Newbie looking for teapot advice

[NYC Mike]

Hi All,

My wife and I had a pretty amazing tea experience at WD-50. Up until that point I've only been an very occasional tea drinker and then only earl grey or green tea in bags. I have always been a cocktail before a meal, wine during and expresso/coffee afterwards but I am toning that bit down.

After some initial looking around it just seems like the flavor/paring combinations are awesome.

Can someone point me to an site that can help educate me on pot types ect? What types of pots do you all use? Anyone know what kind of pot that was at WD, it had the loose tea in a cylinder in the middle? It was like a french press in a tea pot.

Thanks,

-Mike

Edited January 29, 2006 by NYC Mike (log)

[prasantrin]

Anyone know what kind of pot that was at WD, it had the loose tea in a cylinder in the middle?  It was like a french press in a tea pot.

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I've never been to WD, but it sounds like it might be a bodum, except with the bodum you don't press down as you would with a French press.

[NYC Mike]

Anyone know what kind of pot that was at WD, it had the loose tea in a cylinder in the middle?  It was like a french press in a tea pot.

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I've never been to WD, but it sounds like it might be a bodum, except with the bodum you don't press down as you would with a French press.

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Yes, that is the one. Thanks Prasantrin.

[kbuzbee]

...except with the bodum you don't press down as you would with a French press.

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Yes, you do.... It seals the tea into the bottom to stop the brewing process. I got my wife one of these for Christmas. It works very nicely.

In a totally different vein... Have you considered a YiXing pot?

YiXing Teapots

These are traditional Chinese teapots made of heavy clay. You use one pot for one kind of tea only. Over time, it saturates the clay with the tea. The legend says, after several years, you only need add water as the pot has the flavor of the tea already. Beware, these are usually (by American standards) very small tea pots, often 4-8 ounces. They vary tremendously in price based on the quality of the clay and the skill of the artist. If I ever get seriously into tea, I'm afraid these little things will be all over my kitchen

Good luck,

Ken

[Kent Wang]

When looking for a teapot, I think having a removable strainer is essential so that you can stop the steeping. This is why a French press is not a good idea, unless you want to transfer the tea to another pot.