For Shui Ping lovers with small pockets...

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pantry
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Wed May 29, 2019 12:27 pm

@Bok It’s unlikely I could score a real Zhuni. Took me an extremely long time to even dip into Yixing-ware!

@Victoria I just ordered a 85ml Tokoname kyuusu—hope it’d do the job! With Tokoname, do you stick to one type of teas in the same fashion as with Yixing?
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Victoria
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Wed May 29, 2019 3:25 pm

Victoria wrote:
Sat May 25, 2019 1:49 pm
I find my 80ml Sou Yamada Mayake (wood fired) kyusu is very good with most medium/high roasted wuyi oolong. I usually fill it up without breaking too many wiry leaves.
pantry wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 12:27 pm
Victoria I just ordered a 85ml Tokoname kyuusu—hope it’d do the job! With Tokoname, do you stick to one type of teas in the same fashion as with Yixing?
Which clay type and maker of Tokoname kyusu did you get? With most Tokoname I stick to sencha and or high mountain depending on clay and form. I only use Sou Yamada Mayake for roasted Wuyi. If I had more I'd reserve one for sencha though. I don't steep roasted oolong and sencha in same kyusu. I might though if I had a nutty roasted sencha :) .
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Bok
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Wed May 29, 2019 7:42 pm

@pantry it’s just a question of funds ;)

What is probably essential is the thinness of the vessel. The thinner the better. So a thin walled hongni or similar might work as well for quality Yancha. In the doubt stick to thin porcelain.
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Victoria
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Wed May 29, 2019 7:59 pm

Bok wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 7:42 pm
pantry it’s just a question of funds ;)

What is probably essential is the thinness of the vessel. The thinner the better. So a thin walled hongni or similar might work as well for quality Yancha. In the doubt stick to thin porcelain.
Interesting, the Yamada Sou shigaraki wood fired (Mayake) that i use for yancha is very thin and light weight material. I haven’t noticed yancha consisting of very small delicate leaves (or are they ..hmm), off boil water is used to steep, so why is keeping heat away important ( I assume objective of thin walls) ?
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Bok
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Wed May 29, 2019 8:23 pm

Victoria wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 7:59 pm
Bok wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 7:42 pm
pantry it’s just a question of funds ;)

What is probably essential is the thinness of the vessel. The thinner the better. So a thin walled hongni or similar might work as well for quality Yancha. In the doubt stick to thin porcelain.
Interesting, the Yamada Sou shigaraki wood fired (Mayake) that i use for yancha is very thin and light weight material. I haven’t noticed yancha consisting of very small delicate leaves (or are they ..hmm), off boil water is used to steep, so why is keeping heat away important ( I assume objective of thin walls) ?
Good quality Yancha needs to be brewed with precision and attention, every second counts or you might loose a layer/overbrew.
More heat equals the effect of steeping longer. Another important feature of a good yancha pot is a fast pour (for the same reasons), under or equal to six seconds is ideal. Think of it as a kind of espresso way of brewing. Most people also use closer to boiling water.

Yancha leaves are also usually more delicate due to the prolonged processing and roasting. Much more so than Dancong for example and markedly smaller.
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Victoria
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Wed May 29, 2019 9:05 pm

Bok wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 8:23 pm
Victoria wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 7:59 pm
Bok wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 7:42 pm
pantry it’s just a question of funds ;)

What is probably essential is the thinness of the vessel. The thinner the better. So a thin walled hongni or similar might work as well for quality Yancha. In the doubt stick to thin porcelain.
Interesting, the Yamada Sou shigaraki wood fired (Mayake) that i use for yancha is very thin and light weight material. I haven’t noticed yancha consisting of very small delicate leaves (or are they ..hmm), off boil water is used to steep, so why is keeping heat away important ( I assume objective of thin walls) ?
Good quality Yancha needs to be brewed with precision and attention, every second counts or you might loose a layer/overbrew.
More heat equals the effect of steeping longer. Another important feature of a good yancha pot is a fast pour (for the same reasons), under or equal to six seconds is ideal. Think of it as a kind of espresso way of brewing. Most people also use closer to boiling water.

Yancha leaves are also usually more delicate due to the prolonged processing and roasting. Much more so than Dancong for example and markedly smaller.
I have found yancha that I’ve had to be more forgiving, 10sec pour seems fine :) Aside from thinner bodied gaiwan, Yamada Sou’s wood fired shigaraki and a modern Zhuni pot, I’ve used 80ml Hongni and 90ml QingShuiNi shuiping for roasted yancha. They are not thick, but also not as thin as Sou Yamada’s mayake kyusu. I think honestly there is flexibility here. The most forgiving/flexible I’ve found is a gaiwan, so back to what you said earlier. Of course, every pot it unique.

