The Yi Xing Teapot is the New Honey Badger

Sitting at the table ready to brew tea. These little teapots sit in front of me. Why are the pots so small? Even a tiny teapot can brew up quite a bit of tea.

Some days I like to sit and drink pot after pot of tea. In this type of scenario, the best practice is to have food near at hand so that mealtime can be given a priority (this is best accomplished in Taiwan where exceptional street food is plentiful). Tea and food are connected. Tea was first used as a medicine to help the stomach; I’ve found that it aids in digestion. Consequently, it’s no surprise that the type of tea I want to drink correlates with the types of food I've been eating.

The small teapots are not used just for making an individual serving of tea. They are made to accentuate the characteristics a particular tea has to offer. Remember, a tea has a range of flavors it can express. The same tea can be either bitter or sweet, but the most interesting teas are both bitter and sweet. In terms of flavor, there is no right or wrong, it really is a matter of preference.

Here's the real reason for the Yixing teapot. Teas such as oolong and puer are special, and have an amazing range of flavor. But to really get these flavors to come out, Yixing teaware is critical.

The Yixing teapot evolved side-by-side with oolong tea and dates back to between 1400 and 1500 (if we are to believe Wikipedia). The Yixing teapot has the following characteristics: Its small size is ideal for a higher leaf to water ratio and its small surface area means there is less room for the heat to dissipate. The small size also reduces the time it takes to decant the tea, resulting in a tighter control of the time variable. Yixing teapots lack glaze so eventually the pot becomes seasoned with tea. This, in turn, enhances the flavor of the tea. Additionally, the clay used has a high iron content, which keeps the water temperature higher. This is favorable for oolongs with a higher level of oxidation and a strong roast. These types of teas require a high temperature in order to extract the magical flavor within.

In summary, the Yixing teapots are small, but they are badass, much like the honey badger.

Quatro de Mayo Tea Tasting

From right to left we will be tasting:

1. Competition Winner Wen Shan Bao Zhong (First Tier) - winter harvest 2008

2. Li Shan Da Yu Ling - winter harvest 2007

3. Shan Lin Xi - Spring 2008

4. Mount Ah Li Baked 1000 Mile - Spring 2006

5. Competition Winner Mu Za Iron Goddess (Honorable Mention) - Winter 2007

The book shown in the picture is Wine Lover's Companion - Comprehensive Definitions for More Than 3500 Wine-Related Terms by Herbst & Herbst. In the lower right-hand corner is a list of wine terms shown below. The list and the book were loaned to me by a local wine expert / tea enthusiast.

Parameters: we will use 5 g of each tea, three minute infusions. We are using charcoal filtered water 210 to 212°F.

A note on the tasters: I am Taster 1. Taster 2 is a chef trained in Aryuvedic food pairing and Gong fu tea service.

The teas will be tasted in the order listed above. I arranged the teas in this order, not as an arrangement from least desirable to most desirable, rather so that the previous tea would not interfere with the following tea. As we can see in the photo below, this arrangement is consistent with the color progression as the teas change from greener the darker.



The results are in.

1. Competition Winner Wen Shan Bao Zhong (First Tier) - winter harvest 2008

Taster 1
Honey syrup hummingbird nectar followed by aftertaste of Hummingbird sage. Salvia. Green floral honeysuckle lingering sweet, sunflower in the sun, peanut. Mist covered sloping hillsides. Rolling green contrast stone that the steps are carved out of climbing higher eventually disappearing into the mist. A slight astringency gives it a weight and substance. Rocks and soil aftertaste, a sweet mouth feel that is long lasting.


Taster 2
Fresh, citrus, melon, honey. Invokes images of sitting on a beach at sunrise. Scent: baby breath.



2. Li Shan Da Yu Ling - winter harvest 2007


Taster 1
Brilliant fruit composition like a virtual fruit platter mango pineapple soft pillow clouds of fruit sugars. Pure sweetness the whole way through. I'm getting one of those, I can't believe tea moments. The sugars are so intense, almost as if sugar was extracted from fruit and in the process of attaining a bit of fruit scent. This is one of the teas my teacher said could be stored, meaning that the quality is high enough that it will change, as all teas do, the only change for the good. This is because it has enough sweetness along with of the soil and the earth. The oceanic crust that was pushed from the ocean floor to become one of Taiwan's highest mountains towering at 11,000 feet. This tea has staying power.


Taster 2
Scent: So sweet! Baklava.
A little leathery, some musk and sawdust. And almond without skin.



3. Shan Lin Xi - Spring 2008


Taster 1
Tannins are almost too bright initial aroma, this tea does not hide. It is the blackberry pie on the window still cooling for all to see, followed by a sweetness that carries an umph. Brings a lot with the change of sweet on the end there is almost too much going on to wrap one's mind around. The flavor continues to change and ends up as a under ripe watermelon.

Taster 2
Bohemian; sweet, bitter, soul, dry on the tongue, warm on the throat. Interacts with the stomach well. Almost unripe.



4. Mount Ah Li Baked 1000 Mile - Spring 2006


Taster 1
Walk up mist covered mountains steps in the fog enveloped you beckoning you for calling your direct line and letting you know it will nurture and envelop your soul. Creamy smooth amaretto, crushed hemp seed texture, swirling flavor complexity, cocoa.
Slightly citric bright finish. And applesauce presence and some doughyness.
Food complement: lamb chops. This tea would go amazing with barbecued lamb chops.


Taster 2
Comforting, ginger bread/cinnamon. Stir fry, amaranth, rich.


5. Competition Winner Mu Za Iron Goddess (Honorable Mention) - Winter 2007

Taster 1
Kimchi! Inhaling the aroma in one long breath, the scent slowly builds. It seems to start from the earth, travel into the roots heading up into the wood transitioning into almond creamy textures. Continuing the nose seems to travel up and out the branches of the plant out to the tips for the brilliant fruit bouquet. Eventually reaching a high pitched citric crescendo that pours over and over asking the question, will this scent ever stop peeking? A little bit of leather some tobacco and sweet floral to fruit how very so many flavors could come to mind his point to describe this teas taste. Because on and on it just keeps changing, almost intense hummingbird sage. Caramelized fruit bread crusts, just the caramelized part. The rest of this teas flavor is almost as broad as your imagination, there are a lot of flavors present and all of them are good.

Taster 2
Caramelized pecan and onion. Not so much water, yet cooling in the stomach, stew, bread, carrots, SMORES, sauna, mineral very mild clove or nutmeg. Raisin.