"Melinda" > wrote in message

> OK, I have just had it...I have never heard anyone ask this question
> before but it comes up for me every time I try to do gung fu with my
> yixing pot. The thing gets so hot

Maybe, it's not a yixing pot, and not even a traditional unglazed clay pot
(like those from Taiwan).
I have a number of pots, and the difference between the yixing and others is
the yixing don't get so hot. I have a glass and a glazed ceramic mini-pots,
they definitely stay much hotter when you try to gong-fu them. But not to
the point of getting hurt if I'm careful.

>(from pouring the hot water over it,
> in it, steeping, etc.) as well as the cups getting hot...I have a very
> difficult time doing this without some hurt fingers.

You are not supposed to touch the pot's body (for any pot), just the handle
and in certain cases the lid-button that is an added piece especially
designed to stay "less hot". The cups have also a thinner part at the
extremity, that part also stays cooler so you can catch them from there and
also avoid burning your lips.
Also, be careful. You shouldn't touch the pot imediatly after pouring water
on top of it but waiting till the handle and lid are slightly cooled.
Of course, there are pots/cups better designed than others, and sensibility
to heat is a very
individual matter. Try to wear cotton gloves (driving gloves), they don't
prevent the movement of fingers, don't smell and you feel the heat less for
quick exposure. I use some to return the cookies inside the oven, etc.

>This is for
> oolong btw so the water needs to be hot, I know.

I ignore that. What does "hot" mean ? How hot ? I never use water hotter
than 90 degrees.

>gung fu-ing the last of my Bai Hao.

It's a Taiwan tea. There, I've seen them doing like me : bringing the kettle
from another room. That makes the water at 90 deg. C. for rinsing, a little
less for brewing.
IMHO, the reason of gong-fu-ing is not reaching hot temp. , but maintening a
"hot enough" temp. constant for a while.

Kuri