Clay pot and smell

Post Reply
User avatar
ShuShu
Posts: 335
Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2017 9:36 pm
Location: New York

Tue Apr 03, 2018 5:15 pm

I have been experimenting and comparing Yixing and porcelain a lot lately.
I have noticed that after a few off the boil infusions, the wet leaves brewed in a clay teapot smell differently than those brewed in a gaiwan (I have checked this with two types of yancha). The smell was lighter when I kept the lid off between steeps. When the lid was always on, the smell was stronger and some flavor was imparted to the tea.
Sounds familiar? Is this just the result of a lot of leaves squeezed in a small space under boiling water? Or perhaps its something with my pot (a 90s hongni)?
gatmcm
Posts: 120
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2017 5:06 am
Location: Porto, Portugal
Contact:

Tue Apr 03, 2018 5:41 pm

Part of it might be the shape, like how a tall thin cup locks the aromas longer than a wide mouth one, might also be that the fact the leaf has less room to expand makes the extraction somewhat slower, I've noticed this when leafing hard in my small 60ml clay pot, after quite a large amount of steeps the leaf still has a great deal of aroma.
User avatar
ShuShu
Posts: 335
Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2017 9:36 pm
Location: New York

Tue Apr 03, 2018 6:30 pm

gatmcm wrote:
Tue Apr 03, 2018 5:41 pm
Part of it might be the shape, like how a tall thin cup locks the aromas longer than a wide mouth one, might also be that the fact the leaf has less room to expand makes the extraction somewhat slower, I've noticed this when leafing hard in my small 60ml clay pot, after quite a large amount of steeps the leaf still has a great deal of aroma.
Im just not sure whether this smell is "the aroma". Its not necessarily a pleasant smell (but also not a bad one)...might be a smell of squeezed hard brewed leaf, but I just want to confirm that its not something with the pot
gatmcm
Posts: 120
Joined: Wed Oct 11, 2017 5:06 am
Location: Porto, Portugal
Contact:

Tue Apr 03, 2018 6:50 pm

ShuShu wrote:
Tue Apr 03, 2018 5:15 pm
smell differently
oh, missed this, thought you were referring to the intensity of the aroma, can't really help you without smelling myself, haven't noticed anything smelling off/different in my pot although I admit I only did an A-B test once when I first got it and was not too focused on the aroma exuded by the leaf
User avatar
pedant
Admin
Posts: 1516
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2017 4:35 am
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Tue Apr 03, 2018 8:35 pm

have you tried removing the wet leaf from the pot and gaiwan and comparing?
User avatar
ShuShu
Posts: 335
Joined: Mon Dec 04, 2017 9:36 pm
Location: New York

Tue Apr 03, 2018 8:52 pm

pedant wrote:
Tue Apr 03, 2018 8:35 pm
have you tried removing the wet leaf from the pot and gaiwan and comparing?
Yes, the diff was also noticeable when the wet leaf was out. But after a while (20 min or so) it just faded away.
Could it be that, unlike the gaiwan, the pot just cooked them too much?
I’m just trying to rule out an issue with the pot (yes I’m somewhat paranoid about these issues)
User avatar
pedant
Admin
Posts: 1516
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2017 4:35 am
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Wed Apr 04, 2018 12:44 am

possible. you could maybe test by trying to intentionally cook them by wrapping a towel or something around your gaiwan to insulate. prewarm the towel first before the session by filling gaiwan up with boiling water (lid on) and letting it sit in the towel. drape the towel over the top of the lid too.
User avatar
tealifehk
Vendor
Posts: 485
Joined: Wed Oct 04, 2017 9:58 am
Location: Hong Kong
Contact:

Wed Apr 04, 2018 3:48 pm

Smell your (clean) pot after pouring boiling water through it and see if you detect a similar odor. Don't burn your nose! :D
Post Reply