Yixing

[Balthazar]

Time for some pleb-tier stuff, from a member of the "don't own any pre-80s pots and probably never will" crowd

Realizing it's been a while (as in years) since I had a focused pot-comparison session and inspired by the "Looking to pair some pots" thread, I fetched these two guys from the back of my cupboard. They're both Zini, with the smaller one being a mid/late 80s F1 pot (supposedly, I haven't made any attempt to verify the claims of the now defunct Origin Tea, from where all my F1 pots have been bought) and the other one a modern (either late 90s or early 2000s, guessing the latter) pot.

They both see almost no use, unfortunately. The smaller one has the questionable honor of being the only pot I've ever damaged (chipped lid).

Anyways, they were both fed the same dongding, which I've had enough gaiwan sessions with to know how tastes with a fairly "neutral" brewing vessel. Unsurprisingly they both had a slight muting quality. What was more surprising was that they seemed to mute different characteristics. With the smaller one, the fruity flavors really stood out. Less so with the larger, but here a faint roast flavor was more present (and the body seemed a little bit thicker too).

Hard for me to say how much was due to the clay and how much was due to other properties (the walls of the larger pot are quite a bit thicker). An interesting session which reminded me of the value there is in comparisons and variation.

[Bok]

@Balthazardont forget that Yixing sometimes doesn’t work at full potential from the start. Some need extended break in time

[Balthazar]

Good point. They've both been used quite a bit in the past though (although nowhere near as much as my favorites), it's only in the last three years or so that they have been used very little. I'd guess they've had around 50 sessions each.

[Bok]

From my experience, super flat shapes like the one on the left are almost unusable for most teas.

Maybe Sencha or Gyokuru could actually work, but most others will be a challenge.

[Balthazar]

It's definitely not a versatile shape, but I've found this one in particular to work really well with yancha (despite the fact that it's zini..), even when almost fully packed with dry leaf. In fact, it's my favorite pot for yancha, too bad I almost never drink it. Rolled oolongs are a different story..

[gradiva]

It's definitely not a versatile shape, but I've found this one in particular to work really well with yancha (despite the fact that it's zini..), even when almost fully packed with dry leaf. In fact, it's my favorite pot for yancha, too bad I almost never drink it. Rolled oolongs are a different story..

So what clay do you like better for yancha, if I may ask? Zhuni?

[Bok]

So what clay do you like better for yancha, if I may ask? Zhuni?

For me, it would depend on the quality of the Yancha. High end Yancha I would not brew in anything else than Zhuni or Porcelain. Maybe a thin walled Hongni could be considered. Anything else I'd fear would take some of the expensive preciousness away...

[Balthazar]

I mean, if I could choose freely and money was not an issue, I think I'd pick zhuni or xiao hongni. But I'm probably not the one to ask, as I don't own a pot of either type of clay (my hongni is >= 80s).

So on the rare occasion that I have dancong, it's either with a porcelain gaiwan or the modern zini pot.

Edit: @Bok beat me to it.

[OCTO]

From my experience, super flat shapes like the one on the left are almost unusable for most teas.

Maybe Sencha or Gyokuru could actually work, but most others will be a challenge.

@Bok

Flat enough?? hahahaha.... this baby brews up a storm with Yancha...

[Balthazar]

@OCTO: Of wow, that pot is absolutely gorgeous. Zhuni?

This shape discussion had me revisit this old blog post of Kyarazen's. He suggests that the flat, thick-walled profile is a good suit for young puer.

The flat pot with thick walls moderates the heat very well and thus can be used for young, green raw pu-erh, it gives more brewing leeway and prevents the quick release of astringent compounds, and also prevents the “cooking” of tender green leaves.

comparing four zini pots:

Pot 3 – Reference for comparison against the rest, thick walls, with boiling water into it, allows the tea leaves to quickly push out the aroma before the body slowly develops. Flattest and as such cools faster than other pots, may be useful in prevent bitter notes or vegetable green notes from accidental tea leaf cooking

... I might give it a try

[.m.]

@Balthazar
Nice. I've forget all about that article. But i have been using my little flat F1 hongni pot with young green puerh lately and liking the results.

[.m.]

@OCTO
Nice pancake.

[Balthazar]

Balthazar
Nice. I've forget all about that article. But i have been using my little flat F1 hongni pot with young green puerh lately and liking the results.

I'm using F1 hongni for young sheng myself, although it's not a flat profile.



Here's some pictures that better captures the profile of my modern pot, btw. Probably not not quite as flat as it appeared in the bird's-eye view.

[OCTO]

OCTO: Of wow, that pot is absolutely gorgeous. Zhuni?

@Balthazar

Nope... it's a modern blended clay. I forgot it's name. I just call it Zisha... hahaha.....

[gradiva]

So what clay do you like better for yancha, if I may ask? Zhuni?

For me, it would depend on the quality of the Yancha. High end Yancha I would not brew in anything else than Zhuni or Porcelain. Maybe a thin walled Hongni could be considered. Anything else I'd fear would take some of the expensive preciousness away...

How do you maintain the temperature up with porcelain?