Seasoned my first yixing! Yes! It was gifted to me over a year ago by some tea-drinking friends. It took me a year to get over how intimidated I was of using yixing teaware. I believe it was purchased at Teavana, and as I’ve never used a yixing pot before I can’t speak for the quality. It should do just fine. I rinsed it with boiling water several times, then left some of GTT’s Honey Black steeping overnight. Later in the day, I rinsed again with boiling water, then left it in a pot of hot water with some Laoshan Black and SOT’s Coonoor Nilgiri. Waited several hours, then removed it and rinsed with boiling water again. There’s no residual clay smell that I can tell. The maximum capacity is just under 8oz, if I fill it nearly to the brim. I decided to test brew some Ailaoshan Black in this little pot. Maybe I should stick to lighter teas, teas with strong notes of honey and baked bread? I haven’t decided. I might simply use it for my favorite black teas; they share many of the same qualities, though not all.
Anyway, there is an intense honey sweetness to this tea that wasn’t present before. Brewing in the yixing also upped the buttery, baked notes that the tea already had. There’s cocoa and malt but it’s a little subdued. The stone fruit, cherry flavors are also barely present. The finish has a touch of caramel; it’s creamy and full, then it recedes into a more crisp, floral aftertaste. I’m wondering if some of the chocolatey notes are hiding in the yixing somewhere, to reappear later in a different cup, with a different tea.
This was more a record of my first yixing experience than the tea itself. For a better description of the tea, see my other tasting note.
If anyone has advice or opinions about yixing dedicated to black tea, leave a comment. I’ll be happy to hear it!
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congrats on seasoning your new pot :)) I waited forever seasoning my first one too – then quickly added several to the collection. They aren’t as scary once you start using them regularly
Thanks! I think my friends may have unwittingly given me a new obsession. I’ve brewed many cups of several different teas, and every one has been a perfect cup. Lush and rich and absolutely delicious. Do you designate your yixing to certain flavor profiles, or more general types of tea? It’s too soon to tell what my preferences would be, but I’m curious.
I have one for dark oolongs – but really I mostly drink DHP.
I have one for sheng – I don’t drink a lot of it so that’s fine
I have one for shou – I drink most shou from the pot with no issue
I have one for Special Dark – this pot is larger and I LOVE Special Dark western steeped – I also don’t really want those heavy chocolate notes in my regular shou pot
I have one for blacks – I really only drink Yunnan and Fujian blacks – so I’m not too worried about that (if I was into Darjeeling – I would do that in a separate pot)
I have 3 more that I haven’t seasoned – I think I’m doing to do one for aged sheng…. but I haven’t really gotten into that yet… Probably do another one with just general shou.
I just like them – they are so cute and I like how the tea steeps in them…. :))
I agree. And I can definitely see myself getting overly attached to my teaware this way—like each one has its own distinct flavor and personality. They are cute!! I drink mostly Yunnan and Fujian blacks too, so I don’t see it being a big problem. I will probably get several more in the future and season them for different things. And wow, you seem to have a lot of teapots. :P
I have a bit of a problem….. I also have 2 glass and a ceramic and a ru kiln and a couple of gaiwans – those are all small for gongfu. I don’t want to talk about cups – :)
https://instagram.com/p/wpvh-POE4n/?modal=true
https://instagram.com/p/wpvUVuuE4Q/?modal=true
I’ve bought more since these photos – I’m just hanging head in shame and checking myself into rehab….
Can you say “best problem ever”?! I’m so jealous of your collection. Now that I’m past the “MUST TRY ALL OF THE TEAS” phase and comfortably settled into what I know I like, I’m beginning to enter an “I NEED MORE TEAWARE NOW” phase. There is a coffee shop near me that hosts handmade pottery shows/sales every few months. When they have their next sale, you know where I’ll be…
Should I admit that I actually started taking a pottery class thinking it would be cheaper to learn to make my own than continuing to buy….. ((LOL it’s NOT – really really hard to make cups – fun but HARD) I’ve bought some amazing pieces locally. Go to the sale and let the addiction begin….
