Favourite vessel size for puerh?

Puerh and other heicha
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Kupuntu
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Thu Jan 03, 2019 9:45 am

One of my favourite revelations (if that's what you want to call it) in the past few years regarding puerh has been vessel size. After researching different clays and pots I realized how important the size of the pot is.

I've brewed puerh in quite a few different teapots and gaiwans. I admit I don't have a huge collection of teapots but even when comparing two similar pots where clay is not a factor (either using the exact same clay in both pots or by using two equally thick porcelain pots in different sizes) I notice I prefer bigger sizes, pretty much anything 140ml and over.

Currently my favourite pot is a 240ml nixing which is extremely thick. Works great for almost everything I drink puerh-wise. I also have a 140ml modern duanni that takes care of everything that has noticeable storage notes I want to get rid of. 200ml F1 white label hongni is great for fresh sheng but I find myself reaching for the nixing more often than not.

I first started out using a 100ml gaiwan and a 90ml clay pot. Nothing wrong with either of those but I get a much better result with my larger pots. Ratio might also affect that as I still use the same 8g per session no matter the vessel size (unless going below 90ml, which I never do anymore). However I feel like the important part is the size of the vessel, not just the ratio.

My question is: what is your favourite vessel size for puerh? I know people often prefer different sizes for different kinds of puerhs but I'd like to hear your opinions regardless.
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debunix
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Thu Jan 03, 2019 11:26 am

For gongfu with a fine sheng, my usual go-to vessels are 80-120 mL. If it's later in the evening, and I want that fine tea but to limit my caffeine, that's when I break out the tinier vessels--the 40-60 mL, and use a correspondingly tiny quantity of tea.
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OCTO
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Fri Jan 04, 2019 9:11 am

Just like you, I generally prefer larger pots with my PuErh. But size interpretation is pretty different between tea drinkers.

My favourite go to pots for PuErh are normally between 450ml to 650ml and I brew them half pot, plus minus depending how many will end up drinking with me. On average, I like big gulps with PuErh, using large tea bowls instead of small tea cups for PuErh. So a 450ml pot is usually brewed half pot for 2 pax.

I do explore smaller 250ml pots for more delicate and exotic PuErh which are too costly to break a big chunk every time I want to excite my senses and palettes. But I don’t go smaller than that for PuErh.

Cheers!!
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ShuShu
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Fri Jan 04, 2019 12:46 pm

How much leaf do you use when brewing in such big pots?
I assume you also steep longer.
but do you usually go for multiple steeps? Or just a couple long ones?

OCTO wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 9:11 am
Just like you, I generally prefer larger pots with my PuErh. But size interpretation is pretty different between tea drinkers.

My favourite go to pots for PuErh are normally between 450ml to 650ml and I brew them half pot, plus minus depending how many will end up drinking with me. On average, I like big gulps with PuErh, using large tea bowls instead of small tea cups for PuErh. So a 450ml pot is usually brewed half pot for 2 pax.

I do explore smaller 250ml pots for more delicate and exotic PuErh which are too costly to break a big chunk every time I want to excite my senses and palettes. But I don’t go smaller than that for PuErh.

Cheers!!
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OCTO
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Fri Jan 04, 2019 7:41 pm

ShuShu wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 12:46 pm
How much leaf do you use when brewing in such big pots?
Frankly I almost never measure the amount of leaves I use. It depends a lot on size of the pot and also the mood I’m in on that day. My guess would be around 15g to 20g per session.
ShuShu wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 12:46 pm
I assume you also steep longer. but do you usually go for multiple steeps? Or just a couple long ones?
I go for multiple steeps. Again, I don’t time my steeps. A lot depends on the PuErh that I’m drinking. Generally I would steep longer for aged PuErh and shorter for younger ones.

Cheers!
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OCTO
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Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:18 pm

OCTO wrote:
Fri Jan 04, 2019 9:11 am
Just like you, I generally prefer larger pots with my PuErh. But size interpretation is pretty different between tea drinkers.

My favourite go to pots for PuErh are normally between 450ml to 650ml and I brew them half pot, plus minus depending how many will end up drinking with me. On average, I like big gulps with PuErh, using large tea bowls instead of small tea cups for PuErh. So a 450ml pot is usually brewed half pot for 2 pax.

I do explore smaller 250ml pots for more delicate and exotic PuErh which are too costly to break a big chunk every time I want to excite my senses and palettes. But I don’t go smaller than that for PuErh.