P.S having fun revisiting my older yancha posts thus all the links...
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Wed May 29, 2019 9:36 pm

Victoria wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 9:05 pm
I have found yancha that I’ve had to be more forgiving, 10sec pour seems fine :) Aside from thinner bodied gaiwan, Yamada Sou’s wood fired shigaraki and a modern Zhuni pot, I’ve used 80ml Hongni and 90ml QingShuiNi shuiping for roasted yancha. They are not thick, but also not as thin as Sou Yamada’s mayake kyusu. I think honestly there is flexibility here. The most forgiving/flexible I’ve found is a gaiwan, so back to what you said earlier. Of course, every pot it unique.
Thanks for the pot listings, always interesting to see what other people use!

Of course a bit longer steeping can be ok, some premium yancha have so many layers though that I prefer not to risk any losses. Also a reason I prefer Zhuni or porcelain, do not want anything of that expensive stuff taken away... Kind of fitting as well, use the most expensive clay with the (mostly) most pricey tea :mrgreen:

Often the most delicious cup is the first rinse/brew that one keeps aside to drink last. That is usually where the character of the tea is most evident.
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Victoria
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Wed May 29, 2019 10:02 pm

@Bok maybe you can source a nice zhuni for me :) . Yes, I also keep the first rinse too and try it later... Oh good, it’s only 8pm here, I’ll have some yancha now...
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Thu May 30, 2019 3:48 am

pantry wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 12:27 pm
It’s unlikely I could score a real Zhuni. Took me an extremely long time to even dip into Yixing-ware!
I feel your pain. IMHO zhuni is a bit overrated anyway. And there are fakes floating everywhere. When it comes to a fine cliff tea, nothing can beat a pure 24K gold handmade shuiping. And you'll want a small one for a tea so precious. One that fits in a small pocket. :lol:
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Thu May 30, 2019 4:50 am

.m. wrote:
Thu May 30, 2019 3:48 am
I feel your pain. IMHO zhuni is a bit overrated anyway. And there are fakes floating everywhere. When it comes to a fine cliff tea, nothing can beat a pure 24K gold handmade shuiping. And you'll want a small one for a tea so precious. One that fits in a small pocket. :lol:
Haha

I felt the same way until I got real Zhuni on my hands (not until after buying one doubtful maybe-Zhuni). There is some subtle difference as to when brewed in porcelain. Is it enough too justify the purchase? That is an individual choice. I do like the patina development and handling a tea pot better than porcelain.

But you are right in the sense that for most people it won’t make any difference whatsoever.
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pantry
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Thu May 30, 2019 11:28 am

Bok wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 7:42 pm
pantry it’s just a question of funds ;)
Well, we are on a thread titled ‘small pockets’, so there you have it haha :lol:

@Victoria I got a mogake pot by hokujo. I think @bok got one last year and liked it too? (on a side note, I always feel like a creep reading all you guys’ older posts/discussions :oops: )

The better Yancha I got are not so delicate. Brewed leaves are thick and leathery (compared to, say, puerh). Or did you mean delicate relative to other oolong? They are also more forgiving in terms of brew time—though I probably had lost some layers in doing so like you said. The cheaper dhp is less forgiving, and much easier to overbrew.

As for zhuni, would any of the modern zhuni available online do the trick? They look beautiful, and are quite affordable. But realistically i think I’m gonna wait until a suitable pot find its way to me :p
.m.
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Thu May 30, 2019 11:34 am

Bok wrote:
Thu May 30, 2019 4:50 am
.m. wrote:
Thu May 30, 2019 3:48 am
...
Haha

I felt the same way until I got real Zhuni on my hands (not until after buying one doubtful maybe-Zhuni). There is some subtle difference as to when brewed in porcelain. Is it enough too justify the purchase? That is an individual choice. I do like the patina development and handling a tea pot better than porcelain.

But you are right in the sense that for most people it won’t make any difference whatsoever.
ya, i was joking a bit. of course zhuni is a great clay and really beautiful, no doubt about that. But i wouldn't discount a cheap zini. If processed and fired well, it can be nice too and deserve a place on the tea table. Cheers!
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pantry
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Thu May 30, 2019 12:14 pm

.m.
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Thu May 30, 2019 12:26 pm

pantry wrote:
Thu May 30, 2019 12:14 pm
.m. why stop at gold?

http://www.thejewelleryeditor.com/jewel ... pot-world/
You win. :lol: :lol: :lol: It's even meant to brew a DaHongPao. :lol: :lol: :lol:

"As for it’s name, Mr Sethia explained: “This is a teapot just for one, that is why it is called the Egoist.” He has already brewed up in the Egoist, and for the occasion chose a rare Muscani tea from Newby Teas of London while lamenting having been outbid for a £5 million lot of even rarer Chinese Da Hon Pao rock tea from the Wuyi Mountains in China."

But I am a bit sceptical here, i wouldnt think that diamonds would have much effect on the tea, except that the blood of the miners might make the tea taste a bit bitter.
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Bok
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Fri May 31, 2019 12:10 am

pantry wrote:
Thu May 30, 2019 12:14 pm
.m. why stop at gold?

http://www.thejewelleryeditor.com/jewel ... pot-world/
That pot is ridiculous! Most expensive and if you ask me most ugly teapot as welll...

In regards to performance, it does not really say what the inside consists of, I doubt there are stones inside as well.
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