I’m convinced that everyone has a few of their favorite teapots for brewing tea. I cycle through a few teapots right now, but only because my collection is growing. I am already starting to use certain teaware for particular types of tea, which you will see many seasoned tea-drinkers do.
Choosing what you brew your tea in can become significant. For example, certain types of teapots made of clay are porous and can develop what is called a patina. It will literally take on the aromas of the tea you make in it and sort of season it, like a cast-iron skillet! For that reason, most limit the type of tea brewed in those teapots to a specific type. I have four pieces of go to teaware right now.
Old Fashion Plastic Teapot
My Plastic Teapot
I was trying to recall where I obtained this pot, but it hasn’t hit me yet. This is my goto for my morning tea, which will usually be a loose black tea such as an English Breakfast, or it may be a chai blend with black tea for that caffeine hit. I will not use this for any of my high-quality teas.
Ceramic Gaiwan
Ceramic Gaiwan
My Gaiwan is by far my most used teaware. I use it daily, and it is never a single steep. At first, I did not even know what it was. I ordered a travel brewing device and in the box was my Gaiwan. This became my introduction to brewing and tasting higher quality teas and accelerated my growth. I will brew any tea style in here. It just so happens that it has been used a lot for oolong and black teas, however, it has definitely seen its share of greens. With certainty, I can say that it was a wonderful mistake!
Check out my review of Modern Muzha Tie Guanyin brewed in the Gaiwan.
Glass Ming Cha
Glass Ming Cha
I purchased this Ming Cha Teapot from Rishi a few weeks ago. It has really grown on me. I use it specifically for greens and whites right now, which I like better out of a glass or porcelain vessel. In my opinion, the more delicate teas do well when paired with glass or ceramic, but that is personal preference! I also like to reserve more of the porous clay teapots for my black, Pu-erh, and wulong teas.
Purion Clay Teapot
Clay Teaware
That leads me to my favorite teapot in my collection right now, the Purion Teapot, also purchased from Rishi. This teapot was produced by Lin’s Ceramics Studio in Taiwan. This is a semi-porous clay that will develop a patina over time. I use this for my higher oxidized wulongs or even heavier roasted black teas. I absolutely love this teapot, the feel, the craftsmanship. It’s hard not to think about the level of care that went into creating it.
Tell me about your teaware collection in the comments below. Do you have any teapots you use for specific teas?
I have a T2 teamaker which I use very often because of how easy it is to adjust the water to leave ratio. When I went overseas, the only teaware I brought with me was a travelling gaiwan set and that was honestly enough for everything
That’s awesome. I have a traveling set that is cool. I like it because I can keep my tea in it and it has little cups as well. The T2 is great.