Clay, Chaozhou Pots, & Dancong
A/B Testing on how different teaware, specifically Chaozhou pots, affect dancongs.
If you’ve been drinking tea long enough, you’ve probably heard how the teaware you brew in can really, really change your tea.
Usually, this is said in reference to Yixing pots. Zini does this, Zhuni does that… I’ve seen very little people in online communities talk about the effects of teaware on dancong however. The existence of Chaozhou teapots complicates this further. Some people say they’re a necessity for dancong, others leave them out of the conversation entirely. But what remains true is that Chaozhou teapots are never usually
This A/B testing I will be doing is my way of attempting to figure out the differences between these teawares in brewing dancong.
Of course, I have my own thoughts going in, and my opinion on this has changed and evolved since I did this experiment a couple weeks ago. I will try to make a conclusion at the end that summarizes this experiment, my experiences, and other peoples experiences.
The 5 Teaware I will be brewing in today are:
Old Pot. This is what I’ve been using for around 4 months now, it was sold as a Chaozhou Teapot, and I got it from a pretty reputable place, and I’ve been using it exclusively for Dancong.
Flat Chaozhou. Got it from someone on Reddit. Clay seems a lot more legit than the first Chaozhou. Also pricier! Quickly seasoned, but might not be enough for a Chaozhou.
Round Chaozhou. Similar as above, different shape and larger volume.
Zini Pot. Got it secondhand from a friend, Aged Zini and was used for Oolongs before. This is the biggest pot here, and I won’t be filling it to the top, so that might have an effect on the taste
Gaiwan! The good old, small and neat, hopefully will be the benchmark for how things are
Personally I prefer brewing stuff RootedLeaf style, which is similar to regular Gongfu but with lower temperature water. I will eventually do another post on the different brewing styles people use, just know that the result should not be heavily affected by this.
I will also be using around 2.5 grams of tea and exactly 50ml of water in all of these brewing vessels, since they’re all quite small (besides the Zini). Around a 1:20 ratio, close to what I usually use!
In between each steep, I will use hot water to rinse my Gong Dao Bei and teacup, and nibble at a saltine cracker in order to somewhat cleanse my palate.
The tea I will be using today is the Old Bush Wild Mi Lan Xiang from ZoeysTeas. This is a more expensive, quality dancong, and has pretty straight forward notes.
My impressions of this tea (and Wild Honey Orchids in general) is that it’s sweet, has a very obvious minerality to it as it progresses, sometimes even veering into what I’d call “saltiness” but not quite. Thin texture, and overall has a nice honey orchid sweetness and some congwei throughout the session.
Here are my notes from the session, written as I was brewing and drinking this tea:
First Steep
194F 85C. Counted 5 seconds in each pot.
Gaiwan
Hopefully the benchmark here!
Better than I remembered. Very clear cooling quality. Sweet, mellow, light yellow, peachy/lychee like undertone.
Flat Chaozhou
Cooling, but clearly not as vibrant as the Gaiwan. Somewhat muting, a bit more fruity and sweet but in kind of an uninteresting way.
Zini Pot
Again very obvious cooling sensation, not as vibrant either but definitely not muting, I would say the highs aren’t as high but you still get the full package. Not as fruity and sweet as the flat Chaozhou.
Round Chaozhou
A little bit muting as well, but not as apparent as the Flat Chaozhou. Sweetness is somewhat enhanced.
(Looking back on it, I think the flat Chaozhou was not as adequately seasoned, and that might have contributed to how it performed)
Old Pot
Now this is what I’m used to. Pretty big difference compared to the previous three.
This time, the cooling came more in the aftertaste, whereas it was apparent for my other attempts. The tea was also a lot sweeter and more mellow in this one, not as vibrant in a weird way.
Overall,
noticed some differences but nothing really major. I put the Gaiwan and the Old CZ at the start and end respectively to remind me what I’m used to.
Second Steep
200F 93C. Counted 15 seconds in each pot.
Gaiwan
Some minerality & some of that signature honey orchid taste is starting to come out. Light lychee and peach sweetness.
Flat Chaozhou
Very, very interesting. Less minerality than the Gaiwan. Much less. I actually prefer this a lot more. Instead, more of that peachy, honey-like sweetness shone out.
Zini Pot
???
?????
The aroma was surprisingly… a lot better? In a Zini? I included this pot on a whim, but this has been surprising me so far.
Very smooth. Nice and sweet. Hint of that minerality but nothing I dislike (the same can’t be said for the Gaiwan). Interesting.
Round Chaozhou
Minerality is somewhat there. Kind of muting but getting more of that sweetness and honey-like taste and texture over all else. Maybe a bit fruity as well. Similar to the Flat Chaozhou!
Old Pot
Pre brewing: If this doesn’t have a LOT of minerality either I’m really gonna question if the Gaiwan brew was accurate. I’ve always thought of this tea (and wild honey orchid in general) as very mineral forward.
Post brewing: DEFINITELY minerality here. Glad to know I’m not going insane! Thinner, less sweet and fruity, more of a mineral forward taste.
Interestingly, it seems like this has been the closest to the Gaiwan thus far, which definitely matches my experiences and my experiments that I’ve done between this and the Gaiwan side by side.
Overall,
I prefer the Zini and the Round Chaozhou a LOT more! The minerality and thinness of this tea was what I disliked about it, which the clay seems to round off.
Third Steep
203F 95C. Counted 25 seconds in each pot.
Gaiwan
Tiny bit of congwei, again very mineral forward, hint of sweetness and stuff, basically how I felt last time I brewed this tea.
Flat Chaozhou
Also a slight congwei, less sweet than Steep 2, slight bit of minerality, but the honey notes are still taking the spotlight. Slightly thinner before and dislike this texture.
Zini Pot
Interesting once again. Slight bitterness and congwei is slightly stronger. More honey taste compared to others. Feels just a bit sharper and more vibrant than the flat Chaozhou.
Round Chaozhou
More similar to the Zini than the Flat Chaozhou this time. Sharper and stronger congwei, light but still apparent honey flavor, a bit thinner, slight minerality.
Old Pot
My taste buds are self destructing, but I do think this was slightly more cooling, slightly less congwei and less honey-like sweetness compared to the last two.
Did one last steep where I pushed this tea and didn’t get a lot from it, either because this didn’t have much stamina or I was just busted from drinking this much.
Conclusion?
I think this experiment came out to be more honey orchid centric, because it’s hard to extend the minerality note to all the dancongs I have.
However, this served as the starting point of my journey. I then attempted a lot more dancongs I was familiar with in my new Chaozhou pot & Gaiwan and got mixed results. Enough results, that I think I can somewhat generalize:
Gaiwan: Sharper, more aroma. Better, more noticeable fragrance a lot of times strictly off the bowl and the lid.
Chaozhou: Better texture, more mellow. I find the sweetness to be more accentuated in the Chaozhou
This result highly varies based on what you’re brewing!
Personally I prefer a Chaozhou Pot for most I brew. As an example, I think it brought a lot more out of duck shit and honey orchid compared to the gaiwan. However, there are also dancongs where the opposite is true for me.
I would recommend using a Chaozhou to begin with if you have that, then if you don’t find the results from a Chaozhou satisfactory, try a Gaiwan.