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If you use very fine green teas that can be infused to a densely velvety and savory liquor that still isn’t overly bitter or astringent, 120 ml pots can be used to prepare the green tea version of fine expresso. Otherwise use a slightly larger pot for normal strength that allows you to drink in larger cups.
Generally 120ml (or smaller) pots are for preparing tea that can be drunk in smaller portion and satisfyingly more concentrated.Lower density Yixing has the ability to mellow down over-fire, astringency, and bitterness in tea. Higher density Yixing enhances sharpness and accents. Both smooth the body.The round (almost spherical) body is the classic. It is the most versatile shape of all.If this is not giving you good enough hints, let me know.I am really moved by you all that you have understood the quality of my selections. Please do copy this and other previous comments to my teashop site when the comment function there is operable, hopefully in a week or so.
However, I do think Betty’s original question needs to be addressed. Why are there some tea so many times more expensive than others? This goes beyond the scope of one shop and touches on many core concepts, values and social issues.Pancakes gets it right that it is an overall supply and demand issue. However, there are more real issues than this.It is a rather lengthy answer and I think I’ll put it in an article in the main site. It is one that I have wanted to write about for a long, long time anyway. Will keep you posted.Those who have more to say about this please do keep this topic alive here. I’d very much like to learn from how you see it.That’s right. The grading basing on pluck quality, however, is purely a starting point, even if that grading standard is universally observed by all puer producers. The issue is complicated by the fact that most puer productions in the market now are blends. That is why there is this “formula” thing. My father used to buy a dark tea called “Luan Gu”, that is still available in some tea shops. The tea is basically tea twigs. Most puer tea discuses are blended with twigs and larger leaves which sharper tastes complement the lowered tastes of the leaves on the surface of the “cakes” that have been greatly reduced through exposure to the environment, considering the kind of storage most of theses products are subjected to. That is why there is usually a wider range of taste in such products. A better one is usually characterised by a rounder body even when the infusion is prepared slightly stronger.
Looks great. I know that there are many makers of such devices, but I don’t know price and quality comparison for them.
These are big questions to answer. Will come back to them later tonight. Anyone with comments or answers to these are welcome.
Caffeine content in shu cha type of puers does get lower through properly conducted post-fermentation. Findings in various reports vary so I cannot come to any conclusion as to how much lower yet. Also, not all shu cha in the market are properly post-fermented. That said, a lot of teas in the market are not properly processed or handled one way or the other anyway. (Have I become a grumpy old man?)
Thickness difference in a container affects the manner of heat dissipation of the container itself and the content it holds. It is typical that mass-produced gaiwans, including all that I use for general purposes, have a thinner bottom and increasing thickness on the side wall towards the top. That is why the hand-thrown gaiwans are a lot more ideal, but they are way too expensive for daily use for most of us.
Anyway, your sample is illustrative of poor thickness distribution even for a mould cast production. This is likely a result of poor skills and/or management. Having said that, however, a lot of chinaware produced all around the world have the same characteristics.It is likely to affect on the quality of infusion. One way to check differences is to control all other variables and use a few different infusion wares to conduct infusion tests on the same tea.RTHK enforces their copyrights quite strictly. Can’t upload that to YouTube. That was quite many years ago now anyway.
@ Sara, yes, that’s right. When I designed the packaging, I intended it to be a way of storage too. The Phoenix oolong you ordered comes in the kraft bag with an aluminum and a PE laminates. They are good environment insulators and thick enough for the duration of the content (I reuse them for my own drinking stock sometimes). Remember to cut at just below the seal so you have plenty of length of the bag for folding back a few times before you clip it for storage. That way there is a safe air trap.