Cheers!!
This was also previously mentioned in this thread.

viewtopic.php?p=9214&sid=795783000dc8ac ... 6db3#p9214
gatmcm
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Sat Jan 05, 2019 6:33 am

I too started using bigger vessels for puerh, nowadays 120ml but even that seems small at times, sometimes a 150ml gaiwan if I want no muting, for young sheng for example.

One thing I notice in higher ratios though is that accentuates 'special characteristics' that a tea might have, be it a cooling effect, or some sort of special flavour where lower ratios sorta equalize everything into a smoother but no less complex (oftentimes more complex even) experience. So I treat every tea a bit differently.
The thing about having more liquid to gulp/sip/slurp also plays a big role for me, the way how a small thimble of tea gets ingested is a bit different than a bigger cup, you naturally take in a bigger amount and it coats your mouth differently.
Other aspect I've come to notice is how in a higher ratio leaves have no room to expand freely, you hear a lot, in a more begginer setting, people reccomending against those awful teaball infusers beacuse the leaf has no room to expand, sometimes the same people that cram 8g of leaf in an under 100ml pot, I find that way the leaf releases the compounds slowly and it lasts for a lot of steeps, it is a desired effect in a way, sorta like peeling an onion you get the flavours individually and more intensely but in another way I feel it is a bit less balanced and less complex that way.
If you brew tea in a bowl or a very large pot you can see just how much room those 8g of leaf really take unrestricted and how much water it takes to cover all of it.

Keep in mind these are just things I came to notice, I do not like taking a scientific aproach when drinking tea, I just drink in an inconsistent way to get inconsistent results, no AB tastings or scientific method here, also that I use both methods quite often depending on the tea/ what I want to extract from it.
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OCTO
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Sat Jan 05, 2019 6:48 am

gatmcm wrote:
Sat Jan 05, 2019 6:33 am
Keep in mind these are just things I came to notice, I do not like taking a scientific aproach when drinking tea, I just drink in an inconsistent way to get inconsistent results, no AB tastings or scientific method here, also that I use both methods quite often depending on the tea/ what I want to extract from it.
Nicely said.

I often equate enjoying a session of tea to a joyous journey. Best not to complicate the journey with rigid rules and must do. Sit back and enjoy the journey freely without restrictions.

Cheers!
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Stephen
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Sat Jan 05, 2019 2:35 pm

These days I've been using yixing pots around 110ml, 150ml and 210ml for my personal use. I use 110ml most often when I'm having multiple teas in a day. I often use 150ml for morning tea before work. At those times I tend to pay less attention to steep time and want more volume of tea. I also like using 210ml for shu puer or hei cha with less tea, longer steep times and fewer brews. Actually I find some teas do much better with this approach and have a fuller profile.
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Rickpatbrown
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Sun Jan 06, 2019 11:31 am

I'm going to speak up for the small guys. I don't have a ton of teaware, so I'm limited in my options. I generally prefer a 60mL gaiwan. I have an 80mL that I'll use with a friend, but the 60ml is much nicer, so I usually pick that one when along.

I can't speak to how the size affects the tea flavor. I pick the small size because I usually drink sheng in the evening and dont want to drink too much caffeine.
I have a cheap "duani" (prob not real duani) 120mL pot, but it tends to affect the flavor for the worse, so I usually dont use it.

If I'm having multiple sessions, the 60mL is nice since I can drink different teas instead of a big serving of just one type.

At work, I have a 150mL gaiwan that I usually brew oolong in. When I brew shou in it, I'll usually only fill it half way.
TeaZero
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Mon Jan 07, 2019 12:30 pm

My go to teapot, when I'm drinking alone, is a 140 ml Yixing teapot. This size is absolutely perfect for me. I use about 6 gram of tea for this size and steep the same tea the whole day.

When I'm drinking with 3 or more people (including myself) I tend to switch to a slightly larger 220 ml teapot (using 8 gram of tea).
Kupuntu
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Sat Jan 12, 2019 8:27 pm

Thanks for the replies. Even when I was first starting out I noticed how people tend to use smaller, glazed vessels for younger sheng and bigger unglazed clay pots for aged puerh. Of course it's not quite as simple as we see from the replies.

The heat retention of a bigger vessel and its effects on the teas I drink is something I'll keep experimenting with.
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