I'm a total newbie and I'm learning so much from your videos! I also just have to say that the quality of of your videos is fantastic. You speak clearly, to the point and your smile would brighten anyone's day! Blessings to you for all of your hard work!
I did a little calculation of the stats given: Out of 23 categories in total they were put through, I've given them a 4 point system, magenta being 1 and green being 4. So out of 92 possible points in total: -Yixing = 59 -Jianshui = 67 -Chaozhou = 67 -Tokonome = 55 Hope this helps anyone. Of course this doesn't mean that the Jianshu or the Chaozhu pots are better because higher points, it's all up to personal tastes :)
That explains so much!! I just got a new clay gaiwan and boy was I struggling. Whenever I made black tea in it it turned bitter no matter what (whereas in my trusty little glass teapot it always came out perfect). Learning now how black tea reacts to consistent heat makes total sense! Sounds like I'll have to restock on white and puerh to test them out on the clay now :P Thank you for the video!
Phew! .. watched this video twice in an attempt to take in all the info ;) .. thanks heaps for all the graphs .. explanations and summaries .. really appreciate the Mei Leaf enthusiasm, love, and experience .. :) Xx
Great video, however I would like to comment on the heat dissipation speed. About the heat retention, actually the shape of the teaware will play a more important role than the type of the clay. Indeed heat diffusion speed is due to the rapport of the surface exchanging heat divided by the volume surrounded by this surface. Also like you said the thickness of the teaware is a very important parameter. The porosity of the clay will be the least important factor imo, and it's mostly due method and temperature of firing. I don't think we can say that this or this clay dissipate heat faster, it's mostly due to the teapot.
@@clenttrifton Heat is transferred from warmer things to cooler things, always. If you pour something hot on something cold the molecules of the cold thing will begin to move more causing it to warm. Heat will not "move away" when something hotter is added around it.
@@clenttrifton it says the water on the pot when evaporating will draw heat. i don't know if it's a net loss of heat from pour to evaporation though. i think the article makes a good point of not pouring though. i think it's like washing over the tea pet.
I'm a coffee guy, simply because it is what I'm used to (addicted, in fact), but I have to say that your videos are amazing, Sir. At this rate I will probably be a teahead one day. o/
@@kapirk2244 My fellow "teahead" - it will be my pleasure! I will upload a video very soon and link it here for you! 😊... I hope you know that once you drink coffee this way you will never want coffee any other way! 🤣... (The only down side is that THAT teapot will now have to be dedicated to coffee)!
Very good explanations on the selected clays. Thank you. I would be very happy if you could ad same more common clay types, such as Zi-Ni, Bai Ma Zi Duan Ni, Blue or Green Duan Ni, Qing Shui Ni, Da Hong Pao Clay, Hei Jin Gang Clay, Qin Zhou Ni Xing. An ever returning customer.
Thank you for acqiring all this knowledge and making these tests and sharing them. Saves me a ton of money and time to not have to do them myself. Very much appreciated!
I’ve been doing it all wrong! Now I need to juggle my pots around; may have to write the new preferred tea on them in grease pencil until I get used to the new rules. 😂 My duan ni was a pot in search of a tea, so I’ll give black a try. And Don the sinensis scientist worked a table AND a graph into a video. You are the grand master!
Big Thanks! I have been waiting for a video like this. It answers lots of my questions...A couple more though...(Hopefully Mei leaf replies) 1. I own a Duan Ni Clay Teapot...Will there will be another video on the different sub-varieties of Clay in the Yixing category? I was considering Sheng Puer...However I am second guessing since it appears the Duan Ni Clay is slightly thinner that the Zisha counterparts I see so it may have inferior heat retention... 2. White, Black, Green, Green Oolong did not have a perfect match. How do you typically brew these Teas? I have settled on Glass for them as I hadn't noticed a clay enhancement either...but White in particular I am looking for a home...Right now I am working with an aged white tea. 3. Does leaf expansion factor in when choosing a pot? Sometimes I feel like i am not getting the full potential out of ball rolled green oolongs in smaller pots. (Maybe it's in my head) 4. Darjeeling seems like a unique category of tea i haven't seen much on with tea ware...Does this fall into the seem category as all other blacks? 5. Is there a recommended home for yellow tea? The same as green maybe? Thanks again for a great video!
Hi Daniel, 1. Yes, we will try to add Nixing and Rong Chang to the discussion. 2. I typically brew these in porcelain or glass. White tea can do well in clay though and I am mostyly enjoying Jianshui. 3. Yes, the shape of the pot is another factor and it is not in your head that the brewing will differ depending on the amount for the leaves to unfurl. 4. I would instinctively put in with Blacks although I have not done specific tests. 5. Same as Green - the lightness and smoothness of a good Yellow means that I prefer it in Porcelain but it is certainly worth experimenting with clay such as Tokoname.
Wow, great reply. I eagerly await the next video in the series. My Duan Ni pot will stay a decoration until then. Big thanks, this video and reply are extremely insightful!
I wonder if the heat retention really has a significant impact. After all, we're talking about a difference of 6°C at best over a 3 minute time period, while you would typically be brewing for a much shorter time if you're brewing gong fu style.
