Shape of yixing and how it affects taste/smell
 

I am wondering about the best shape of yixing to use for greener oolongs-a
li shans etc. I love the lemon peel top notes of the scent of those and I
was thinking about the Reidel wine glasses that are designed to enhance a
particular type of wine's fragrance. Does anyone have an opinion as to which
is teh best (in their experience)? For instance, is there anyone here that
has a separate pot for darker oolongs and one for greener ones or one pot
for da hong pao and one for a li shan? I am thinking that perhaps the
greener ones need to be a lower temp, so some type of yixing that might cool
off quicker? My main mental image is regular round bellied yixing versus a
tall one versus a flat one (the coin type) with the big mouth.

Does anyone have any experience with brewing green oolongs in a yixing and
what type of pot did they pick and how do they like it for the top notes?

Melinda

--
"I know. You know I know. I know you know I know. We know Henry knows,
and Henry knows we know it."
We're a knowledgeable family." ::smiles:: -Geoffrey, Lion in Winter

Shape of yixing and how it affects taste/smell
 

On 2007-03-16, Melinda > wrote:

> I am wondering about the best shape of yixing to use for greener oolongs-a
> li shans etc. I love the lemon peel top notes of the scent of those and I
> was thinking about the Reidel wine glasses that are designed to enhance a
> particular type of wine's fragrance.

One difference there is that you're not *drinking* out of the teapot
(right?).

> Does anyone have an opinion as to which is teh best (in their
> experience)? For instance, is there anyone here that has a separate
> pot for darker oolongs and one for greener ones or one pot for da hong
> pao and one for a li shan? I am thinking that perhaps the greener ones
> need to be a lower temp, so some type of yixing that might cool off
> quicker? My main mental image is regular round bellied yixing versus a
> tall one versus a flat one (the coin type) with the big mouth.

I think a lot of people dedicate separate pots for different types of
teas. I don't have a ton of experience with this, but for tightly rolled
greener oolongs, I think a tall-round or pear shaped pot is the best.
For really light ones, zhu ni may be a better clay choice, at least
according to people I've talked to (supposedly does less rounding out /
mellowing of the flavor, letting the "high notes" shine through). Of
course you can also use ceramic or silver.

I have like 3 small pear pots (all zhu ni or at least fake zhu ni)
(around 110-125 ml) that I use for light and medium rolled oolongs.

The nicest one is probably this 70s one from Guang of Hou De Asian Art:
http://veggiechinese.net/JinXiXiaoZhuNi.jpg

You might also want to take a look at this thread:
http://community.livejournal.com/puerh_tea/87832.html

If you're looking for something that will cool off quicker, you could
look into thin walled teapots, but they are expensive and seem very easy
to break.
I played with the one that Stéphene sells:
http://teamasters.blogspot.com/2006/...ai-teapot.html
at Danica's, and it's very nice...

Everyone's "formula" for figuring out what to use with what is
different, and people have varying degrees of obsessiveness about
dedicating a specific pot to a specific type of tea. I think the
consensus is to try things out and see what works for you.

w

Shape of yixing and how it affects taste/smell
 

"Will Yardley" > wrote in message
...
> On 2007-03-16, Melinda > wrote:
>
>> I am wondering about the best shape of yixing to use for greener
>> oolongs-a
>> li shans etc. I love the lemon peel top notes of the scent of those and I
>> was thinking about the Reidel wine glasses that are designed to enhance a
>> particular type of wine's fragrance.
>
> One difference there is that you're not *drinking* out of the teapot
> (right?).
>

No I'm not drinking out of the pot, LMAO! I can see that though...

>> Does anyone have an opinion as to which is teh best (in their
>> experience)? For instance, is there anyone here that has a separate
>> pot for darker oolongs and one for greener ones or one pot for da hong
>> pao and one for a li shan? I am thinking that perhaps the greener ones
>> need to be a lower temp, so some type of yixing that might cool off
>> quicker? My main mental image is regular round bellied yixing versus a
>> tall one versus a flat one (the coin type) with the big mouth.
>
> I think a lot of people dedicate separate pots for different types of
> teas. I don't have a ton of experience with this, but for tightly rolled
> greener oolongs, I think a tall-round or pear shaped pot is the best.
> For really light ones, zhu ni may be a better clay choice, at least
> according to people I've talked to (supposedly does less rounding out /
> mellowing of the flavor, letting the "high notes" shine through). Of
> course you can also use ceramic or silver.
>
> I have like 3 small pear pots (all zhu ni or at least fake zhu ni)
> (around 110-125 ml) that I use for light and medium rolled oolongs.
>
> The nicest one is probably this 70s one from Guang of Hou De Asian Art:
> http://veggiechinese.net/JinXiXiaoZhuNi.jpg
>
> You might also want to take a look at this thread:
> http://community.livejournal.com/puerh_tea/87832.html
>
> If you're looking for something that will cool off quicker, you could
> look into thin walled teapots, but they are expensive and seem very easy
> to break.
> I played with the one that Stéphene sells:
> http://teamasters.blogspot.com/2006/...ai-teapot.html
> at Danica's, and it's very nice...
>
> Everyone's "formula" for figuring out what to use with what is
> different, and people have varying degrees of obsessiveness about
> dedicating a specific pot to a specific type of tea. I think the
> consensus is to try things out and see what works for you.
>
> w
>

I would say the same except that buying decent yixing is expensive for me so
I can't keep trying pots to experiment. The clay type is something I hadn't
thought as much of, thanks for your input!!

