TeaChat

chrl42 wrote:Those Bale often has '水平' letter inscribed inside the lids, experts might authenticate by those mere two letter (differs by period), but I can't.

No markings inside the lid on this one.

Many thanks once again.

TingJunkie: Congratulations on this thread you made reaching lucky page 88!

Crazy 88's! Thanks.

1st Image: Hong Ni/Zhu Ni Domino Effect! I have recently discovered that Hong Ni is my favorite clay (right next to Zi Sha) and feel that it can make a great cup of any of the teas that I prefer on a regular basis so over time I have acquired them in many sizes & firing levels (30-100 ml, (1)180 ml).

2nd Image: Close-up of the Red Clay Family!

3rd Image: Visual comparison between medium fired Hong Ni and High Fired Hong Ni (70 & 80 ml respectively).

Last Image: Visual comparison between brand new medium fired Hong Ni (on the left & 70 ml) and 3 month old medium fired Hong Ni used exclusively for traditional HK stored aged sheng from the early 90's (casual use not every day & 60 ml), which shows just how porous and fast seasoning medium fired Hong Ni can be.

Oh and sorry Achyle for swag-jackin' your shui ping train idea. lol!

Nice!

TIM wrote:Nice!

Thanks Tim I appreciate it!

C'mon ride the train, choo choo, hey ride it!

Couple of blended zisha pots joined my collection...







Clay: Zisha blended with Hong Ni. Medium fired. (color is slightly too red in photos)
Size: 140 ml
Age/Year: Modern- late 2000's.
Walls: Thin
Pour: +/- 4 sec. Super fast due to wide spout. No drips. Great lid fit.
Source: Chinatown NYC find.
Tea Pairing: Yixing Red Tea
Info: I had no idea what to try pairing with this pot, and wasn't sure if I should buy it. I really loved the shape (like an elegant garlic clove!) and the craftsmanship was quite good, so I decided to pull the trigger and pay the small entrance fee. As it turns out, it's a great match for Yixing hong cha. It tames the bitter tannins a bit, rounds out the mouthfeel, and allows the nutty, woodsy, sweet notes to shine through. I'm most surprised by how fast this pot is taking on a nice glow after only a few uses. I think this pot's going to become a good friend!

Clay: Zisha blended with Qing Shui Ni. Medium-High fired.
Size: 100 ml
Age/Year: 90's
Walls: Thick
Pour: +/- 10 sec. No drips. Great lid fit.
Source: Wedding gift from a good friend.
Tea Pairing: High Fire TGY (for now)
Info: An extremely generous wedding gift from TIM! Thanks bud, you're too kind! This pot is a later copy of the famous 1970's China Fujian, Xiamen special commission pots. I'm sure this pot would handle any tea thrown at it with flying colors, but so far I'm quite amazed at what it can do with TIM's own high fired TGY. Brings out all the sweetest fruit and floral notes, and blends them perfectly with the cocoa and burnt sugar notes. It's magic! Now I'll need to figure out what to do with the 70's Factory 1 Zisha pot I had been using with that tea when serving more than myself... hmmm, what a nice problem to have!

tingjunkie, "elegant garden clove" is charming description of that pot.

Ha! I wrote "garlic" clove, but I like your description way better. Thanks!

tingjunkie wrote:Info: An extremely generous wedding gift from TIM!

Whoa! That's so nice. Excellent gift...Now I am hoping he sends me a similar pot for when I get married to Mrs Dracula.

bagua7 wrote:

tingjunkie wrote:Info: An extremely generous wedding gift from TIM!

Whoa! That's so nice. Excellent gift...Now I am hoping he sends me a similar pot for when I get married to Mrs Dracula.

Whoah. That's straight up 'From Dusk 'Til Dawn!'

bagua7 wrote:

tingjunkie wrote:Info: An extremely generous wedding gift from TIM!

Whoa! That's so nice. Excellent gift...Now I am hoping he sends me a similar pot for when I get married to Mrs Dracula.

Mom?!?!

Clay: Jiangpo Ni. High fired. Feels like zhu ni yet behaves like zi ni, how odd.
Size: 145 ml.
Age/Year: Modern- late 2000's.
Walls: Medium thick.
Pour: Fast, no drips, tight lid fit.
Source: eBay (Wisdom China, Guangzhou).
Tea Pairing: Ripe puerh. As I already stated this clay just enhances the flavour of the tea bringing up the higher notes a lot more like other clays I regularly use for this particular tea (di cao qing, qing shui ni and duan ni).