Seasoning Your Yixing

Now that I am a proud owner of Yixing Teaware, I felt it important to learn more about these precious, handcrafted teapots. In preparation of the first use, I thought it important to determine if the teapots required special care. I must admit, albeit a little sheepishly, that in my excitement I used one of my new teapots prior to conducting the research. (I refuse to admit which one.) After conducting my research, I found on three different websites (Yixing.com, WikiHow, and Culinary Teas) that it is important to “season” Yixing Teaware prior to using.

There seems to be three main techniques for used for seasoning Yixing Teaware. While I am tempted to use the easier of the four, I have opted to use the technique that appeared most frequently on various websites. My findings are listed below:

Method One

1. Fill the teapot with boiling water and allow it to sit for ten minutes.
2. Drain the water.
3. Fill the pot with boiling water again and add one teaspoon of your favorite loose tea leaves. Remember, this should be the type of tea you will use this pot for. Allow to sit for ten minutes.
4. Drain the tea. Now your pot is ready for use.

Method Two

1. Pre-heat your Yixing teapot by filling it with hot water and then draining it.
2. Place one teaspoon of loose tea into the preheated Yixing teapot.
3. Fill with hot water and wait for at least one minute.
4. Enjoy your tea either by pouring it into a cup or by drinking directly from the Yixing teapot, which is the traditional way of using it.
5. Take the lid off the teapot and place the pieces in a vessel large enough to cover the pieces with water.
6. Place some tea leaves in the water and bring to a slow boil (rapid boiling could damage your pot). Slow boil for an hour.
7. Remove from the heat and let the pot remain in the water for twenty four hours.
8. Remove the pot from the water and rinse well.
9. Put the teapot back into the larger vessel and bring it to a slow boil again for an hour.
10. Remove from heat and let it cool down again in the same tea water. The next day remove the teapot and rinse it in hot water. It is now ready to use.

Method Three 

1. Pre-heat your Yixing teapot by filling it with hot water and then draining it.
2. Place one teaspoon of loose tea into the preheated Yixing teapot.
3. Fill with hot water and wait for at least one minute.
4. Enjoy your tea either by pouring it into a cup or by drinking directly from the Yixing teapot, which is the traditional way of using it. 

Method 4 – The Gerenda Method

1. Gather together 1 large water pot (the kind one uses to boil water for spaghetti), tongs, paper towels, 3-5 liters of a pure mineral water or filtered water, plastic wrap, the tea destined for your pot.
2. Gently rinse any manufacturing dust/residue from the inside of your Yixing ware with cold water. Then, with dry paper towels wipe out the inside of your Yixing ware to make sure you get all the dust/residue. If not, this is a very unpleasant taste.
3. Bring 3-5 liters of water to a rolling boil. The amount of water depends on the size of the teapot. You want to make sure that the amount of water is enough to completely submerse your teapot, tea set, or other Yixing ware.
4. Cut the heat immediately after the water comes to a boil. Add 3-5 teaspoons of tea to the water, and let steep for 10 minutes. After ten minutes, with the tongs, ever so gently submerse your Yixing ware into the brew.
5. Let stand for at least 30 minutes, or until the heat from the water pot is no longer a danger. Then wrap the top of the pot with plastic wrap to “seal” the pot. The curing process lasts exactly one week from the day of submersion. Check on the Yixing ware periodically throughout the week.
6. Gently remove your Yixing ware from the pot and rinse with cold water on the seventh day. Never use soaps of any kind on your Yixing ware.
7. Allow pot to dry completely. Now your Yixing ware is completely cured and ready for use!

If you are knowledgeable about Yixing Teaware and have utilized one or all of the seasoning methods listed above, please stop by and comment. I am interested in knowing which technique worked best for you. Additionally, what were the determining factors that helped you decided which method was better than another. Finally, if you utilizing a different process/technique for seasoning your Yixing Teaware, please stop by and share your technique and why you think it is the best. Until then… Happy Tea Drinking!

References:

1. http://www.yixing.com/teapotinfo.html

2. http://www.wikihow.com/Season-a-Yixing-Teapot

3. http://www.culinaryteas.com/Seasoning-Yixing.html

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