Warming up teapots

[LeoFox]

For all my teapots, I am typically warming them up before a session by pouring boiling water into them.

Haven't had an issue so far - but heard this is a bad habit since it can crack the pots.

From reading about this topic, it seems bone china is most prone to crack under thermal shock. Also, antique wares and Chao zhou pots can also be very sensitive.

In contrast, I heard most modern pots are fine. I am not sure if this would be an issue for japanese pots, but it seems Hojo just recommends warming with boiling water.

Below are some methods to heat the teapot including approaches discussed in this thread:

1.) Bok's method: Pouring boiling water on the external bottom of the pot first and then the external side before filling. Can be done by holding pot over waste bowl and dousing outside with boiling water. Set pot down and fill with boiling water. (seems to make the most sense from the perspective of minimizing inner and outer temp difference)

2.) Warm teapot over the steam of the boiling kettle

3.) Fill pot with water from the kettle that is about half way to boiling - maybe around 60 C - and keep it there until water fully boils. Then pour out warm water and fill with boiling water.

4.) Use tray and keep pot in contact with warm water

5.) Youzi method: pour in 1:4 to 1:1 room temperature : boiling water and let equilbrate for 1 min. Discard and then pour in boiling water for a full warming. Use octo’s method if pot is new or has been unused for months

6.) OCTO method: pour in some water as kettle heats up at different stages. Top up with boiling water. Discard and then bathe in boiling water.

7.) DailyTX method: fill your pot half way with room temperature. Add hot water to about 3/4. Let it sit for 30 second. And the add hot water until it’s full. Sit another 30 second. It’s good to go.

8.) Tea master (stephane) method: from his pamphlet "Start by pouring on the lid of the closed teapot. This will prevent a thermal shock (for teapots only). Then fill the teapot (or the gaiwan) with boiling water."

9.) Pedant method: typically just apply boiling water directly. But for expensive antiques: "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"

10.) Victoria: "with 20th c Japanese kyusu (used and new) I’ve never had any problem just adding off boil water to kyusu. ". Note japanese tea sessions typically begins by pouring boiling water into pot, then from pot to water cooling vessel, then from that to cups and then back to pot. Therefore, pots are meant to withstand initial heat shock. For chinese antiques, use Octo's method.

Personally I want to maximize convenience and minimize having to shower the pot with water.

Am hoping people can share how they warm their pots here, and their thoughts on what kind of pots need this kind of heat priming.

Thank you for your help!

[Youzi]

Fill 50% of the pot with warm water from whatever source. Then fill the other 50% with boiling from the kettle, and let it warm up, stabilize, for 1 min.

Pour out, then done.

[OCTO]

I would gradually warm the pot up. Have no experience brewing tea in winter.... but under the hot summer weather here, I ALWAYS bathe the pot with a round of hot water before adding tea leaves into the pot. The heated vessel also helps open and wake the tea up before the first rinse. I'm not too sure if bathing the pot with hot boiling water during winter would shock the pot and crack it.

Cheers!

[DailyTX]

+1 on gradually warming up your fragile teapots/teawares. I am a bit lazy, so I have been only doing that on antiques, expensive pots, and other fragile teawares. For work horse pots, thick wall pots, and most of my F1 pots, I have skip that process. In general, it's a good practice. Another interesting recommendation I read about preventing thermal shock is a well used pot with good patina. Maybe the tea oil has benefit to prevent cracks like sunscreen or oil treating cast iron cookware?

[Bok]

. Another interesting recommendation I read about preventing thermal shock is a well used pot with good patina. Maybe the tea oil has benefit to prevent cracks like sunscreen or oil treating cast iron cookware?

That sounds like a dangerous recommendation to follow... I highly doubt a thin layer of patina can prevent that and no inclination to test it. A little shower hasn’t hurt anyone and it only takes a few seconds. Not to mention the obvious advantages for the brewing afterwards.

[DailyTX]

. Another interesting recommendation I read about preventing thermal shock is a well used pot with good patina. Maybe the tea oil has benefit to prevent cracks like sunscreen or oil treating cast iron cookware?

That sounds like a dangerous recommendation to follow... I highly doubt a thin layer of patina can prevent that and no inclination to test it. A little shower hasn’t hurt anyone and it only takes a few seconds. Not to mention the obvious advantages for the brewing afterwards.

@Bok
If I remembered correctly, it was a comparison between a well used pot with patina vs unused pot in relation to thermal shock. The only logical variable is tea oil from a well used pot. Other variables such as age, thickness, climate, etc. will also affect the result.

[OCTO]

.

Bok
If I remembered correctly, it was a comparison between a well used pot with patina vs unused pot in relation to thermal shock. The only logical variable is tea oil from a well used pot. Other variables such as age, thickness, climate, etc. will also affect the result.

If it’s a comparison between a well used and unused pot, then the variation that should be looked at is the level of hydration in the clay itself. Older pots that have been left unused tends to dry out. Thus increasing the risk of thermal shock when it comes in direct contact with boiling hot water prior to gradually warming up the pot.

Tea oil will also contribute to the hydration level of the clay and a patina is a clear sign of frequent use, pointing to a well hydrated clay.

Cheers!!

[LeoFox]

I would gradually warm the pot up. Have no experience brewing tea in winter.... but under the hot summer weather here, I ALWAYS bathe the pot with a round of hot water before adding tea leaves into the pot. The heated vessel also helps open and wake the tea up before the first rinse. I'm not too sure if bathing the pot with hot boiling water during winter would shock the pot and crack it.

Cheers!

How do you gradually heat the pot up?

[Bok]

Gradually hotter water. Warming up tap water > boiling water

[OCTO]

I would gradually warm the pot up. Have no experience brewing tea in winter.... but under the hot summer weather here, I ALWAYS bathe the pot with a round of hot water before adding tea leaves into the pot. The heated vessel also helps open and wake the tea up before the first rinse. I'm not too sure if bathing the pot with hot boiling water during winter would shock the pot and crack it.

Cheers!

How do you gradually heat the pot up?

At times, before the water reaches a boil, you can pour some into the pot and top it up with boiling water when the water comes to a boil.

[26uk]

How about using the oven? I use an oven to dry my teapot after use, I could use it to warm it up before use.

I have just been pouring boiling water in my teapots until now. Though I usually use porcelain gaiwans.

Correspondingly, won't a hot teapot cleaned with cold water after use also have the possibility of breaking?

[DailyTX]

A simple way to warm it up is fill your pot half way with room temperature. Add hot water to about 3/4. Let it sit for 30 second. And the add hot water until it’s full. Sit another 30 second. It’s good to go.

[Tea Adventures]

How about using the oven? I use an oven to dry my teapot after use, I could use it to warm it up before use.

I have just been pouring boiling water in my teapots until now. Though I usually use porcelain gaiwans.

Correspondingly, won't a hot teapot cleaned with cold water after use also have the possibility of breaking?

I would never use cold water to clean and rinse my teapot after a session. I use hot water and when I pour it away, the teapot dries quickly as well.

[LeoFox]

@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?

[Victoria]

A very old antique pot will need to be carefully rehydrated like Octo mentions, add to that any possible invisible hairline cracks from prior years of use, proceeding with extra caution I’d say is the way to go; soaking fully submerged for a few days, then partially filling with warm water and topping off with off boil.

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.

Regarding re-heating a pot after it begins to cool, sometimes I’ll place it in a bowl with very hot water to bathe it, other times I’ll use a mug warmer to re-heat it.