I understand your thinking and agree that a drop of 2-3 degrees over a 20 second brew should not have that much of an impact on the extraction. I think that the difference between clay and porcelain would be more substantial and I am experimenting with fast gradient brewing to figure out when you really notice a big difference. I am hoping that all of these experiments will come together to create some more concrete theories.
Holy moly lots of info, I would of needed to be w him to really tell on what pot I’d like to buy. How the heck am I suppose to choose?? Seems like the one on the very right??
I love this video! You're teaching, you're passionate, you look relaxed and comfy in your t-shirt vs the dress shirts. Keep up the great educational videos and beautiful high end tea/teawares. 😊
Thank you so much! I was almost going to invest in the YiXing pot now I’m so happy I don’t have to lol. The JianShui one is so much cheaper. I did buy a YiXing tea cup so I can try it out and I haven’t tried Pu’Er tea but since I drink all sorts it looks like just having a couple of YiXing teacups/mugs would be enough, I don’t need to invest in a YiXing teapot as well. 😊
Great video - maybe one day add Dai pottery and Nixing to it. Would be interesting to see them in a test with all the ones inside this video. About mixing. I wouldn't do it with porous clay to be honest. I am wondering that you are cool with it because a clean taste seems always very important for you which I totally agree to. Of course clay already adds a different kind of environment to the whole tea session you enjoy in it BUT mixing teas especially if they are very different in there taste and unfolding would do more harm than good in my point of view. Because some clays are only made for one certain type of tea group and if you mix others because of their whole structure they could change the whole dynamic with the clay. I mean I could imagine to drink raw with aged sheng within one pot or aged with shou. Not happy with it but it would be OK. The same with Wuyi and roasted Taiwanese Oolongs. But drinking something very fruity tropical and sweet together with something earthy foliage and mushroom like inside the same pot would totally end in a mess. On a longer term the tea you enjoy in it will effect the clay and the opposite around. My aged Zi Ni pot I use for Shou only smells like Shou inside because of the constant use. If I would mix it with Wuyi - I don't even want to think about! :D
I understand and agree to a point Philipp because I have cherished pots that I have spent a while seasoning and I would not mix after all of this effort BUT if I was to start getting into clay from the beginning I would do things differently. I would recommend getting an All-star pot that is for mixing general types of tea so that you can experience the effects of the clay on lots of teas and get a feel for what you enjoy. I find the one pot = one tea type to make the tasting experience and education more limited and slow and if you use a pot from the beginning with lots of tea then it will never season specifically for a particular tea anyway and so you will never get to the point of your Zi Ni where it has developed such a singular character. I guess that the point I am making is that as you learn what you love and which teas you enjoy drinking out of clay (through using all-star pot) you can then choose more personally, which pots you want to purchase for single tea seasoning.
Yes yes yes! I really like videos like this! Perfect :) I was wandering if I will buy teapot or not. I keep brewing in procelain so far. But you know, brewing in pot has special kind of charm. It makes the tea session deeper and it still attracts me. First I will try to get different non glazed clay cups, because I am still not sure about what I will like the most. Thanks for inspiration. :)
I use some clay gaiwan for all teas, I don´t konw from what type of clay is it made of. But great video, if I will ever have big collection of different teaware for different teas, I would definitely use this video.
Hi Dan, as always, love your video!! Quick question-- white tea like the ones in cake (aged): Fuding Sho Mei and the ones in loose leaf (Silver needle, bai mudan, bai hao yin) - can they share the same teapot like the Jianshui ? Or the better question would be, if to dedicate one teapot to a aged white tea, would it be Jianshui or Yixing ? thanks!
Have to say i love the jian shui cup. as the clay effects chart shows jian shui is very versatile across all teas in affecting taste, excellent if you want to cross taste teas. instead of breaking out two teas brew one tea and split the liqour in the jian shui cup and a porcelain cup. also love the design. usually not a fan of abstract, geometric design but the marbled earthy tones of the light browns and dark purple with the bright color of the squares are nice. eye catching and simple
THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!!! Just got a Tokoname was actually concerned the color looks like cinnabar. I had no idea about the specifics of what teas work well in what pots. I guess I can only use it for green oolongs though. Like the spreadsheet.
This is such a great breakdown I've watched it twice already. I don't think it was specifically mentioned but does Jianshui not typically release many (if any) minerals into the tea? From my understanding it is closest to porcelain. It does have some amount of porosity, but a low amount that doesn't release many minerals.
Hello Don, I have a question for you about teapots. I bought a Yixing only for brewing Wu Yi rock teas and a Tokoname only for green teas. And I inaugurate the tokoname with a gyokuro. Then I brewed Tamaryokucha and Gyokuro for several times with it. Then, I brewed my 2019 Tai Ping Hou Kui with it, which is, as you know very well, a tea with very subtle and light taste. The infusion tasted like tamarykokucha, and had some marine and salty notes that Tai Ping Hou Kui shouldn't have. Does that mean I shouldn't brew chinese green teas and japanese teas in one single Tokoname? Should I buy another one for chinese green tea and leave the one I bought only for japanese green teas? Thank you in advance for your answer. Yusheng WANG
I have a suggestion that I hope you will like.. I suggest that you choose in each episode 3-4 types and designs of pottery, and after providing the appropriate explanation, you help us with the sites that we can buy from and the prices for them.