Melinda

Shape of yixing and how it affects taste/smell
 

On 2007-03-16, Melinda > wrote:
> "Will Yardley" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On 2007-03-16, Melinda > wrote:

>>> Does anyone have an opinion as to which is teh best (in their
>>> experience)? For instance, is there anyone here that has a separate
>>> pot for darker oolongs and one for greener ones or one pot for da
>>> hong pao and one for a li shan? I am thinking that perhaps the
>>> greener ones need to be a lower temp, so some type of yixing that
>>> might cool off quicker?

>> I think a lot of people dedicate separate pots for different types of
>> teas. I don't have a ton of experience with this, but for tightly
>> rolled greener oolongs, I think a tall-round or pear shaped pot is
>> the best. For really light ones, zhu ni may be a better clay choice,
>> at least according to people I've talked to (supposedly does less
>> rounding out / mellowing of the flavor, letting the "high notes"
>> shine through). Of course you can also use ceramic or silver.
[...]
>> Everyone's "formula" for figuring out what to use with what is
>> different, and people have varying degrees of obsessiveness about
>> dedicating a specific pot to a specific type of tea. I think the
>> consensus is to try things out and see what works for you.

> I would say the same except that buying decent yixing is expensive for
> me so I can't keep trying pots to experiment. The clay type is
> something I hadn't thought as much of, thanks for your input!!

Right... I'm sure that's true for many of us (though I imagine you'd
find that most pots would work well with some kind of tea you drink).

My other suggestion is to find vendors who are pretty knowledgable /
trustworthy, and ask them to select a type of teapot for you. They may
not do a perfect job, but over time, they'll probably get an idea of
what you want. I've found vendors like Jing Teashop (the one in China),
Stephane of Tea Masters Blog, and Guang of Hou De to be helpful in
suggesting a pot for a certain size and certain type of tea. I'm sure if
you post information about a specific type of tea (with pictures of the
dry & wet leaves), folks on here might be able to come up with some
suggestions too.

There's an article on Guang of Hou De's blog called "How to Select
Yixings for Your Teas : Shape", which has some information about his
take on which shapes are appropriate for which types of tea... it should
be on this page:
http://houdeblog.com/index.php?m=10&...y061006-233300

But also just think about how the tea looks when it expands...

Guang also has an article called "The Polygamy Debate of Yixings" (I
can't get a link to just the post, but it should be on this page:
http://houdeblog.com/index.php?m=10&...y061025-105554

But of course, since he sells expensive pots, he has somewhat of an
interest in getting you to buy one good pot, just as vendors who sell
cheaper pots have an interest in getting you to buy lots of pots. :>

w

Shape of yixing and how it affects taste/smell
 

"Will Yardley" > wrote in message
...

snip

>
> There's an article on Guang of Hou De's blog called "How to Select
> Yixings for Your Teas : Shape", which has some information about his
> take on which shapes are appropriate for which types of tea... it should
> be on this page:
> http://houdeblog.com/index.php?m=10&...y061006-233300
>

Oh excellent ! That is exactly precisely what I was looking for, thanks so
much Will!!


Melinda

> w
>

Shape of yixing and how it affects taste/smell
 

On Mar 17, 6:20 am, "Melinda" > wrote:
> I am wondering about the best shape of yixing to use for greener oolongs-a
> li shans etc. I love the lemon peel top notes of the scent of those and I
> was thinking about the Reidel wine glasses that are designed to enhance a
> particular type of wine's fragrance. Does anyone have an opinion as to which
> is teh best (in their experience)? For instance, is there anyone here that
> has a separate pot for darker oolongs and one for greener ones or one pot
> for da hong pao and one for a li shan? I am thinking that perhaps the
> greener ones need to be a lower temp, so some type of yixing that might cool
> off quicker? My main mental image is regular round bellied yixing versus a
> tall one versus a flat one (the coin type) with the big mouth.
>
> Does anyone have any experience with brewing green oolongs in a yixing and
> what type of pot did they pick and how do they like it for the top notes?
>

In general, I have found larger bodied pots to work out better with
these types of teas, and I never use a gaiwan to brew. The reasoning
behind this, and I have done extensive research (drinking them! heh),
is because you really do want the leaves to open up all the way so you
can get the best flavors out of them. If your pots are smaller and
you cram a bunch of leaves into it, the flavor will be lacking in the
later brews; usually after 3. Taller or more broad bodied pots should
work out better with wulongs.

It's the same thing with gaiwan brewing. One of my friends just could
not figure out why his TGY fell into the lackluster category after it
blew his socks off at the shop he bought it. I watched him brew it
once and I saw his problem. He was putting too much tea into the
brewing vessel...the leaves could not open up. After 3 brewings, the
tea had much less flavor than before; he suspected foul play. I took
the gaiwan, turned the leaves upside down in the lid and turned the
leaves over so that the ones on the bottom were on top. You could
easily see that the leaves on top had already started to open whilst
the leaves at the bottom were still tight, wet balls of tea.