Yixing Tea Pot

Every time we visit Seattle, we walk through Pike Place Market. When MJ and I did this last summer, I fell in love with a lovely tea shop called The Perennial Tea Room. Besides a fine stock of teas, they displayed lovely tea pots. I fell in love with the Yixing ones and bought a red one for my good friend Nancy and a green one for me. (We both opened them on Christmas.)

These teapots are unglazed and thus need to be "seasoned" before use. The Perennial Tea Room enclosed a copy of the seasoning method they prefer, which I am doing right now. First, it is boiled in water for an hour and later in a pot of the tea to be used in it. I am going to use English Breakfast black tea, so my green pot will be dedicated to this type of tea. Nancy has already seasoned hers.

first boiling of my tea pot

"Yixing teapots absorb a tiny amount of tea into the pot during brewing. After prolonged use, the pot will develop a coating that retains the flavor and color of the tea. It is for this reason that soap should not be used to clean Yixing teapots. Instead, it should be rinsed with fresh water and allowed to air-dry. A studious tea connoisseur will only steep one type of tea in a particular pot, so as not to corrupt the flavor that has been absorbed.

"Traditionally, some Chinese would pour the tea from the spout directly into their mouths."