Yixing Teapot Question
Hello All,
So I’m new to Steepster but not to tea but I had a few questions. I have a Chinese friend who knows I love tea so he brought me a chinese Yixing teapot when he got back to school this year, what a guy! He also brought me an enormous amount of dragonwell, I have two teavana canisters full and another smaller one to give you an idea. I have two questions: should I devote this Yixing Teapot to an oolong/pu-erh tea or can I brew my dragonwell in it? My other question is what am I to do with all this dragonwell? Is there any way of keeping it from oxidizing besides using decent canisters?
not sure about the dragonwell but the yixing pots are supposed to be great for pu-erh. i just seasoned my first yixing for pu last night. good luck on which ever one you choose.i am sure some one will have an answer for the storage. maybe in an airtight package in the fridge?
First, go gators!! And I too am representing the humid state of Florida.
Second, you can use your yixing for any type of tea, you just have to stick to that tea. There are probably more seasoned yixing lovers (pun intended) that can explain it better.
You can use Yixing with any tea type. The caveat like Rachel stated is you should continue to use it only with one tea. So if you brew Dragonwell in it don’t deviate from that, and ideally stick to the same tea label with the pot.
You can use it for any type of tea you want however I believe traditionally they are more suited for oolong and mostly pu-erh.
I read somewhere here on steepster that while you can use them for different teas there are specific colors of pots best for specific tea types.
Also pu-erh and oolong tend to be absorbed into the pot more readily.
Note I am NO expert on this and still in learning phase myself.
It’s best to keep one tea to one yixing teapot whether it’s oolong or pu-erh just because of the the pot will absorb the tea flavors. As for (my take on) the dragon well, it’s a green tea so you can still get good flavors using a regular glass tea pot or porcelain one. For the teas I have, I always leave it in the aluminum bag that I seal properly with clips or ‘any lock’ and then i put it into the canister and away into the cabinets away from light. Hope this helps.
Here’s one caveat about green teas in yixing clay. Yixing clay is really good at keep the tea and brew very hot. Green tea often prefers a lower temperature, and can become bitter or finicky if the water is too hot (for that reason, I usually prefer steeping green tea in a glass.. very poor heat conduction!).
However, there’s no reason you couldn’t dedicate a pot to green teas. It’s not the most traditional, but it is your pot, in the end. If you find your greens are a little more finicky that usual, just make sure you’re using cooler water from the get-go, and try steeping with the lid off.
Longjing tea is a kind of green tea. Usually, before summer comes, I will pack Longjing（dragonwell） tea leaves in sealed bags and put them in the refrigerator for low temperature refrigeration. Note that it is refrigeration, not freezing. I bought a small 18L refrigerator specifically for storing tea leaves, so the tea leaves will not be contaminated by the smell of food.
This is an answer to your question from Yixing, China, more than ten years after your post.
Besides, if you want a high quality authentic Yixing teapot, you can refer to SIYUTAO TEAPOT SHOP, which is located in Yixing, China and provides authentic Yixing teapots of different sizes. Free shipping worldwide.
Siyutao teapot shop https://yixingteapot.art
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