Yixing

[Bok]

I use boiling water.

Also showering in between steeps is the same sweat-cool-down-effect. So I’d avoid that. If the volume of tea is too much you can always only partially fill it… ; - )

[GaoShan]

GaoShan
Try this:
6 g in 150 mL:
No rinse
1 min 10s, 1 min 15s, 1 min 40s, 2 min etc

Thanks! I'll try this tomorrow and report back.

I find it brings out different nuances. I read about it on a tea blog once. As I mentioned, I use a tea tray. Not a tea bowl.

I'll give it a try. It'll be interesting to see if I can tell the difference. I also use a tea tray.

[GaoShan]

I use boiling water.

Also showering in between steeps is the same sweat-cool-down-effect. So I’d avoid that. If the volume of tea is too much you can always only partially fill it… ; - )

Thanks. Boiling water it is.

I'm going to try using less leaf with longer steeps. Also, if it really isn't a big deal for the pot to cool down, I can use my standard parameters (25/20/25/30 seconds, etc.) with 7 g over several hours and probably won't have a problem. It's just drinking that much tea in a short time period that was unpleasant.

[wave_code]

the only pre-heating I tend to do is typically in winter since rooms can get cold overnight. if you aren't using an electric kettle I just add some warm to hot water as the water is in process of boiling (basically once the kettle starts to get noisy) so it gets to around body temp or so, then top it off with boiling once it reaches that point. once its had boiling water in it, even with the lid off after 30 minutes or an hour, unless your house is very cold or you are outside I can't imagine how the pot could get cold enough to crack unless it already had an invisible one or was faulty like it sounds like your woodfired one was.

as for the pot size, having recently picked up some larger size pots I'm coming around on the idea that I was potentially squashing a lot of my larger leaf teas previously and it might have not been doing certain ones any favors. I'm typically doing the 5g/100ml unless I know a tea needs more or less, but was doing that in exactly 100ml pots, while now I'm using those proportions and brew size in more like 120-150ml pots with nice results and the leaves showing more opening afterwards. If you want to be really picky precise about proportion just measure out 100ml, fill the pot with that water and try to get a good sense of where the fill line looks to be from when you are seated. Practice filling to where you think that point is and pouring out and measuring it. Unless the pots you used before have super tight lid fit you might find you are getting a much easier pour and less dribbling without as much fuss too if that sort of thing bothers you.

[GaoShan]

GaoShan
Try this:
6 g in 150 mL:
No rinse
1 min 10s, 1 min 15s, 1 min 40s, 2 min etc

I tried your parameters and am happy to report that I don't feel any bad effects. I've had seven steeps in about 2.5 hours and will probably coax a couple more out of these leaves. However, I found these steeps to be more savoury and less sweet/floral than my usual ~30 second steeps, which is too bad since I gravitate toward these flavours in oolongs. Longer steeps seemed to provide more balanced infusions, but the vegetal and umami flavours were more prominent. I'll have to keep experimenting to see if I can find a happy medium between having too much tea and having tea that has the flavour profile I like.

[Bok]

Wanted to caution anyone interested in Yixing and their identification: there is a quite popular, but ultimately pretty misleading FB group called Yixing Teapots & Chinese Porcelain Marks. I keep being stupefied by how little the moderators do seem to know. It is really hair-raising sometimes... identification of age purely by looking at a seal chops??? Lots of happy people now there thinking they own antiques or pieces made by master craftsmen. It is shocking.

I tried to make some comments, but obviously they get aggressive immediately when someone is voicing doubts. Advice to anyone: watch as entertainment, otherwise stay away (which I should probably as it raises my anger levels at the ignorance displayed ). Taking what is said there as knowledge only dumbs you down.

[Chadrinkincat]

Wanted to caution anyone interested in Yixing and their identification: there is a quite popular, but ultimately pretty misleading FB group called Yixing Teapots & Chinese Porcelain Marks. I keep being stupefied by how little the moderators do seem to know. It is really hair-raising sometimes... identification of age purely by looking at a seal chops??? Lots of happy people now there thinking they own antiques or pieces made by master craftsmen. It is shocking.

