The clay kettle, there,s something to be said about these kettle,s. Not only do they heat the water but they change the waters character. Water boiled in a clay kettle is different than water boiled in any other way. The water becomes alive, teeming with thousands of little tiny bubbles. I think a good word to use here would be "effervescing" this does make a difference in the taste of the tea. If I,m really in the mood for a really good Oolong or going to have a Puerh throw down I almost always use this kettle. As much as I love my Zojirushi I have to admit that compared to the water heated in this the Zoe,s water tastes flat and lifeless. Ive read, and believe to be true that clay kettles can add extra minerals to the water. So if your using water that is moderate to high in mineral content I wouldn't use a clay kettle for say...Sencha. With some teas you want to keep the mineral content as low as possible. But for Wuyi Oolongs and Puerhs it can add a little extra pizazz to your pot. Of course being made of clay some care must be taken. After use don't put the lid back on until it,s dry on the inside (overnight) or it can develop an odd odor. Don't refill with cold water when the kettles still hot or it can crack. You know just common sense kinda stuff. Not something I use on a daily basis but for those special teas and or when you can spend quality time enjoying your teas these kettles are fun.
I love to use a clay kettle but haven't established which teas I prefer from its use. I drink a lot of greens and I think they retain their fresh taste with the clay kettle. I also use an iron tetsubin for many teas. I would like to study different water, fresh, filtered, stored in the Japanese way, and more but I admit I'm not very scientific in my approach. Toki has some interesting observations about water on his site from about 6 months ago when he visited The Tea Gallery and Michael brewed tea using water stored in a Sing dynasty vessel. You should look it up. I tired of the Zojirushi long ago because I felt the water was old, stale as you say. I like the freshly drawn. What do you think about water filtered with mineral rocks as they do in Japan and sometimes at The Tea Gallery?
ReplyDeleteThanks Eileen, I pretty much use the clay kettle for my special teas. For everyday I'm in a hurry gotta go tea that's when I appreciate the Zoe. Ive read some stuff about water storage in clay jars, maybe some day I,ll give it a try. Where I live though the water is pretty high in minerals so I have the opposite problem of some. With me it,s usually trying to reduce the amount of minerals.I think in Japan the water is so low in minerals thats maybe why they filter it thru different things just trying to get some life into it. For Japanese teas I buy bottled water (Crystal Geyser) because the mineral content is if I remember right around 38-48 ppm. I think in the U.S. the average is 250-350 ppm, that,s very high. Too high for Sencha it just destroys the flavor. For most other teas I use a Britta type filter.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful kettle, regardless of how often it gets use. I think the fact that it makes the water bubbly is partly responsible for the unique attributes you're tasting with some of your teas. Water that has a higher content of oxygen in it tends to pull out more flavour in my personal experience.
ReplyDeletejamus~
I agree Jamus, as a matter of fact I just used that kettle this morning with my morning cuppa. Tastes like a completely different tea with water from the kettle. As opposed to the Zoe.
ReplyDeleteAs I only drink Sencha, I totally agreed w/you, but please, let me know where did you get that water kettle please ?
ReplyDeleteHi Fortunato, I bought this kettle from Hou De Asian Art. I dont think they have any of these left for sale. If you cant find one of these I would highly recommend a kettle from Lins Ceramic Art Studio, The Purion Series are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThank you Bret, really...
ReplyDeleteWhere did you get this kettle?
ReplyDeleteTom, please take a look just one question up from yours and you will see that question was already answered.
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