Yixing

[Tor]

Do you guys season your new Yixing teapots prior to first use and if so, how?

There’re a few things that many people do with their new Yixing teapots.

1 - Rinse with boiling water a few times.
2 - Simmer the teapot in plain water for an hour or longer.
3 - Simmer the teapot in a pot of water, sugar cane, and tofu for half an hour. Leave it for a few hours. Rinse the teapot with plain water. After it is completely dry, rinse the teapot with boiling water.
4 - Simmer the teapot in a pot of water and tea leaves for half an hour. Leave it for a few hours. Rinse the teapot with plain water. After it is completely dry, rinse the teapot with boiling water.

I’ve tried the above with many Yixing teapots, except no. 3. I don’t know why some people do that, but it sounds too weird for me.


Anyway, instead of blindly follow some experts’ advice, you might want to try this with your new Yixing teapots.

- Rinse it with boiling water for a few times.
- Brew the tea that you intend to use with this teapot for a few sessions until you start to understand the teapot’s effect on this tea. You may want to compare it with the same tea brewed in a porcelain gaiwan. Pay attention to the mouthfeel when the tea is in your mouth and after you swallow the tea.

- Simmer the teapot in plain water for an hour or more. Rinse with a lot of tap water. Rinse with boiling water before use.
- Make the same tea as you did before. See if you notice any differences.

- Simmer the teapot in plain water and tea leaves for an hour. You can use the spent leaves from your previous session. Leave it for a few hours. Rinse with tap water and let it dry. Rinse with boiling water before use.
- Make the same tea. Notice any differences.

- If you want, you can do the last step again. But leave the teapot in the tea soup overnight instead of a few hours.

I’ve tried the above experiments with more than 100 teapots made of different clays with varied results. It also depends on the type of tea. Generally, the lighter kinds of tea (white, green), the more noticeable effects.

Yes, seasoning is unnecessary, but it does make a difference.

[Bok]

@Tor good advice.

In that sense seasoning is more like what happens naturally anyways.

What I was referring to is to boil tea and teapot together in a larger vessel, which is possibly counterproductive and a waste of good tea.

Brewing lots of tea is the better way to season a teapot. Some clays only perform fully after a while of use, old Hongni comes to mind for example. That beginning period also gives you the chance to see which teas match it best, before dedicating it to one or several kinds of teas.

What you mentioned with leaving a brew in the pot over night is something I do with newly reset pots to get them up to speed faster.

By definition completely useless for the almost porcelain-like Zhuni. If it’s not real Zhuni of course it still might make a difference

[Tor]

In that sense seasoning is more like what happens naturally anyways.

Yes, I think any teapot will eventually seasoned anyway. So if you can live with those early sessions then a few boiling water rinses would be fine.

In fact, those accelerated seasoning in many cases wouldn’t have the same effect as the actual longtime seasoned one. I just did those experiments to probably get a glimpse of what the pot might be when seasoned. With many pots after the experiments I even reset it and let it season naturally.

There’re some teapots that I prefer them to be unseasoned, such as shudei Tokoname or some Chaozhou’s. Those I reset every 2-3 years.

[Tor]

@Bok BTW, have you heard about that tofu and sugarcane thing in Taiwan? I’m not sure if that’s Teochew’s trick or something.

[Mark-S]

Yes, I think any teapot will eventually seasoned anyway. So if you can live with those early sessions then a few boiling water rinses would be fine.

I definitely prefer this approach. I have so far seasoned 5 pots with regular use. It took me about a week for each pot, but it's easier and the result is about the same in comparison to boiling the new pot in tea (in my opinion).

That whole group is full of stuff like this and they have so many members... I blame those half-informed tea-influencers for it.

It's not just this group. Unfortunately, there is misinformation everywhere. Also in the more "expert" groups like Early Teapots II. For example, I don't know why someone would think that this style is Japanese. To me it's clearly Chinese. https://m.facebook.com/groups/499515196 ... oser=false

@Tor

I think this sugar cane thing is more a Yixing thing: http://www.marshaln.com/2008/08/tuesday-august-12-2008/

[Bok]

Bok BTW, have you heard about that tofu and sugarcane thing in Taiwan? I’m not sure if that’s Teochew’s trick or something.

I had not heard about this before here in Taiwan and also wouldn’t try it, at least the sugar cane doesn’t sound like a good idea to me...

[Bok]

@Mark-S you always need to look who’s talking/writing. It’s a (mostly) free world and talk is cheap, in any given group people with little to say or experience to show for, can voice their opinion, this really can’t be avoided.

Yet some groups have a higher percentage of experienced members who will usually reign in the less knowledgeable ones. That is a lot of work and frustrations, one reason the fb group of Dr Lu is shutting down :/

[Tor]

I think this sugar cane thing is more a Yixing thing: http://www.marshaln.com/2008/08/tuesday-august-12-2008/

Ah! Thank you very much. The reason is still a mystery..

[OhThatNinja]

I've only boiled them in water to remove any loose clay particles.
But I've seen all sorts of people boiling they in tea leaves and apparently tofu (LOL).

[klepto]

When brewing a very young 2020 sheng puerh with a yixing teapot, should you keep the lid on in between the steepings?

[Bok]

When brewing a very young 2020 sheng puerh with a yixing teapot, should you keep the lid on in between the steepings?

I wouldn’t. Run the risk of cooking the leaves and get a lot more nastiness out of it...

[Balthazar]

I never keep the lid on the pot between steepings, regardless of what kind of tea I am brewing and the duration of time between each steep. For gaiwans, I keep the lid "half-open". I don't see what the benefit of keeping it on would be, whereas a clear disadvantage imo is that the pot will keep warmer for longer, i.e. keep cooking the tea.

I think we discussed this some months back in this thread, and there were different approaches.

[klepto]

When brewing a very young 2020 sheng puerh with a yixing teapot, should you keep the lid on in between the steepings?

I wouldn’t. Run the risk of cooking the leaves and get a lot more nastiness out of it...

I'm sure the pot will be warm enough even with the lid off. Love the pot you sent btw.. the tea flies out of it quickly. Its the perfect size for me.

[klepto]

I never keep the lid on the pot between steepings, regardless of what kind of tea I am brewing and the duration of time between each steep. For gaiwans, I keep the lid "half-open". I don't see what the benefit of keeping it on would be, whereas a clear disadvantage imo is that the pot will keep warmer for longer, i.e. keep cooking the tea.

I think we discussed this some months back in this thread, and there were different approaches.

I've had burnt spinach soup and it stays on your tongue must longer than any tea. It will ruin your day for sure.

[Bok]

Love the pot you sent btw.. the tea flies out of it quickly. Its the perfect size for me.

Glad you like it! Would be interesting if you compared it to brewing with the other Xishi in the slightly larger size.