I tried to make some comments, but obviously they get aggressive immediately when someone is voicing doubts. Advice to anyone: watch as entertainment, otherwise stay away (which I should probably as it raises my anger levels at the ignorance displayed ). Taking what is said there as knowledge only dumbs you down.

Westerners love focusing solely on the seals of pots for some odd reason.

[Bok]

Westerners love focusing solely on the seals of pots for some odd reason.

Oh not only it seems, the "admin/moderators" are all Asian, as are many asking questions...

In a way I understand it. The seal is seemingly the easiest thing that one can find info on, other things as clay and workmanship are much harder to get a grip on. In any case many antiques and master made pots in this group...

[Chadrinkincat]

@Bok

There are a few decent pots on there but most are quintessential tuition pots. Some of the comments are .



The Squirrel pot from MarkS is pretty nice though. A nice find

[OCTO]

Westerners love focusing solely on the seals of pots for some odd reason.

Oh not only it seems, the "admin/moderators" are all Asian, as are many asking questions...

In a way I understand it. The seal is seemingly the easiest thing that one can find info on, other things as clay and workmanship are much harder to get a grip on. In any case many antiques and master made pots in this group...

An adventurous journey down the rabbit hole will be far more educating and exhilarating. Nothing beats the smell of burning rubber when it propels you over the scorching tarmac... hahahaha....

[Andrew S]

Westerners love focusing solely on the seals of pots for some odd reason.

Oh not only it seems, the "admin/moderators" are all Asian, as are many asking questions...

In a way I understand it. The seal is seemingly the easiest thing that one can find info on, other things as clay and workmanship are much harder to get a grip on. In any case many antiques and master made pots in this group...

An adventurous journey down the rabbit hole will be far more educating and exhilarating. Nothing beats the smell of burning rubber when it propels you over the scorching tarmac... hahahaha....

I think that people are put off by the smell of burning cash as we're propelled head-first at a great speed down the wrong path on that tarmac... Yixing teapots are located in a rabbit-hole infested with spiders and hidden traps.

Having now had the privilege of being able to acquire and play with some pots that aren't fake, I do think that it starts to become easier to learn the intricacies of this dark art (clay texture, overall shape, handiwork, tool marks, little bumps and contours inside and outside), but the internet is a difficult place to learn these things without losing a lot of money (and hoping that at least some of that money went to buying genuine pots and not just into the tuition fund).

But as I say, so long as it stays fun, I'll keep going.

Andrew

[Bok]

There are a few decent pots on there but most are quintessential tuition pots. Some of the comments are .

Funny thing is also that the pots which are the most decent often get the label “no collection value”.

[wave_code]

While many people tend to get a bit defensive when they feel someone is challenging them (correctly or not) on something they think they know a lot about, it does make you wonder if admins or group members are openly hostile to accurate and important information... maybe they are the vendors of a lot of these pots??

[Bok]

While many people tend to get a bit defensive when they feel someone is challenging them (correctly or not) on something they think they know a lot about, it does make you wonder if admins or group members are openly hostile to accurate and important information... maybe they are the vendors of a lot of these pots??

I thought about that, but I think in this case they are just ignorant, not nefarious in nature. They genuinely seem to think that a seal is proportionally the most important and sure way to determine a pots ID. They do not even mention any caveats.

[Chadrinkincat]

I sorta get the impression that some of the admins are people that can translate the seals but have limited knowledge about Yixing.

“Generic 中國宜興 [Zhongguo Yixing] 'Yixing, China' mark. Late 1950s and later, I guess”

“Second half of last century”

There are quite a few distinct periods between 1950-1999 so anyone that knows anything about pots from this era wouldn’t give either of these responses. Either the pot looks like F1 or it isn’t older than 80’s which is why these are absurd responses from someone running a FB group dedicated to Yixing.