Has anyone every drunk tea from a well seasoned yixing?

Sweetestdew
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Wed Feb 19, 2020 6:11 am

I am exploring yixing a little bit, but I can help but feel skeptical about some of the claims.
The whole thing about not mixing tea because it might ruin the flavors of future teas seems to be a little farfetched.
If you drink from a pot thats only red tea and then drink from a pot thats shu pu and red tea, can you really notice a diffence? Can you tell a red tea pot from a red tea pot and a yan cha pot from a yan cha. (obviously they will change the tea differently, but can you tell which is which)
Or, as I am skeptically leaning toward, does the yixing change the flavor of tea in a more grey area where the exact tea you seasoned it with doesnt really matter.
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Bok
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Wed Feb 19, 2020 8:00 am

I would say in general it matters yes and in particular, it depends.

In general, broad categories of tea I would separate: dark/roasted, lightly processed.

How far one then decides to sub categorise depends on palate, sensitivity and budget :)

I do think one pot for Yancha is enough and to brew other Yancha in it wouldn’t have an impact on it, with the caveat that I would be careful with mixing low and high quality if it can be avoided. I wouldn’t use my best pot for what I suspect to be lower quality tea.

But mostly I’d use roasted Oolongs of all origins in the same pot.

The reason why I have more pots than different teas is that I might prefer a certain tea best in a certain pot/clay. Or I might want to emphasise an aspect of a tea. Many reasons.

If I’d use a heavily seasoned pot for Gaoshan with a roasted tea it won’t have much influence, if I do the same vice versa it probably will be noticeable.

If I have a new pot I spend some time trying all sorts of teas until I settle on one broad category. Sometimes if a pot does especially well with one tea, I’ll just dedicate it to that tea.

It depends also on the clay: Zhuni is less seasoning, so I’d have less problem to use it with a broad range of teas.

But it really is general thing not only concerning Yixing clay.
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gld
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Wed Feb 19, 2020 3:00 pm

Playing with seasoning can be fun too. I have a largish old-ish maybe-yixing (brought from northern China to me by a Chinese co-worker) that I use at work, and while I manly use it for modest sheng I also throw in white sessions. The play between the two is very nice. Particularly when a puer session is a few days after a white session it adds some sweetness and heightens some enjoyable aspects of the puer.

I'd never do this with my pots at home, it's bastardization but I am surprised every time!

I guess…. to talk like a tea person, and not that you asked: while there is no substitution for good tea, if one is going to take the time to sit and explore the layers of taste in a tea as it evolves over infusions there is absolutely a noticeable effect that the pot can contribute (positively or negatively). The question is proving that dedicated sessions over time makes a good effect better.

It's like trying to prove evolution to a fundamentalist. We cannot directly demonstrate evolution but we can show adaptation in species really easily. Pots are the same, we can taste what a pot does, but it would be too difficult to show you that it will change in a particular way after a year or two of seasoning through use.

My deep thought for today!
theredbaron
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Wed Feb 19, 2020 5:21 pm

Bok wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 8:00 am
I would say in general it matters yes and in particular, it depends.

In general, broad categories of tea I would separate: dark/roasted, lightly processed.

I do agree.

Sometimes people do take it a bit too serious. One does not need to use a pot for one tea exclusively, broad categories are sufficient.
And when one changes one does not need to completely reset a pot, one does more harm than use by destroying the patina that one has built over a long period of time. While initially there may be some slight taste overlays, they will disappear soon.
Sweetestdew
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Wed Feb 19, 2020 8:59 pm

Bok wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 8:00 am


The reason why I have more pots than different teas is that I might prefer a certain tea best in a certain pot/clay. Or I might want to emphasise an aspect of a tea. Many reasons.


But it really is general thing not only concerning Yixing clay.
How do you think about what tea is best for what clay. Are there general guidelines?
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Bok
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Wed Feb 19, 2020 9:08 pm

From one tricky question to the next… :)

There are general conventions on which clay pairs well with what – B U T – I have long and painfully learned that Yixing is a lot more complex than that.

First of all a lot of other factors come in play aside from the clay, like size, wall thickness, general shape, clay processing and firing.

Secondly, even the same clay (in name) but from different periods can already behave a lot differently.

So it always pays off to assume that the consensus might be wrong and try for oneself with as many teas as one likes to. Or otherwise said, let the pot pick the tea, not the other way round.
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aet
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Wed Feb 19, 2020 10:17 pm