Do you have experience and thoughts on unglazed porcelain? Does it have similar, if not as pronounced, effects on tea as clay? I can understand you probably didn't cover it here since glazed is what is mostly on the market. I myself had a difficult time finding anything on unglazed porcelain for tea online. Anyways, great video!
I was curious about iron teapots, what kind of tea they suit best. Honestly I'd love to see a video comparing different materials like glass, porcelain, clay, iron and what tea they are best suited for
Yeah - definetely use it. Even if you would break it during the first tea session, it would be much better then only watching without touching it all the life. Let it make better story then only "endless waiting for fulfilling the purpose".
I put a 2013 aged white puErh in her and swear it affected the taste... it had a wonderfully complex flavor, added a little minerality to the tea. Thanks for the suggestion to use her haha :)
Ok, its been 2 years, have you used your yixing tea pot? Do you still have it? Or did you break it? Fill us all in... are you a tea head now? We all want to know..... tell us yor story......
@@waynethebarber1095 haha yes, I use this pot all the time! And the tea cups that are from the same maker. I use it for oolong tea now! Did not break it! Still drinking tea every day!!
@@MeiLeaf yes i mean those. They are expensive, so i wanted to know what you think about Them and If its worth the Money. I know that its Not your teaware , but it would be Kind of you
@@maxzyklas3704 I have never bought anything from them and I think that they are a bit expensive but the quality seems good so I am sure that they will perform well in your sessions.
I was just wondering, if it would be worthy to include in this temperature dissipation experiment the weight of the pot. As we know, the bigger or heavier objects the longer it takes to drop their temperature or to gain one. A piece of ice, for example, will melt faster when chopped into smaller pieces than one left to remain in one untouched chunk.
Hi. Sorry for not being clearer. Both young and aged would work in Yixing. The softening and rounding effects will of course be more noticeable in the young but the aged enjoys additional luxurious thickness and does not sacrifice flavour since the top notes are already rounded out through ageing.
What nationality are you? How did u get in to tea and collecting asian tea pots? Love your collection. Hopefully you will add to your collection more yellow color pots from some sort of chinese or japanese yellow clay.
Please do a video about clay kettle and boiling water without using glass or a stainless steel kettle! and of course where to find a pure and medically safe source
There are clay pots made in Guangxi called xingni. Have you ever heard of these/used them before? I was recommended by a tea seller selling Liubao tea in Guangxi.
I absolutely love your videos! You've got me really fired up for tea! A new world has opened up for me! If you could perhaps make a video concentrating on Korean teas, I would be much obliged!
On your tea labels, what do you think if you put symbols to represent which teaware is best followed by a second best. Example : gaiwan = porcelain , Master Wu original = choazhou , glass tea pot shape = glass, ect.
So I harvested some clay from my property. It seems pretty good quality. However I've been reading about apparently chemicals can leech into water/food with porous clay. So if I want to make a clay tea pot is it safe? How can I tell if my clay has cadmium or lead without spending a lot on lab testing?
Does anyone know if the Black hejingang mud Teapot's being produced in China are A. real yixing teapots B. healthy to use C. offer all the same qualities to a zini, zhuni, zisha clay teapot?
I know this sounds a bit wimpy, but I am new to Chinese tea (lived in Japan/married to Japanese for 23 years so I have only really been into Japanese teas)..but all this is a bit overwhelming!!
Hi Don! What would you recommend for aged white teas, such as shou mei or aged silver needle? I have a cake of aged silver needle (Origin: Yunnan). Don't know if bud only tea from Yunnan can truly be called a silver needle, but that is how it was described. It is about 3 years old and I am hoping to see how it evolves and how clay affects the taste of the tea. I am just at the beginning of my clay teaware collection (recently bought my first clay pot - a Tokoname Kyusu).
Hi Don. What about Cream Stone Teaware? It has good heat retention, but does not affect the flavour very much. I was wondering if it would be better to brew white tea in it than in Clay. Thanks.
does the heat retention data make sense? to my mind it doesent if the pot weight to water ratio is not the same. if that isnt similar, the data doesnt show only the heat retention capacities of the clays, but the heat retention capacities of vessels of different thickness.
I think for us, if we can only get 2 out of the 4, we'd take Tokoname and Jianshui. It would be nice to have a teapot that is as nice as the Master Wu or the Xi Shi though... the pixel is all that's available in jianshui. It keeps me from taking it too serious though which makes it a good all star. Trying to keep from buying three or four at once as I don't really have the budget for that. I do like sheng pu'er but that's the only advantage the yixing has over jianshui for me, and I don't really care toooooo much about the minute details, I just don't want to be brewing in my porcelain gaiwan all the time... it makes great tea but the feel of brewing in a clay teapot just is more comforting and appealing. Psychologically I bond with clay more as we are of the Earth, and it seems like it's healthier to drink out of those than a glazed porcelain. I have a glass teapot, but even the gaiwan seems to make better tea than it I sum it up as this for myself : : Yixing = sheng pu'er expert, Jianshui = all star, everything but the green, Tokoname = greens, Chaozhou = the teas that I don't know anything about or bright whites which I don't drink ..... love to have them all but I can get yixing and chaozhou later... more important to have a simple two pot choice.
