subject: Tips To Better Appreciate Your Yixing Chinese Teapot [print this page] Big time tea lovers have sung the praises of Chinese tea sets from Yixing for centuries. They admire the vessels to be the heart and soul of Chinese Kungfu Cha brewing.
However, few international tea drinkers are acquainted to the knowledge as what the vessels can really do to your tea. Here are just a few notes.
First, think of your teapot as a flavor magnifier. It works to elevate the taste of your tea as you brew and the vessel seasons.
Put it under a microscope, and you shall see hundreds of thousands of micro holes on its surface. In fact, the surface area of those holes combined is many times larger the size of the vessel itself.
Each time you brew, the large number of holes 'drinks' a small amount of your tea, and allows tea essence to build up. As more and more brews go, tea essences work to upgrade the flavor of your tea.
Some big time tea lovers say that if you brew enough times, you don't even need tea leaves to make a fragrant tea infusion.
The tiny holes give you another benefit. Despite the tight sealing of your teapot, fresh air can get in through those holes to keep your tea fresh for extra hours.
Due to the special molecular structure, the vessel has very low heat conductivity. In other words, it retails warmth well yet won't become too hot to touch.
This all thanks to the distinctive clay to make the vessel. Unique to the town of Yixing, the clay is located deep in mountains layers towards the bottom of the mineral deposits almost 350 millions old.
Usually the extracted clay is weathered for several years before being processed for tea set making.
A worrisome fact about is that due to scarecity of the special sand rocks, purple clay is predicted to deplete in a short few years.
Thus, your teapot is even more valuable more than ever.