pour the hot water into the non seasoned clay tea pot and then drink it from the glass or porcelain cup in order to understand the flavor of the clay. Seasoning - is to get rid of this flavor ( actually replace it with other flavor ...which is the flavor of the tea you are seasoning with and expected to brew it later for drinking )
So in my understanding the "clay taste " is the downside of the new teapot as the astringency is for new sheng puerh, for example. Both need time to get into the comfortable zone of using / drinking.
That clay's particular flavor can pair well with some particular flavor/s of some tea , so it makes an illusion that some teapot is good for some particular clay and some not.....in matter of the taste.
You can also brew some tea in porcelain gaiwan and then pour it into the teapots with different clay , then drink it from porcelain or glass cup to compare how each clay pairs with that particular tea taste.
Some people claim that some clay reduces the astringency in new shengs. I personally haven't come across such a phenomenon , but I'm sure there is some scientific explanation for that. Like that clay taste covers up the astringency taste so much that perception of the taste buds is not that sensitive to the astringency. Should there be some actual chem. reaction based explanation ....I do not know be honest.
I think I've seen some post / scientific looking like article dedicated to Tannins in reaction with clay, or something like that. If anybody has that , please link it here!
There are other aspects, like heat retention , which can also affect the taste in certain way. Means if tea is brewed longer in higher temperature ( not loosing temp. quickly ) it will release more it's good , so some might get tastier but some get uglier...depends on quality.
There are people who would claim otherwise as people who write long lists of taste notes on steepster to some tea. I would not recommend to argue with those specialists ;-D
In China , as you know, things around the tea are much much simpler than foreigners spread around in their environment , especially those with some followers / fan clubs ;-)
Other aspects are the shape and size of teapots, which is the different topic.
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Youzi
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Thu Feb 20, 2020 12:58 am

It's easy to compare how the tea stains on the inside of your pot changes the taste of something.

Just add boiling distilled water into the pot, then keep it in for 1-3 minutes, your max infusion time. Meanwhile add the same water into a glass cup too. After the time is up pour the water into a similar cup as the other. Then let both get to room temperature, and taste it.

To eliminate water, from the equation, try using distilled or RO water, aka, pure H2O.
DailyTX
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Thu Feb 20, 2020 1:18 am

I have never tested the taste of plain water with a seasoned pot but I did notice my seasoned Sheng pot has pu erh tea scent when I warm up the pot before brewing. I have been using this particular pot at least once per week for the last 2-3 years. The outside has developed a glossy patina from tea oil while the inside has a dull color. My assumption is that the outside absorbed tea oil from tea session while inside lose tea oil through each brew.

In the past, I tried to sample new yixing zisha pot to make sure I didn’t taste unusual flavor (one of the tests to tease out chemical pots). Some of my pots after the initial boil aka opening pot, the water taste with mild sweetness. Not sure if anyone has similar experience...I think the sweetness maybe coming from the minerals in zisha
theredbaron
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Thu Feb 20, 2020 6:15 am

Youzi wrote:
Thu Feb 20, 2020 12:58 am
It's easy to compare how the tea stains on the inside of your pot changes the taste of something.

Just add boiling distilled water into the pot, then keep it in for 1-3 minutes, your max infusion time. Meanwhile add the same water into a glass cup too. After the time is up pour the water into a similar cup as the other. Then let both get to room temperature, and taste it.

To eliminate water, from the equation, try using distilled or RO water, aka, pure H2O.

The difficulty with water however is that water for tea needs some minerals to bring it alive, just not too much of it not to flatten the tea.
swordofmytriumph
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Thu Feb 20, 2020 6:19 am

theredbaron wrote:
Thu Feb 20, 2020 6:15 am
The difficulty with water however is that water for tea needs some minerals to bring it alive, just not too much of it not to flatten the tea.
See this is what I'm curious about. How do people who steep their tea in RO water not have really boring flat tea?
theredbaron
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Thu Feb 20, 2020 6:20 am

Sweetestdew wrote:
Wed Feb 19, 2020 8:59 pm


How do you think about what tea is best for what clay. Are there general guidelines?

In this discussion it has to be pointed out however that quality of tea and especially water are far more important factors than which clay you are using in the pot you are brewing in. Another factor as well is the cup, as different shape geometries transport the taste into different parts of the tongue and mouth. Ideally it should transport the taste deep inside the mouth and not to the tip of the tongue, so that it can quickly move upwards into the different sinus cavities to get the maximum out of the tea.
theredbaron
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Thu Feb 20, 2020 6:23 am

swordofmytriumph wrote:
Thu Feb 20, 2020 6:19 am


See this is what I'm curious about. How do people who steep their tea in RO water not have really boring flat tea?

Well, i don't ;)
I always try different mineral waters available in the markets (i don't not live close to a natural spring that is suitable for tea), and use them.
Where i live now, Munich, is close to the Alps, and has excellent tap water for drinking. Just not for drinking tea. It is so hard that it kills every tea. Also the mountain springs here are lime stone springs, which are not suitable for tea.
carogust
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Thu Feb 20, 2020 6:26 am

theredbaron wrote:
Thu Feb 20, 2020 6:20 am
Another factor as well is the cup, as different shape geometries transport the taste into different parts of the tongue and mouth. Ideally it should transport the taste deep inside the mouth and not to the tip of the tongue, so that it can quickly move upwards into the different sinus cavities to get the maximum out of the tea.
IMHO the piece of teaware that matters most is the cup. Trying the same tea side by side with different cups will reveal a huge difference between them.
theredbaron
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Thu Feb 20, 2020 6:42 am

carogust wrote:
Thu Feb 20, 2020 6:26 am


IMHO the piece of teaware that matters most is the cup. Trying the same tea side by side with different cups will reveal a huge difference between them.
I tend to agree. Cups make quite a difference.
My favorite cups for most teas are two ming dynasty shipwreck cups, one a perfect match with for 60 ml pots, and one for 80 ml pots.
For Liu bao however i prefer some older Yixing cups i have, for some reason.
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