Highly Remarquable Still it would be precious to add a comment on Zhuni yixing, especially for ‘green’ wulong (even knowing there are so many parameters as well, not only shape but firing of course). Thank you so much for this brilliant video
The one with greenish stripes that he had on the table at the beginning of the video looked like Qin Zhou. I'd love to try them, the problem is they're always so big, like 200ml+ :/
I know this is about clay, but is there anything to say about silver teaware? Not as good because too conductive? Would it be good for anything? Seems like it would develop a patina, but is that a good thing on silver?
Quick (potentially stupid) question. when you were testing the pot's thermal properties why didn't you just insert the thermometer through the thumb hole at the top or through the spout?
although I have and use expensive clay teaware (well-sometimes), I often pass it over for fear of dropping or otherwise breaking something. I would just prefer to admire them sitting on my tea shelf!😳🤑😭
Yes I know, with so many clays and different styles, shapes, firing temperatures, it is hard to get a good understanding of the differences but we will continue to try to work through the parameters and release more information.
@@MeiLeaf thx for your quick reply. I enjoyed this video . your videos are always educational , sometimes even enjoyable ! At present i am experimenting with bizen tea cups .keep telling us more about tea . Best wishes guy
And here we see a herd of wild clay pots with their young, grazing peacefully in their natural habitat…
:)
I'm a total newbie and I'm learning so much from your videos! I also just have to say that the quality of of your videos is fantastic. You speak clearly, to the point and your smile would brighten anyone's day! Blessings to you for all of your hard work!
Is this gonna be on the exam?
Yes but I will not tell you when the exam drops.
Adam Greenhaus YES.
is clay teaware A. porcelain B. clay. C. plastic. D. compressed dirt. E. (other)
???😁
@@joetexas1546 That's hilarious. It's like asking "When was the war of 1812?" You'd be surprised how many people don't give the correct answer.
I did a little calculation of the stats given:
Out of 23 categories in total they were put through, I've given them a 4 point system, magenta being 1 and green being 4.
So out of 92 possible points in total:
-Yixing = 59
-Jianshui = 67
-Chaozhou = 67
-Tokonome = 55
Hope this helps anyone. Of course this doesn't mean that the Jianshu or the Chaozhu pots are better because higher points, it's all up to personal tastes :)
You are amazing! The depth of investigation is unbelievable!
I would love to see some traditional jianshui designs
I took notes on this, I wish I could give two thumbs up.
That explains so much!! I just got a new clay gaiwan and boy was I struggling. Whenever I made black tea in it it turned bitter no matter what (whereas in my trusty little glass teapot it always came out perfect). Learning now how black tea reacts to consistent heat makes total sense! Sounds like I'll have to restock on white and puerh to test them out on the clay now :P Thank you for the video!
Phew! .. watched this video twice in an attempt to take in all the info ;) .. thanks heaps for all the graphs .. explanations and summaries .. really appreciate the Mei Leaf enthusiasm, love, and experience .. :) Xx
Great video, however I would like to comment on the heat dissipation speed.
About the heat retention, actually the shape of the teaware will play a more important role than the type of the clay.
Indeed heat diffusion speed is due to the rapport of the surface exchanging heat divided by the volume surrounded by this surface.
Also like you said the thickness of the teaware is a very important parameter.
The porosity of the clay will be the least important factor imo, and it's mostly due method and temperature of firing.
I don't think we can say that this or this clay dissipate heat faster, it's mostly due to the teapot.
I have also read that pouring hot water over the top of the pot actually draws heat away rather than adding heat.
@@clenttrifton Heat is transferred from warmer things to cooler things, always. If you pour something hot on something cold the molecules of the cold thing will begin to move more causing it to warm. Heat will not "move away" when something hotter is added around it.
@@jtm2400 Maybe I misinterpreted and they were talking about pouring the wash over the brewing pot, the wash having cooled below brewing temp.
@@jtm2400 this is where I read it www.marshaln.com/2013/11/raising-a-yixing-pot/
@@clenttrifton it says the water on the pot when evaporating will draw heat. i don't know if it's a net loss of heat from pour to evaporation though.
i think the article makes a good point of not pouring though. i think it's like washing over the tea pet.
I'm a coffee guy, simply because it is what I'm used to (addicted, in fact), but I have to say that your videos are amazing, Sir. At this rate I will probably be a teahead one day. o/
...Try Ya Shi Xiang oolong...But get a good one which means $$$...
Gustav... I brew Coffee in a dedicated Yixing Zisha Purple Clay Teapot.... Best Coffee ever!!!!
