Yixing Gaiwan?

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ShuShu
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Tue Jan 23, 2018 6:46 am

I need a small vessel to brew old sheng for myself ( I have a bigger one when I brew for 2-3 people).
I prefer not to invest in another pot (I usually don't brew old sheng for myself too often) but would like to avoid the iffy storage stuff.
Do you think that a yixing gaiwan - particularly the $20 stuff you can find on Dragon Tea House, would do the job? Any alternatives?
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steanze
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Tue Jan 23, 2018 8:26 am

No. The clay on yixing gaiwans is really bad.
Old sheng is the type of tea that most benefits from a yixing pot, zini/qingshuini are ideal clays if you want to round some storage flavors. If I had to get 1 yixing, I'd get it for old sheng. I don't know of any worthwhile alternatives. Oolongs can be brewed in a gaiwan just fine :)
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ShuShu
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Tue Jan 23, 2018 8:34 am

steanze wrote:
Tue Jan 23, 2018 8:26 am
No. The clay on yixing gaiwans is really bad.
Old sheng is the type of tea that most benefits from a yixing pot, zini/qingshuini are ideal clays if you want to round some storage flavors. If I had to get 1 yixing, I'd get it for old sheng. I don't know of any worthwhile alternatives. Oolongs can be brewed in a gaiwan just fine :)
Thanks
I have a small zini biandeng that I use for yancha, I guess that brewing old sheng in it every once in a while won't hurt :|
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steanze
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Tue Jan 23, 2018 8:39 am

I would avoid that. Yancha leaves a quite strong roasting flavor, you don't want that to mess with your sheng. I'd still prefer a gaiwan in that case.
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ShuShu
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Tue Jan 23, 2018 8:48 am

steanze wrote:
Tue Jan 23, 2018 8:39 am
I would avoid that. Yancha leaves a quite strong roasting flavor, you don't want that to mess with your sheng. I'd still prefer a gaiwan in that case.
So, between the old sheng and yancha you think that old sheng benefits more from yixing? Am I right?
But yixing also has a great impact on yancha don't you think? I may be wrong since I drink yancha exclusively from yixing so perhaps I just got used to the taste...
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steanze
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Tue Jan 23, 2018 8:51 am

In my view, old sheng benefits more from yixing than yancha, although yancha benefits too. Also, if the yancha is good, I prefer it in a hongni pot.
But if you drink old sheng only rarely, and you like the yancha in the zini biandeng, then you can use a gaiwan for old sheng for the time being and later on you can get a yixing.
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Brent D
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Wed Jan 24, 2018 8:28 am

What do you consider "old" Sheng?
I use a zini for shu and a hongni for sheng, but my sheng is never very old.
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ShuShu
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Wed Jan 24, 2018 8:57 am

Brent D wrote:
Wed Jan 24, 2018 8:28 am
What do you consider "old" Sheng?
I use a zini for shu and a hongni for sheng, but my sheng is never very old.
About 15-20 years... mostly stuff from very early 2000s.
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