 | "A high-quality bit of craftsmanship at an affordable price ... I plan to get many, many years of use out of this set."
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Hearing from everyone how Yixing clay seems to hold magical tea related powers I finally decided to take the plunge. Now to be honest I have almost no interest in dabbling in Gung Fu Cha. Yes it sounds cool, conjures up all manner of Bruce Lee movie staples, but its just not quite what I needed. I drink tea while I’m doing other things and as such I was looking for a pot for more general day to day usage. I needed something I could infuse quite a bit of tea at once in with very little fuss. I was hoping to find something rugged, manly, and cool looking as I’ve taken more than my share of quips from the ladies on my teapots. Sadly the pot I picked will do nothing to save me. As luck might have it Stash Tea was having a sale on their Yixing pots. Moreover, some of them practically screamed with testosterone. There were some with Dragons, one with a cool Gila Monster, and a few with Kung Fu Theater appeal. I bought the one with the plum blossoms. What can I say? I looked at the prices and it was the best value at the size I was looking for, and consisting of a complete set.
All unglazed clay absorbs flavors and smells it comes in contact with, it also releases a bit of itself to boot. This is a very good thing, its what causes the tea you brew in it to take on a richer and fuller flavor with repeated use. It also means that the tea you brew today will come out in the tea you brew tomorrow, so your kinda stuck with one tea per pot. So around the same time I ordered a sampler of Oolong (a common choice for Yixing) from Adagio to find one I liked. I actually liked all of them but the Ti Kuan Yin won out in the end. Ti Kuan Yin is an Oolong that lingers on the Green side of the fence, with a strong vegital flavor that reveals many nuances with multiple brews. Of course part of the reason for its victory was the fact that it was widely available and affordable. Whats the point of having a pot dedicated to one tea if I rarely drink that tea?
Something else to keep in mind when buying a new pot is that it has to be broken in a bit before use. You should steep some of the tea you’ve chosen in it for as long as 30 minutes at a time several times, this enriches the pot with the right flavor, and gets out the sharp and less pleasant aspects of the clay flavor. I didn’t do this at first and regretted it immediately. At first it was fine, but every cup was followed by a sharp, bitter, and acidic aftertaste. So I tried it as recommended and the cups following had a pleasing mineral addition but no more cringe-worthy aftertaste.
For the price the pot is very well made. Its obvious that its a factory production, the details of the flowers are not quite what you’d get from hand sculpting, and theirs bits of unfiled flash in the cups. Still considering the price its of pretty high quality. It comes with a well fitted infuser but oddly also has a built-in clay screen. Conceivably if you wanted to brew smaller amounts of tea than is possible with the infuser your could forgo it entirely. Just remember to clean out the pot when skipping the infuser as old leaves left sitting in it could cause later cups to taste horrible. All in all I’m very happy with my purchase and plan to get many, many, good years out of it. Its sturdy and should last for quite a while.
— To purchase Black Plum Yixing Tea Set, or for more specific information on ingredients or the story behind this particular blend, click here to go directly to the manufacturer's web site.
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