Do you really wanna go deep down the rabbit hole? Even James Hoffman can not afford that :D
@@grantmedical I would love to see a video on just how you do this. Sounds really interesting.
@@kapirk2244 My fellow "teahead" - it will be my pleasure! I will upload a video very soon and link it here for you! 😊... I hope you know that once you drink coffee this way you will never want coffee any other way! 🤣... (The only down side is that THAT teapot will now have to be dedicated to coffee)!
those clay pots look absolutely stylish!
my brain is fried after that. thank goodness for screen shots!
Thank you! This is exactly what i was looking for:)
Just bought the large bottom jianshui. Can't wait to try it out.
Very good explanations on the selected clays. Thank you. I would be very happy if you could ad same more common clay types, such as Zi-Ni, Bai Ma Zi Duan Ni, Blue or Green Duan Ni, Qing Shui Ni, Da Hong Pao Clay, Hei Jin Gang Clay, Qin Zhou Ni Xing. An ever returning customer.
This is perfect! I love whites and puerhs, so I think I have my clay
What an excellent video! Kudos, it helped me a lot to select Yixing and Tokoname pots.
I found an old vintage, red, tall, thin teacup. Clay. Very cool. Has some writing on it
Thank you for acqiring all this knowledge and making these tests and sharing them. Saves me a ton of money and time to not have to do them myself. Very much appreciated!
i have a YingJing claypot, really cool it dries up spilled tea really fast on the clay as if it absorbs it.
I’ve been doing it all wrong! Now I need to juggle my pots around; may have to write the new preferred tea on them in grease pencil until I get used to the new rules. 😂 My duan ni was a pot in search of a tea, so I’ll give black a try. And Don the sinensis scientist worked a table AND a graph into a video. You are the grand master!
Big Thanks! I have been waiting for a video like this. It answers lots of my questions...A couple more though...(Hopefully Mei leaf replies)
1. I own a Duan Ni Clay Teapot...Will there will be another video on the different sub-varieties of Clay in the Yixing category? I was considering Sheng Puer...However I am second guessing since it appears the Duan Ni Clay is slightly thinner that the Zisha counterparts I see so it may have inferior heat retention...
2. White, Black, Green, Green Oolong did not have a perfect match. How do you typically brew these Teas?
I have settled on Glass for them as I hadn't noticed a clay enhancement either...but White in particular I am looking for a home...Right now I am working with an aged white tea.
3. Does leaf expansion factor in when choosing a pot? Sometimes I feel like i am not getting the full potential out of ball rolled green oolongs in smaller pots. (Maybe it's in my head)
4. Darjeeling seems like a unique category of tea i haven't seen much on with tea ware...Does this fall into the seem category as all other blacks?
5. Is there a recommended home for yellow tea? The same as green maybe?
Thanks again for a great video!
Hi Daniel,
1. Yes, we will try to add Nixing and Rong Chang to the discussion.
2. I typically brew these in porcelain or glass. White tea can do well in clay though and I am mostyly enjoying Jianshui.
3. Yes, the shape of the pot is another factor and it is not in your head that the brewing will differ depending on the amount for the leaves to unfurl.
4. I would instinctively put in with Blacks although I have not done specific tests.
5. Same as Green - the lightness and smoothness of a good Yellow means that I prefer it in Porcelain but it is certainly worth experimenting with clay such as Tokoname.
Wow, great reply. I eagerly await the next video in the series. My Duan Ni pot will stay a decoration until then. Big thanks, this video and reply are extremely insightful!
thanks for this
I have been scouring the internet trying to figure out what people brew black and white tea in.
I wonder if the heat retention really has a significant impact. After all, we're talking about a difference of 6°C at best over a 3 minute time period, while you would typically be brewing for a much shorter time if you're brewing gong fu style.
I understand your thinking and agree that a drop of 2-3 degrees over a 20 second brew should not have that much of an impact on the extraction. I think that the difference between clay and porcelain would be more substantial and I am experimenting with fast gradient brewing to figure out when you really notice a big difference. I am hoping that all of these experiments will come together to create some more concrete theories.
Holy moly lots of info, I would of needed to be w him to really tell on what pot I’d like to buy. How the heck am I suppose to choose?? Seems like the one on the very right??
In which category do dark (gaba and non gaba) Taiwanese oolong teas fall? Black tea? What would be the perfect teapot to brew dark oolong?
Extensive, educational & very interesting. Thanks, Don!
I love this video! You're teaching, you're passionate, you look relaxed and comfy in your t-shirt vs the dress shirts. Keep up the great educational videos and beautiful high end tea/teawares. 😊
Thank you so much! I was almost going to invest in the YiXing pot now I’m so happy I don’t have to lol. The JianShui one is so much cheaper. I did buy a YiXing tea cup so I can try it out and I haven’t tried Pu’Er tea but since I drink all sorts it looks like just having a couple of YiXing teacups/mugs would be enough, I don’t need to invest in a YiXing teapot as well. 😊
used to have the jianshui pot but the lid cracked and the tea would sipll over. but i still have a jian shui cup and the effects on taste are great.
Woah wee, that's quite a bit of clay!
