Warming up teapots

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LeoFox
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Sat Jan 02, 2021 5:56 pm

Victoria wrote:
Sat Jan 02, 2021 5:19 pm

I like preheating teaware before each session, with 20th c Japanese kyusu (used and new) I’ve never had any problem just adding off boil water to kyusu. I do now have hairline cracks in two Chinese pots probably because either I should have been more careful pre-hydrating, or a crack was there already and suddenly adding off boiling water just expanded the crack. Zhuni pots are especially fragile because the clay expands and contracts so they should be preheated on outside prior to adding very hot water inside. Sigh, having one begin a hairline crack is not pleasant.
Thank you, Victoria! Very interesting how modern Japanese kyusu can easily handle off boiling water. Could it be a particular approach that is taken towards the clay?
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OCTO
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Sun Jan 03, 2021 12:59 am

LeoFox wrote:
Sat Jan 02, 2021 6:21 am
OCTO thank you! Am curious if you also gradually heat the pot in some way if the time between steeps get so long the pot cools down?
Yes. I have a habit of warming up the pot by pouring hot water on the pot before I circle inwards towards the tea inside the pot.
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pedant
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Sun Jan 03, 2021 1:04 am

i don't baby my pots. i just blast them with boiling water, but i've never had particularly fragile ones.

if i were worried, i'd take such a pot to the sink and turn on the hot tap. that would conveniently give me a smooth 30s or so transition from room temp or tepid to scalding temp, and then i'd think it'd be ready to go. that's convenient for me since i drink tea in the kitchen, but maybe it's not convenient for someone else.
Verbarxanthoxylum
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Wed Aug 09, 2023 6:04 pm

One trick I found is stick the cup of the gaiwan into the opening of the water kettle. The cup sits on top of the kettle and the steam heats up the gaiwan. It's basically an easy way to double boil the gaiwan. I like this trick because it doesn't involve wasting water and you can even do it when brewing tea. Steam is gentler than boiling water so this might reduce the risk of breaking pots.

This only works if your gaiwan and water kettle opening is sized such that the gaiwan doesn't fall into the kettle. I found that it's ok if very little of the gaiwan is sticking in the kettle itself. The heat would just heat the bottom and move upwards.

I also found success doing this with glass fairness vessels. Usually glass loses all of its heat, but this trick helps maintain heat in the glass.

This trick might not work with a lot of yixing teapots since they tend to be smaller than kettle openings.
GaoShan
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Wed Aug 09, 2023 7:21 pm

I'm pretty careful with my yixing pots. With my 1990s Zhuni-Hongni pot and my older Zhuni, I pour half-boiled water over the outside of the pot and then fill it with the same water. I do the same thing again with freshly boiled water. I hope this will prevent hairline cracks on these pots. My cheap porcelain pots can withstand boiling water with no preheating. I might consider preheating porcelain if I get more expensive porcelain teaware.
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Baiyun
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Wed Aug 09, 2023 7:51 pm

GaoShan wrote:
Wed Aug 09, 2023 7:21 pm
I'm pretty careful with my yixing pots. With my 1990s Zhuni-Hongni pot and my older Zhuni, I pour half-boiled water over the outside of the pot and then fill it with the same water. I do the same thing again with freshly boiled water. I hope this will prevent hairline cracks on these pots. My cheap porcelain pots can withstand boiling water with no preheating. I might consider preheating porcelain if I get more expensive porcelain teaware.
I also base it on expense and ease of replacement, and the general impression the material makes. The 60 year old hongni gets the same more considered treatment as your older pots (because @Bok with his infinite pot wisdom advised cracks there are not unheard of), but the modern Zhuni pots I have get the boiling treatment right away, even straight in. I like their fuss free nature sometimes. Same with my porcelain. If I was in a country with real winter and cold rooms then I'd perhaps be more careful there as well. I prefer to preheat pots particularly so I can rest the dry leaves in there for a bit. Only on rare and busy occasions will I skip that leaf waking step because these steamed dry leaf aromas can be a highlight. I tend to pour the preheat water out into the other vessels and then re-use it for the initial rinse, for most, but not all, teas. Some still get that fresh 100C rinse.
GaoShan
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Wed Aug 09, 2023 8:31 pm

