Yixing teapots are available in many colors. But most often, people want the teapots in their original color – which is the mixture between red and brown, with a touch of purple. Yixing teapots are small and always accompany with small yet elegant Yixing tea cups. These teapots are hand-made from a special kind of soil that mainly available in the Yixing region in China.
Photo courtesy of Geekgirlunveiled
There is many different clay color that contributes to the different color of teapots. But the most common and abundant clay has a dark brown color with a touch of purple. These teapots are often called Purple Sand teapots. The soil that makes up the teapots has many interesting characteristics. The soil is very absorbent and resistant to high temperature.
Due to the 1st characteristic, teapots can preserve the taste of your tea once the tea is brewed for the first time. For this reason, it’s a good idea to use one teapot for your most favorite tea. Brewing different teas in one teapot can result in mixture of fragrance and the taste. This can give you either a pleasant or a weird tea.
The resistance of yixing clay can help spread the heat slowly and evenly. The tea will less likely to be over-brewed. This trait also prevent the handle from overheat, causing inconvenience when pouring tea.
Prepare new teapots
Some teapots when put in shelves are already prepared. This means they already get rid of the smell for you. But if the teapots are so new, they still can have an earthy fragrance. This is not a big problem. We can fix this easily. Before you can use the new teapot you just bought, you need to get rid of the muddy smell because it will definitely affect your tea later.
Here are the steps that you can do to have a nice and clean teapot:
1) Place your new teapot in a container and boil it for 15 minutes. This kind of teapot can easily change color depending on the temperature. The higher the temperature, the darker the teapot will become.
2) Take the teapot out and dry it completely. Put lots of strong black tea into the container in step 1. Submerge the teapot into the tea water for 6 hours. Do not expose the teapot to sunlight.
3) When finished, take the teapot out, wipe the teapot thoroughly with soft cloth. Place the pot in a dark and cool place for it to dry. Remember, after each brew, always let the teapot air dry.
People often have different Yixing teapots for different kinds of teas. If you don’t have many teapots, reserve the teapot for your most consumed and favorite tea.
Washing the teapots
Teapots are very essential to a decent cup of tea. Although teapots aren’t that expensive, it’s a good idea to take good care of your teapots. One of the biggest mistakes that people make is using detergent to wash the teapot.
As mentioned above, Yixing teapots can absorb fragrance very easily. So your teapots can absorb the fragrance of your dishwasher liquid, making your next cup tea smell and taste like soap. It’s very difficult to get rid of the soap smell, so you may have to buy a new teapot. Another mistake is that people use chemicals to polish the outer surface of teapot. These chemicals will stay in the teapots and can be transferred directly into your cup of tea.
This can cause unpredicted medical problem, so please only wash with cool water and let it air dry. Remember do not expose to sunlight. Always use soft dry cloth to wipe your Yixing teapot to prevent scratching on the surface. Here are some tips to help you prepare and preserve your Yixing teapots. Keep in mind, a decent teapot can bring you a decent cup of tea.