Great video - maybe one day add Dai pottery and Nixing to it. Would be interesting to see them in a test with all the ones inside this video. About mixing. I wouldn't do it with porous clay to be honest. I am wondering that you are cool with it because a clean taste seems always very important for you which I totally agree to. Of course clay already adds a different kind of environment to the whole tea session you enjoy in it BUT mixing teas especially if they are very different in there taste and unfolding would do more harm than good in my point of view. Because some clays are only made for one certain type of tea group and if you mix others because of their whole structure they could change the whole dynamic with the clay. I mean I could imagine to drink raw with aged sheng within one pot or aged with shou. Not happy with it but it would be OK. The same with Wuyi and roasted Taiwanese Oolongs. But drinking something very fruity tropical and sweet together with something earthy foliage and mushroom like inside the same pot would totally end in a mess. On a longer term the tea you enjoy in it will effect the clay and the opposite around. My aged Zi Ni pot I use for Shou only smells like Shou inside because of the constant use. If I would mix it with Wuyi - I don't even want to think about! :D
I understand and agree to a point Philipp because I have cherished pots that I have spent a while seasoning and I would not mix after all of this effort BUT if I was to start getting into clay from the beginning I would do things differently. I would recommend getting an All-star pot that is for mixing general types of tea so that you can experience the effects of the clay on lots of teas and get a feel for what you enjoy. I find the one pot = one tea type to make the tasting experience and education more limited and slow and if you use a pot from the beginning with lots of tea then it will never season specifically for a particular tea anyway and so you will never get to the point of your Zi Ni where it has developed such a singular character. I guess that the point I am making is that as you learn what you love and which teas you enjoy drinking out of clay (through using all-star pot) you can then choose more personally, which pots you want to purchase for single tea seasoning.
Yes yes yes! I really like videos like this! Perfect :) I was wandering if I will buy teapot or not. I keep brewing in procelain so far. But you know, brewing in pot has special kind of charm. It makes the tea session deeper and it still attracts me. First I will try to get different non glazed clay cups, because I am still not sure about what I will like the most. Thanks for inspiration. :)
I use some clay gaiwan for all teas, I don´t konw from what type of clay is it made of. But great video, if I will ever have big collection of different teaware for different teas, I would definitely use this video.
Hi Dan, as always, love your video!! Quick question-- white tea like the ones in cake (aged): Fuding Sho Mei and the ones in loose leaf (Silver needle, bai mudan, bai hao yin) - can they share the same teapot like the Jianshui ?
Or the better question would be, if to dedicate one teapot to a aged white tea, would it be Jianshui or Yixing ? thanks!
i wish this vid was shorter but after bouncing around inside this vid, i get this is as short as it gets. Thanks for the info
Amazing, thank you so much for your work, so helpful 🙏🏼🍵
Have to say i love the jian shui cup. as the clay effects chart shows jian shui is very versatile across all teas in affecting taste, excellent if you want to cross taste teas. instead of breaking out two teas brew one tea and split the liqour in the jian shui cup and a porcelain cup. also love the design. usually not a fan of abstract, geometric design but the marbled earthy tones of the light browns and dark purple with the bright color of the squares are nice. eye catching and simple
THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!!! Just got a Tokoname was actually concerned the color looks like cinnabar. I had no idea about the specifics of what teas work well in what pots. I guess I can only use it for green oolongs though. Like the spreadsheet.
I trink you should also try japanese green tea in a Tokoname pot. Just try out and follow your personal taste...
Can you use any clay for tea pots? Can I make a clay tea pot from the clay in my back yard and it be ok?
great thank you. now I know which one to get
This is such a great breakdown I've watched it twice already. I don't think it was specifically mentioned but does Jianshui not typically release many (if any) minerals into the tea? From my understanding it is closest to porcelain. It does have some amount of porosity, but a low amount that doesn't release many minerals.
hey don, amazing video thank you. can you tell us something about duan ni clay? it is more suited for green oolongs like TGY or alishan?
Hello Don,
I have a question for you about teapots. I bought a Yixing only for brewing Wu Yi rock teas and a Tokoname only for green teas. And I inaugurate the tokoname with a gyokuro. Then I brewed Tamaryokucha and Gyokuro for several times with it. Then, I brewed my 2019 Tai Ping Hou Kui with it, which is, as you know very well, a tea with very subtle and light taste. The infusion tasted like tamarykokucha, and had some marine and salty notes that Tai Ping Hou Kui shouldn't have. Does that mean I shouldn't brew chinese green teas and japanese teas in one single Tokoname? Should I buy another one for chinese green tea and leave the one I bought only for japanese green teas?
Thank you in advance for your answer.
Yusheng WANG
Does ´white tea´ also cover aged white tea´s here? If not, which clay do you think would suit the most?
I have a suggestion that I hope you will like.. I suggest that you choose in each episode 3-4 types and designs of pottery, and after providing the appropriate explanation, you help us with the sites that we can buy from and the prices for them.
