How to season a Chinese clay teapot

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How to season a Chinese clay teapot

Рет қаралды 39,421

11 жыл бұрын

This video explains how to season a new Chinese teapot by showing an example of a Jianshui teapot being seasoned with raw Pu-erh tea, and an Yixing clay teapot being seasoned with ripe Pu-erh tea. A new teapots should be seasoned with a particular class of tea in order to prepare them for a lifetime of dedicated use with that kind of tea. Please feel free to ask further questions about this video in the comments section below!
For an extensive selection of teapots and teas, visit our website at www.yunnansourcing.com!

Пікірлер: 38

@Yunnansourcing 11 жыл бұрын

I've seasoned over 50 pots this way and never had damage... but it wouldn't hurt to add a towel!

@amandah2866 3 жыл бұрын

Great video! This is a really good guide for those of us that need to see the process rather than just read it. The instructions are simple but also give an understanding of why this is so important. The pot you used for the raw pu-erh is stunning! Also, your dog is adorable :)

@Yunnansourcing 3 жыл бұрын

Ah Lucy was a just a baby back then... now she's 10 years old!!! Glad you liked the video.

@ocelot420_69 5 ай бұрын

I just drink a ton of tea, I also tend to favor Japanese Bankoware pots due to style and have glazed pots. The filter and top lip of the pot and lid are still raw clay and do pick up a season. You can taste the difference a bit as a young pot pulls a bit of bitterness but also imparts a mineral flavor. I like to let the season build naturally and enjoy tasting the change as my pot seasons and can also see where a younger pot would be good for a tea with a bit too much bitter bite.

@RuStOlIuM420 6 ай бұрын

I love the look of jianshui

@Yunnansourcing 6 ай бұрын

It's got a dimensional aspect that Yixing doesn't have. It's very much a Yunnanese style of pottery.

@RuStOlIuM420 6 ай бұрын

I'm definitely gonna get my hands on one real soon lol

@WormyLeWorm 10 жыл бұрын

The ripe puerh pot is very beautiful; Those are my favorite designs.

@kirkoneill725 5 жыл бұрын

Many thanks for the tutorial Scott!

@thomasschoneveld6409 5 жыл бұрын

Nice video. Good choice of the music too :)

@wonkyviolin4376 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much Scott! My new pot is happily seasoned.

@Yunnansourcing 5 жыл бұрын

Welcome and Enjoy!

@edaemus84 11 жыл бұрын

MarshalN once suggested on his blog to put a tea-towel or similar into the bottom of the pot to protect the teapot from potential damage as it simmers. Probably a good idea!

@travish2675 3 жыл бұрын

love the song

@juelushi7124 10 жыл бұрын

To see your video again

@Kconv1 7 жыл бұрын

I have 2 pots that taste really good without seasoning, the ripe puerh pot and dark oolong pot are doing fine without any seasoning but the raw puerh pot which is duanni is flattening the tea. IS the duanni more porous than the darker yixing clays? Im going to try seasoning this one.

@razzleberrycat 9 жыл бұрын

I'm looking at getting my first clay teapot (or few). I mean REALLY cheap, low quality ones, so I have room for trial and error, at least for starters while I learn what they're like! Does this seasoning process do anything to protect the clay itself long term, and/or does it help with brewing tea physically (like with seasoning a cast iron pan to keep it from rusting or sticking to food)? Or is this purely to enhance the flavor of the tea brewed in it -- in which case is this necessary, or is it just giving a new teapot a "jump start" to get it where one would naturally be after years of dedicated use?

@scottwilson5618 9 жыл бұрын

The seasoning is really to prime the pot with oils and aromas from the type of tea you will brew in there. It's not going to make a cheap pot great, but it will improve the taste of the compared to not seasoning at all. It is a kind of "jump start"... if you didn't season it would take the pot alot longer to build up the oils.

@razzleberrycat 9 жыл бұрын

Scott Wilson Do you mean just for the flavor and aroma, then? Or are the oils protective to the clay (like oil is with cast iron)?

@scottwilson5618 9 жыл бұрын

razzleberrycat Flavor and aroma... the oils aren't protecting the clay... it's not like a tetsubin that can rust.

@razzleberrycat 9 жыл бұрын

Scott Wilson Thanks

@ghcoffin 4 жыл бұрын

Hello, I noticed you have yixing gaiwans on your site. I'm interested in this blending of gaiwan practicality and yixing clay characteristics. What do you think about them? Are they as absorbent as the teapots? Thank you.

@Yunnansourcing 4 жыл бұрын

Yes, the yixing gaiwans are porous like teapots and can be seasoned quite well!

@ssstewart1 5 жыл бұрын

What kind of heater/burner/element are you using to heat the water?

@Yunnansourcing 5 жыл бұрын

Iwatani burner with butane canisters

@BLAZINGSTR8DANK420 6 жыл бұрын

I made mine and it pours out weird it drips

@maguillen1998 8 жыл бұрын

what is Liu Bao Cha?

@Yunnansourcing 8 жыл бұрын

+maguillen1998 A fermented tea from Guangxi, it's somewhat like ripe pu-erh: www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=16991

@Limxuv 10 жыл бұрын

wouldn't letting the leaves remain in the water for that long a) burn the leaves and b) cause the tea to go bitter? O.o 40 minutes is a long steeping...

@scottwilson5618 10 жыл бұрын

It does not burn the tea... they are in the water. The brewed soup is for the teapot, not drinking. A strong seasoning has a good impact on the clay pot.

@PointyGorman 9 жыл бұрын

+Scott Wilson But the tannins are not good, you should avoid brewing tea hot or long in (or around) your pot because you will impart a lot of tannins... I don't recommend brewing 40 minutes because you will definitely burn the tea and infuse a looooot of tannins. Also remember to control the temperature. tbh fam I'd brew as normal and pour it into a pot then submerge the teapot and let it cool. If you really want to season a lot then bring the pot to 50-70C or so, so you won't damage the infusion. Needless to say you won't have to worry about excessive tannin leaching by using a method such as this which does not involve steeping leaves for a very long time at an unknown temperature...

@Yunnansourcing 9 жыл бұрын

+gorman The tannins are in the tea and over time brewing tea in the pots will also impart alot of tannins. The point of seasoning is the have the pot soak up alo of the elements in the tea. Without seasoning the pot will just soak up alot of the tannins, oils and aroma from the tea during the first year and the tea will taste flat.

@PointyGorman 9 жыл бұрын

Yunnan Sourcing If you brew a tea very high in tanins and use it to season the pot, then when you brew tea in the pot more tanins will leach into your pot. Usually undesirable compounds are kept away from the pot! Bottom line, tanins don't taste good, don't soak them into your pot!

@Yunnansourcing 9 жыл бұрын

+gorman So how do you brew pu-erh?

@cannibalisticwolf3319 6 ай бұрын

Doggo required

@Yunnansourcing 6 ай бұрын

She was just a puppy in this video. Now she's a 13 years wise old dog. When I say in Chinese "let's drink tea" she comes over and sits next to me while I drink tea. My best friend.

@cannibalisticwolf3319 6 ай бұрын

@@Yunnansourcing next level tea pet. ❤️