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Wow. Thanks bagua, that offers a lot of insight. I'd love to run some informal experiments on your theory, just for the fun of it.

tingjunkie wrote:Wow. Thanks bagua, that offers a lot of insight. I'd love to run some informal experiments on your theory, just for the fun of it.

wow wow!

I am curious as to whether a pot made from aged clay would be considered in your (or your teachers) mind mature enough to handle the qi of an aged tea or does the pot have to be seasoned for decades or just aged after being fired?

Thanks guys, we are all a "little" family in here.

Gasninja, join us for a tea brewing session and you'll see that I am not making things up. Also some recommended readings for you:

City of Lingering Splendour

Chinese Art of Tea

Wisdom comes with age and experience, and so do older pots. The Buddha didn't become enlightened in one lifetime, really, he cultivated his mind for countless lifetimes.

Besides (and quoting from Blofeld's second book):

"The art of tea is artless in that it is practised with the maximum of informality and freedom from restriction. There are no rules to be observed other than those pertaining to making fine tea in such a manner that its flavour and aroma are at their best........Getting the fullest satisfaction from the tea requires special state of mind analogous to what the Buddhists mean by awareness. This is achieved by attending to the responses of all the six senses: hearing, smelling, tasting, seeing, touching and consciousness. Once it has become habitual, there is no need to bestow further thought on it."

ImmortaliTEA wrote: I was of the opinion that if a Hei Ni pot had sand mixed in then it was to be referred as Hei-Sha so I apologize if that was incorrect. About the aroma: if these pots are in fact the same exact ones I got from Sample Tea, then yes they are clearly labeled as low medium fired and I realize some people only like high-fired pots but I personally have quite a few low and low medium fired pots that brew great cups of tea for me.

Ah that's the comparison? These are not low fired, in fact I think they are pretty high fired. Very smooth to touch, pretty high pitched for a dark clay.

In any case, I brewed a round of 3 stamp shuixian in it and it was lovely

I will try myself at this game. This will not be a "show off". I am keenly aware that my modest possessions do not hold a candle to some of the pots in this thread. Also, the pictures are taken with a phone, so they are poor quality.

However, these two pots give me satisfaction, because I feel they are achieving what I read proper pots should achieve: they keep the aroma intact and just seem to be altering the body by making it slightly "smoother" or "rounder", somewhat heavier. They also remove some bitterness and astringency.

1st pot

- Clay type: no clue. High fired. Teapot is made in Taiwan.
- Size of pot: 90 ml.
- What year/decade the pot was made: this looks like a recent pot.
- Thin walled.
- How long is the pour? about 10 seconds.
- Where you acquired the pot: local shop.
- What type of tea you make with it: this pot was supposed to be good for Gao Shan Cha, but I am using it exclusively for modern-style (low oxydation and light roast) Tie Guan Yin.

Color is changing with lightning so I took picture in two different rooms:
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s53 ... ecfb54.jpg
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s53 ... d662a8.jpg
There is something written on the bottom, probably a signature:
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s53 ... 677b5b.jpg

Second pot is odd. I find the shape a bit weird. In the vendor's own words it is: "a pot made recently, but with a blend of old Yixing clays" and "not top clay quality, but good enough to brew a decent yancha". Which is exactly what this teapot does.
Beside its shape, this teapot has two characteristics:
- huge heat retention, this may be due to its thickness rather than to the clay.
- huge aroma retention. I tried some Tie Guan Yin in it. I had to wash and dry the teapot 3 days in a row to get rid of the Tie Guan Yin smell.
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s53 ... c5c969.jpg
http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s53 ... ab2bd3.jpg

- Clay type: supposedly a blend of old Yixing clays. I cannot tell if it is medium or high fired.
- Size of pot: 100 ml.
- What year/decade the pot was made: this is a recent pot.
- Thick walled.
- How long is the pour? very quick, about 6 seconds.
- Where you acquired the pot: another local shop.
- What type of tea you make with it: Wuyi yancha (except Bai Ji Guan).

bagua7 wrote:Thanks guys, we are all a "little" family in here.

Gasninja, join us for a tea brewing session and you'll see that I am not making things up. Also some recommended readings for you:

I was genuinely interested in the answer.

the_economist wrote:

ImmortaliTEA wrote: I was of the opinion that if a Hei Ni pot had sand mixed in then it was to be referred as Hei-Sha so I apologize if that was incorrect. About the aroma: if these pots are in fact the same exact ones I got from Sample Tea, then yes they are clearly labeled as low medium fired and I realize some people only like high-fired pots but I personally have quite a few low and low medium fired pots that brew great cups of tea for me.

Ah that's the comparison? These are not low fired, in fact I think they are pretty high fired. Very smooth to touch, pretty high pitched for a dark clay.

In any case, I brewed a round of 3 stamp shuixian in it and it was lovely

Did you not acquire them from Sampletea?

80's factory 1 nian gao tu zhuni

size: about 75ml, super silky very tender material
source: tea friend from malaysia
tea pairing: yancha

Makes the brew smooth, soft, thick, very sweet and all the notes sing clearer with a very long lasting aftertaste on the tongue and throat.

*I found after more testing that this pot makes excellent roasted or oxidized fisted oolongs instead of yancha in my opinion.

Nice Taiwanese pot brunogm!

Love that shui ping too Ambrose! Now you just have to cut that lid leash off.

haha thank you TJ I usually cut them off, I've hesitated on this one for some reason but I'm sure I will cut it off soon

Those things really are dangerous, the leashes.

MarshalN wrote:Those things really are dangerous, the leashes.

In over 20 years of using leashed pots, I've never broken one. The only lid I've broken was on an un-leashed zisha about 10 years ago. However, I have recently unleashed my teapots so we'll see how it goes!

Why do you think they are dangerous?

Tead Off wrote:

MarshalN wrote:Those things really are dangerous, the leashes.

In over 20 years of using leashed pots, I've never broken one. The only lid I've broken was on an un-leashed zisha about 10 years ago. However, I have recently unleashed my teapots so we'll see how it goes!

Why do you think they are dangerous?

not sure if there are other reasons, to me it is dangerous when it doesnt hold the lid. Once I poured hot water over my pot and the leash was loosen and didnt hold the lid when I poured. I was lucky because the drop didnt break my lid. From that moment I decided to cut the leash and try to be careful when pouring.

tea_love wrote:

Tead Off wrote:

MarshalN wrote:Those things really are dangerous, the leashes.

In over 20 years of using leashed pots, I've never broken one. The only lid I've broken was on an un-leashed zisha about 10 years ago. However, I have recently unleashed my teapots so we'll see how it goes!

Why do you think they are dangerous?

not sure if there are other reasons, to me it is dangerous when it doesnt hold the lid. Once I poured hot water over my pot and the leash was loosen and didnt hold the lid when I poured. I was lucky because the drop didnt break my lid. From that moment I decided to cut the leash and try to be careful when pouring.

It sounds like yours was not tied properly or somehow loosened over time. All the ones I had were as tight and strong as they were 20+ years ago.