Do you have experience and thoughts on unglazed porcelain? Does it have similar, if not as pronounced, effects on tea as clay? I can understand you probably didn't cover it here since glazed is what is mostly on the market. I myself had a difficult time finding anything on unglazed porcelain for tea online. Anyways, great video!
This is fantastic, have been looking forward for a video on this topic for a while. Would love it if you would do one on pot shape as well sometime!
This is in our plans, so keep an eye out for this one.
Young Gushu 2018 in the Jianshui Dome Pot is 🔥
Winner!
Hi, I'd like to know is I can brew tea in a lacquerware teapot? Thank you!
I was curious about iron teapots, what kind of tea they suit best.
Honestly I'd love to see a video comparing different materials like glass, porcelain, clay, iron and what tea they are best suited for
My inlaws bought me a very expensive yixing tea pot from a renowned maker and I'm so afraid to use it haha
Use it! That's like having a flash car sitting in your driveway.
Yeah - definetely use it. Even if you would break it during the first tea session, it would be much better then only watching without touching it all the life. Let it make better story then only "endless waiting for fulfilling the purpose".
I put a 2013 aged white puErh in her and swear it affected the taste... it had a wonderfully complex flavor, added a little minerality to the tea. Thanks for the suggestion to use her haha :)
Ok, its been 2 years, have you used your yixing tea pot? Do you still have it? Or did you break it?
Fill us all in... are you a tea head now? We all want to know..... tell us yor story......
@@waynethebarber1095 haha yes, I use this pot all the time! And the tea cups that are from the same maker. I use it for oolong tea now! Did not break it! Still drinking tea every day!!
Hello Mei Leaf, I love Yellow tea, so what about the effect of each clay on this particularly type of tea?
Did you ever try Lins ceramics? If yes, what is your opinion about it.
Thanks
Are you talking about the brand around Taiwan and China? I have visited them and they seem to have some nice teaware.
@@MeiLeaf yes i mean those.
They are expensive, so i wanted to know what you think about Them and If its worth the Money. I know that its Not your teaware , but it would be Kind of you
@@maxzyklas3704 I have never bought anything from them and I think that they are a bit expensive but the quality seems good so I am sure that they will perform well in your sessions.
@@MeiLeaf thank you for your answer. Its great to see that you also take your time for your suscribers :)
Great informative video.... What efforts to figure all that out
I have a pot made out of a mix of Duanni clay and black clay. Do you think this will fit a black tea?
I was just wondering, if it would be worthy to include in this temperature dissipation experiment the weight of the pot.
As we know, the bigger or heavier objects the longer it takes to drop their temperature or to gain one.
A piece of ice, for example, will melt faster when chopped into smaller pieces than one left to remain in one untouched chunk.
Great video, but please clarify which sheng pu-erh is best for Yixing clay pot. The young fresh one or matured ?
Hi. Sorry for not being clearer. Both young and aged would work in Yixing. The softening and rounding effects will of course be more noticeable in the young but the aged enjoys additional luxurious thickness and does not sacrifice flavour since the top notes are already rounded out through ageing.
Can you make both Wuyi Yancha and Dancong in the same Chaozhou?
What nationality are you? How did u get in to tea and collecting asian tea pots? Love your collection. Hopefully you will add to your collection more yellow color pots from some sort of chinese or japanese yellow clay.
How do you feel about Nixing teapots? It seems like they may be suitable for green oolong and young puerh?
For ball-rolled oolongs, like your Amethyst Gaba, what sort of teapot do you recommend? Would it be a yixing, for its higher heat retention?
Please do a video about clay kettle and boiling water without using glass or a stainless steel kettle! and of course where to find a pure and medically safe source
There are clay pots made in Guangxi called xingni. Have you ever heard of these/used them before? I was recommended by a tea seller selling Liubao tea in Guangxi.
i dont like the squares on them but i hope you might get ones with out that one them
I absolutely love your videos! You've got me really fired up for tea! A new world has opened up for me! If you could perhaps make a video concentrating on Korean teas, I would be much obliged!
On your tea labels, what do you think if you put symbols to represent which teaware is best followed by a second best. Example : gaiwan = porcelain , Master Wu original = choazhou , glass tea pot shape = glass, ect.
Sadly in Australia, getting a Chaozhou or Jianshui teapot is really hard, only Xiying seem to be available (well you can import I guess).....
So I harvested some clay from my property. It seems pretty good quality. However I've been reading about apparently chemicals can leech into water/food with porous clay. So if I want to make a clay tea pot is it safe? How can I tell if my clay has cadmium or lead without spending a lot on lab testing?
Is this green tokoname kyusu with the classic handle still available?
I would love to learn what the Duan Ni works best with, besides black teas. Any feedback for us, Don, please?
yeaa should be a good one!!!!!!!!!
real master. respect
Does anyone know if the Black hejingang mud Teapot's being produced in China are A. real yixing teapots B. healthy to use C. offer all the same qualities to a zini, zhuni, zisha clay teapot?
Heijingang is usually fake and is inferior to the normal main clays
I know this sounds a bit wimpy, but I am new to Chinese tea (lived in Japan/married to Japanese for 23 years so I have only really been into Japanese teas)..but all this is a bit overwhelming!!
