Poulpi said

Yixing/Tea combinations state of the art

hello everyone

It’s been a while since I’ve been searching information about how to properly use a pot (what clay) with a certain tea (or several teas), and what is acceptable to mix in a pot

How to ensure that the teas brewed in the same pot will match ?
for example : is pot used for green oolongs (Tie guan Yin / Dong Ding) also compatible with roasted TGY ?, or should roasted teas have their own ? (BTW, maybe it is heretic for some people to mix TGY and DD ?)

in the end what is the minimum number of pots necessary to comfortably brew all kinds of teas ?

I am willing to build a cartography of what is best and what is tolerable, and of course share it with everyone …

thanks for your help

5 Replies
tperez said

I’m pretty new to this too, but from my understanding it’s pretty much up to you, though I wouldn’t recommend crossing greens and shu pu’erh or anything like that that’s obviously quite different.

To me, Tie Guan Yin and Dong Ding are pretty different, and I would think it would be better to dedicate the pot to either TGY and other more floral oolongs or to Dong Ding and more Taiwanese oolongs.

From my understanding (collected knowledge, not personal experience), more porous clays, (usually lighter in color) are more suited to darker teas like blacks, Wuyi oolongs and shu pu’erh, while higher density clays (usually darker, but I’ve read that ben shan clay is also very dense?) are more suited to lighter oolongs and sheng pu’erh. However, I’ve also heard people say that the difference is minimal.

Another thing I’ve read is that some people prefer different pot shapes based on the type of tea, but I don’t really understand how this comes into play

To me, a minimum number of pots would be one or two just for your favorite teas and using a gaiwan for the rest. :)

Poulpi said

You raise a point which is one of the kind that made me post this thread in the first place … TGY and DD are both with low oxidation, but which do not come from the same country, so I agree that the best way would be to brew them in 2 different pots, but is it wrong to grew them in the same one ?

and then, what about rosated ones, do they get a separate pot / the pot for darker oolongs / the same por as regular TGY ?

I’m kinda lost here ;)

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mrmopar said

to be honest, i have a pot for each kind. i know i am crazy but i even have a pot that is factory or seller specific for my pu-erh tea. i.e. i have a pot just for the menghai dayi factory or one for a seller like mandala. i have ordered an easy pour gawain for other teas.

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zazen5 said

While it is true that the different temperatures involved may cause the tastes to be off, say you steep a green and black tea both at boiling for example, Id be more concerned about the physiological effects of different teas, for example mixing a white(yin) tea with a black tea(yang) has an interesting feel mentally after drinking it.

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Poulpi said

According to what I see here, I think that it would be more relavant to list what it is “possible to mix” from what is “absolutely not possible to mix”

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