Baiyun wrote:
Wed Aug 09, 2023 7:51 pm
GaoShan wrote:
Wed Aug 09, 2023 7:21 pm
I'm pretty careful with my yixing pots. With my 1990s Zhuni-Hongni pot and my older Zhuni, I pour half-boiled water over the outside of the pot and then fill it with the same water. I do the same thing again with freshly boiled water. I hope this will prevent hairline cracks on these pots. My cheap porcelain pots can withstand boiling water with no preheating. I might consider preheating porcelain if I get more expensive porcelain teaware.
I also base it on expense and ease of replacement, and the general impression the material makes. The 60 year old hongni gets the same more considered treatment as your older pots (because Bok with his infinite pot wisdom advised cracks there are not unheard of), but the modern Zhuni pots I have get the boiling treatment right away, even straight in. I like their fuss free nature sometimes. Same with my porcelain. If I was in a country with real winter and cold rooms then I'd perhaps be more careful there as well. I prefer to preheat pots particularly so I can rest the dry leaves in there for a bit. Only on rare and busy occasions will I skip that leaf waking step because these steamed dry leaf aromas can be a highlight. I tend to pour the preheat water out into the other vessels and then re-use it for the initial rinse, for most, but not all, teas. Some still get that fresh 100C rinse.
I also got my pot-heating wisdom from Bok. :) I'm Canadian, so we do get cold winters, but my porcelain pots seem to be able to withstand them. I don't have any modern Yixing pots to play with, but I suspect I'd be cautious and preheat them anyway. As you say, the preheated pot can give lovely aromas.
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Baiyun
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Wed Aug 09, 2023 8:55 pm

GaoShan wrote:
Wed Aug 09, 2023 8:31 pm
but I suspect I'd be cautious and preheat them anyway. As you say, the preheated pot can give lovely aromas.
Oh yes I preheat them all, but I don't necessarily two-stage preheat the modern pots to ease them up to temperature. I just have some confidence in these newer pots because nothing has happened on countless occasions, but it will only take that one incident, should it come :lol:
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Bok
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Thu Aug 10, 2023 12:20 am

Verbarxanthoxylum wrote:
Wed Aug 09, 2023 6:04 pm
One trick I found is stick the cup of the gaiwan into the opening of the water kettle. The cup sits on top of the kettle and the steam heats up the gaiwan. It's basically an easy way to double boil the gaiwan. I like this trick because it doesn't involve wasting water and you can even do it when brewing tea. Steam is gentler than boiling water so this might reduce the risk of breaking pots.

This only works if your gaiwan and water kettle opening is sized such that the gaiwan doesn't fall into the kettle. I found that it's ok if very little of the gaiwan is sticking in the kettle itself. The heat would just heat the bottom and move upwards.

I also found success doing this with glass fairness vessels. Usually glass loses all of its heat, but this trick helps maintain heat in the glass.

This trick might not work with a lot of yixing teapots since they tend to be smaller than kettle openings.
It is one particular tea teacher that is doing this technique, he’s very nice and knowledgeable, but his pots are usually larger and not of the most precious kind.

While it does the job, the danger of sudden movements on the usually much harder kettle(large clay, Tetsubin or similar bears other risks of cracking the teapots. So I stay clear of it :)
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Baisao
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Thu Aug 10, 2023 10:43 pm

Bok wrote:
Thu Aug 10, 2023 12:20 am
Verbarxanthoxylum wrote:
Wed Aug 09, 2023 6:04 pm
One trick I found is stick the cup of the gaiwan into the opening of the water kettle. The cup sits on top of the kettle and the steam heats up the gaiwan. It's basically an easy way to double boil the gaiwan. I like this trick because it doesn't involve wasting water and you can even do it when brewing tea. Steam is gentler than boiling water so this might reduce the risk of breaking pots.

This only works if your gaiwan and water kettle opening is sized such that the gaiwan doesn't fall into the kettle. I found that it's ok if very little of the gaiwan is sticking in the kettle itself. The heat would just heat the bottom and move upwards.

I also found success doing this with glass fairness vessels. Usually glass loses all of its heat, but this trick helps maintain heat in the glass.

This trick might not work with a lot of yixing teapots since they tend to be smaller than kettle openings.
It is one particular tea teacher that is doing this technique, he’s very nice and knowledgeable, but his pots are usually larger and not of the most precious kind.

While it does the job, the danger of sudden movements on the usually much harder kettle(large clay, Tetsubin or similar bears other risks of cracking the teapots. So I stay clear of it :)
Likewise, I am also familiar with a teacher who uses a brazier to wake up the leaves in the pot. His teapots are also not the most precious kind.
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