mac.

[bambooforest]

I have no problem saying saying "tokoname" as referring to a kyuusu.

I think it has become accepted in the tea community, that is my impression at least.

That being said, there are many clay kyuusu's that were not constructed in Tokoname and thus are not tokoname.

[Michael_C]

Is it writtten with a different kanji than the place name? That would settle it definitively. I'll check on this later.

[Mary R]

Is glass not so good for brewing? What are its pros and cons?

Well, glass would be my last choice for brewing vessel. It's more of an 'insulator' than ceramics are, so it takes awhile to heat up and then loses that heat fairly quickly. This can be compensated for with a little extra careful preheating...but it's still not my fav. Of course, you have to make sure you're using borosilicate glass in the first place, which is also pretty fragile unless it's thick (like Pyrex), so the wares tend to get clunky.

But because it's clear, it's great for watching the flowering teas do their thang.

[scruffmcgruff]

Is it writtten with a different kanji than the place name? That would settle it definitively. I'll check on this later.

I guess I figured they were just different romanizations of the same word, but now that you bring it up I realize I may have been mistaken... If you could find out that would be awesome.

[Wesli]

Glass brewing is not my favorite. It does it's job, but what I've found about glass brewing is that the glass vessels tend to keep all the flavors of the tea as they get it. In this sense, glass may keep the tea in it's purest state(taste-wise). I've noticed that with the unglazed clay pots, and even a little with glazed ceramics, is that the clay interferes with the flavors, rounding off some of the less desirables, and also seem to enhance the desirable flavor characteristics. This being said, I only like to use glass vessels for flavored teas. They seem to make the tea taste cleaner, and let the sweetness take control.

[go green]

Thanks for the info Mary. So is a tetsubin okay for brewing chineese green, than maybe a flavored white, then maybe something else? The flavors won't mix?

[Mary R]

The flavors won't mix...if you wash the pot in between teas.

[Chip]

*not in favor of washing teapots between uses*

I usually just rinse thoroughly, but if you are going to use it for flavored tea, then you must wash it I would think since many flavored teas have strong essential oils in them.