Drinking Tea in winter is very beneficial for health. Using a purple clay teapot not only brings out the rich aroma of the tea without any cooked flavor but also offers advantages over other Teapots due to its excellent heat retention, especially in cold weather.
Selecting a Teapot
The capacity of a purple clay teapot should suit your needs.
The volume of teapots can vary significantly, from those that hold several liters of water to those that barely contain enough for one cup. If someone has a wide circle of friends and entertains guests daily, consuming several pounds of tea per week, using a small red clay teapot would be impractical, as pouring and refilling the water would be a hectic task, leaving them flustered and sweating.
The lid opening should be appropriately sized for easy entry and exit of tea leaves.
Many people enjoy drinking Oolong Tea, which, before brewing, is in a dry and compact state. Placing it into the teapot using a tea scoop is not too difficult, but after being steeped in hot water several times, the leaves expand and can fill the entire pot (especially if too much tea is used). If the mouth of the teapot is too small, it will take some effort to remove the tea leaves. If this is neglected and not cleaned properly, tea residue can form on the inner walls of the teapot, which can be detrimental to health.
A purple clay teapot should have a stable center of gravity and be comfortable to handle.
Some teapots are heavy when lifted. This is often due to an improperly designed handle that does not conform to ergonomics or because the walls are too thick (using too much clay). When buying a new teapot, try filling it with water up to three-quarters full and lifting it with one hand, mimicking the motion of pouring water.
This test checks whether the weight feels too heavy. It also allows you to feel whether the position where your fingers grip the handle is comfortable. Comfortable handling is crucial; otherwise, not only will it tire you but it can also easily lead to accidents like dropping and breaking the teapot, so caution is advised.
Brewing Tea
This refers to the process of brewing tea with boiling water. According to the Tea Classic, you should hold the tea in your hand and pour the boiling water into the teapot first. Then, add the tea leaves to the water, cover the teapot, and let it steep for a few minutes until the tea leaves sink to the bottom before drinking. Note: Remember to warm the purple clay teapot in winter to prevent cracking.
Teapots come in different heights. Tall teapots are suitable for brewing black tea, while shorter ones are better for Green Tea. Tall teapots have a higher body and a more constricted lid, making them ideal for black tea. Since black tea undergoes fermentation during processing, using a tall teapot allows the tea to steep deeply, fully releasing its aroma, flavor, and color, resulting in a rich and fragrant infusion. Shorter teapots have a lower body and a slightly wider lid, making them suitable for green tea.
Nurturing the Teapot
Rubbing a famous purple clay teapot with your hands is known as “nurturing the teapot.” In Yixing, this practice is called “polishing the teapot.” Since ancient times, teapot enthusiasts have never been without their teapots, constantly rubbing and cherishing them. Some use cloth to polish the teapot. After brewing tea with boiling water, extremely fine tea juice seeps onto the surface of the teapot, invisible to the naked eye. Wiping the teapot back and forth with a damp cloth over time results in a smooth, glossy, and bright surface, creating a pleasant tactile experience.
Cleaning the Teapot
Yixing purple clay teapots have a large pore structure and strong absorbency, making them resistant to souring. Given these characteristics, ordinary tea should be washed immediately after brewing.
When using high-quality teas, the tea can be left in the teapot for storage and cleaned thoroughly later. In Yixing, teapots are not cleaned by hand. The method is as follows: if a teapot develops an odor after prolonged disuse, simply soak it in boiling water and then rinse it with cold water to eliminate the odor. Before using a newly purchased purple clay teapot, it must first be prepared through a process known as “opening the teapot” before it can be used.