I did that too – stopped buying ALL THE TEA – needed to cupboard reduce so stopped buying tea and just moved right into teaware. Oh well it’s fun and it could be worse…. :)
Oh, yeah. Making pottery is not easy. I’m a fine arts student at a university; I’m considering taking a course in Advanced Ceramics next semester so that I can fuel the addiction. All I would make is teaware. And everything I make would probably be off-center, because making pottery is HARD. It’s fun and meditative but wow. There are a couple of people here who are fantastic potters. I’ve considered commissioning a tea set from one of them, but it’s hard to justify the expense. (Though I will probably end up spending loads of money on teaware in the long run, anyway…)
congrats on seasoning your new pot :)) I waited forever seasoning my first one too – then quickly added several to the collection. They aren’t as scary once you start using them regularly
Thanks! I think my friends may have unwittingly given me a new obsession. I’ve brewed many cups of several different teas, and every one has been a perfect cup. Lush and rich and absolutely delicious. Do you designate your yixing to certain flavor profiles, or more general types of tea? It’s too soon to tell what my preferences would be, but I’m curious.
I have one for dark oolongs – but really I mostly drink DHP.
I have one for sheng – I don’t drink a lot of it so that’s fine
I have one for shou – I drink most shou from the pot with no issue
I have one for Special Dark – this pot is larger and I LOVE Special Dark western steeped – I also don’t really want those heavy chocolate notes in my regular shou pot
I have one for blacks – I really only drink Yunnan and Fujian blacks – so I’m not too worried about that (if I was into Darjeeling – I would do that in a separate pot)
I have 3 more that I haven’t seasoned – I think I’m doing to do one for aged sheng…. but I haven’t really gotten into that yet… Probably do another one with just general shou.
I just like them – they are so cute and I like how the tea steeps in them…. :))
I agree. And I can definitely see myself getting overly attached to my teaware this way—like each one has its own distinct flavor and personality. They are cute!! I drink mostly Yunnan and Fujian blacks too, so I don’t see it being a big problem. I will probably get several more in the future and season them for different things. And wow, you seem to have a lot of teapots. :P
I have a bit of a problem….. I also have 2 glass and a ceramic and a ru kiln and a couple of gaiwans – those are all small for gongfu. I don’t want to talk about cups – :)
https://instagram.com/p/wpvh-POE4n/?modal=true
https://instagram.com/p/wpvUVuuE4Q/?modal=true
I’ve bought more since these photos – I’m just hanging head in shame and checking myself into rehab….
Can you say “best problem ever”?! I’m so jealous of your collection. Now that I’m past the “MUST TRY ALL OF THE TEAS” phase and comfortably settled into what I know I like, I’m beginning to enter an “I NEED MORE TEAWARE NOW” phase. There is a coffee shop near me that hosts handmade pottery shows/sales every few months. When they have their next sale, you know where I’ll be…
Should I admit that I actually started taking a pottery class thinking it would be cheaper to learn to make my own than continuing to buy….. ((LOL it’s NOT – really really hard to make cups – fun but HARD) I’ve bought some amazing pieces locally. Go to the sale and let the addiction begin….
I did that too – stopped buying ALL THE TEA – needed to cupboard reduce so stopped buying tea and just moved right into teaware. Oh well it’s fun and it could be worse…. :)
Oh, yeah. Making pottery is not easy. I’m a fine arts student at a university; I’m considering taking a course in Advanced Ceramics next semester so that I can fuel the addiction. All I would make is teaware. And everything I make would probably be off-center, because making pottery is HARD. It’s fun and meditative but wow. There are a couple of people here who are fantastic potters. I’ve considered commissioning a tea set from one of them, but it’s hard to justify the expense. (Though I will probably end up spending loads of money on teaware in the long run, anyway…)