How to Choose Proper Yixing Clay Teapot

There is no straight answer when it comes to using a Yixing clay teapot for both Dian Hong and Jin Jun Mei's black teas.

In a perfect world, we would want to dedicate a Yixing teapot per black tea style. However, there are some constraints:

- Yixing clay teapots are expensive;

- not everyone has the space for multiple Yixing teapots; and

- it's more convenient (and sometimes necessary) to brew all black teas in one Yixing pot.

This blog briefly introduces how to choose the proper Yixing clay teapot and key factors you should notice.

How to Choose a Teapot

Even if you plan on getting one Yixing teapot for each type of tea, it's still hard to determine which pot should I get. For example; do I need two pots - one specifically for black Jin Jun Mei and Dian Hong style leaves? Or maybe just use the same vessel when brewing both Dancong oolongs (with their similar flavor profiles) or even Wuyi oolongs since they have some similarities as well such also having honey aroma Xiang styles like Shui Xian water sprite flavors too. Which would make more sense- grouping by region instead of dividing into separate groups per tea category?

Usage Frequency

If you do want to go the extra mile and buy teapots for all your teas, there's one thing you should at least consider. Let's say you regularly drink 10 different types of teas, and you want to get 10 teapots. You've got to think about whether you'll end up using them frequently enough. A good Yixing pot needs time to be aired out so that it can absorb enough tea aroma. For that reason, the more often you use a person's pot for a specific variety of tea then the more often it will be air out and allowing better extraction over time and therefore improving the taste of one's drink overall.

Consider your budget

You don't need a huge budget to get started with Yixing teapots, but you do want one good pot that will last. If your wallet doesn’t allow for more than just the initial investment- consider getting two cheaper pots instead of wasting money on them when they won't work as well in order not to have any leftovers!