I love my yixing teapots but they aren’t exactly something that I can take on the road with me. When I saw this tumbler I just had to have it. It is coated in Teflon and then lined with yixing clay. I started the process of seasoning it by filling it with boiling water and allowing it too cool to room temperature. Then I poured a generous amount of oolong leaves in the tumbler and filled it with boiling water again, this time letting it sit overnight. I selected the Nantou Si Ji Chun from In Pursuit of Tea since I had quite a bit of that tea on hand. I dumped out the leaves and the tea the next day, rinsed it and then it was ready to go.

The included strainer made it fairly easy to remove the leaves. It was a little hot to the touch and hard to pick up once the leaves had unfurled but I have a high heat tolerance so that wasn’t a huge deal. While not leak proof, I would feel fine wedging this into my purse so that it was in an upright position. It retained heat fairly well but the lip cooled off enough that I was able to safely drink out of it even when the tea is pretty steamy. I cannot wait to see how the patina will develop and change over time. It is a process that I rarely get to see happen inside of my own teapots but this travel mug’s shape will make it easy to see.


You can find out more about this tumbler here.