Hi Don! What would you recommend for aged white teas, such as shou mei or aged silver needle? I have a cake of aged silver needle (Origin: Yunnan). Don't know if bud only tea from Yunnan can truly be called a silver needle, but that is how it was described. It is about 3 years old and I am hoping to see how it evolves and how clay affects the taste of the tea. I am just at the beginning of my clay teaware collection (recently bought my first clay pot - a Tokoname Kyusu).
Duanni, speaking from experience. Makes it really smooth and retains heat for aged white cakes.
@@SDArgo_FoC thanks for the recommendation!
Hi Don. What about Cream Stone Teaware? It has good heat retention, but does not affect the flavour very much. I was wondering if it would be better to brew white tea in it than in Clay. Thanks.
I have to test this one!
does the heat retention data make sense? to my mind it doesent if the pot weight to water ratio is not the same. if that isnt similar, the data doesnt show only the heat retention capacities of the clays, but the heat retention capacities of vessels of different thickness.
Where can I purchase the pot that's in center of the table? The flat looking one.
So if i like roasted oolongs, green oolongs and green teas it's better using a porcelain gaiwan?
I think for us, if we can only get 2 out of the 4, we'd take Tokoname and Jianshui. It would be nice to have a teapot that is as nice as the Master Wu or the Xi Shi though... the pixel is all that's available in jianshui. It keeps me from taking it too serious though which makes it a good all star. Trying to keep from buying three or four at once as I don't really have the budget for that. I do like sheng pu'er but that's the only advantage the yixing has over jianshui for me, and I don't really care toooooo much about the minute details, I just don't want to be brewing in my porcelain gaiwan all the time... it makes great tea but the feel of brewing in a clay teapot just is more comforting and appealing. Psychologically I bond with clay more as we are of the Earth, and it seems like it's healthier to drink out of those than a glazed porcelain. I have a glass teapot, but even the gaiwan seems to make better tea than it
I sum it up as this for myself : : Yixing = sheng pu'er expert, Jianshui = all star, everything but the green, Tokoname = greens, Chaozhou = the teas that I don't know anything about or bright whites which I don't drink ..... love to have them all but I can get yixing and chaozhou later... more important to have a simple two pot choice.
would there be even taste difference between black and red tokoname?
So if want to grab one clay for all kind of tea it should be jianshui ?
Highly Remarquable
Still it would be precious to add a comment on Zhuni yixing, especially for ‘green’ wulong
(even knowing there are so many parameters as well, not only shape but firing of course).
Thank you so much for this brilliant video
Do you have any experience with Qin Zhou Nixing clay? I'm curious how it compares to Jianshui.
The one with greenish stripes that he had on the table at the beginning of the video looked like Qin Zhou. I'd love to try them, the problem is they're always so big, like 200ml+ :/
@@aiwendilciunio I know what you mean! I don't think I've ever seen one less than 200ml. I think that green one is Tokoname, but I might be wrong.
We are planning to follow up with more clay discussions involving Nixing and Rong Chang clays.
I know this is about clay, but is there anything to say about silver teaware? Not as good because too conductive? Would it be good for anything? Seems like it would develop a patina, but is that a good thing on silver?
I have to do more experiments with silver.
It would be interesting to do a blind test with different types of pots and see if you can actually taste the difference.
temperature retention has something to do with colors too…the darker the higher the heat retention
Some Duanni and lüni have higher heat retention even though they’re almost white
I really like your designs, such gentle touches but they go a long way. Hope to visit your shop someday.
Quick (potentially stupid) question. when you were testing the pot's thermal properties why didn't you just insert the thermometer through the thumb hole at the top or through the spout?
Is that duan ni pot is on mei leaf shop?
Is there a downloadable image of your chart here?
What type of clay is your yellow pot; and is it particularly suited to blacks?
although I have and use expensive clay teaware (well-sometimes), I often pass it over for fear of dropping or otherwise breaking something. I would just prefer to admire them sitting on my tea shelf!😳🤑😭
:) I had the same approach when I got into clay but they are meant to be used - maybe pull them out when you are feeling calm and less accident prone!
What about the firing ,high fired yixing vs low fired ?
What about different types of yixing clay ,I am always confused by this .
Best wishes
Guy
Yes I know, with so many clays and different styles, shapes, firing temperatures, it is hard to get a good understanding of the differences but we will continue to try to work through the parameters and release more information.
@@MeiLeaf thx for your quick reply. I enjoyed this video . your videos are always educational , sometimes even enjoyable !
At present i am experimenting with bizen tea cups .keep telling us more about tea .
Best wishes guy
Tokoname and Japanese kyusus are for Japanese green teas only. That's my opinion.
ngl when i first saw the pots i thought they had thrift store price tag stickers on them
Which teas would you brew in a Duan Ni pot?
You didn't cover nixing clay, Don. How would you say it compares to yixing, jianshui, chaozhou, and tokoname?
Yes, this is on our list to add to the discussion along with Rong Chang clay and Silver.
Anyone knows a good video like this testing banko yaki clay?