TeaChat

This is my first tea pot (besides the ingenuitea) and i really like it! No one else in my family has this awesome obsession, so I'm usually making tea for myself and this 10 oz. pot works great. I use it only for greens but it could be used for other teas as well. The price was 22 dollars and i think it was worth it. As a beginner I am not sure what the blue book value is on tea pots , but I think it was a good price. Will put picture up as soon as possible

Thanks PP! Looking forward to some photos.

Nice pot, $22 is an awesome price.

I picked up a lovely little 4oz Gyokko from there last year for Japanese greens, 9 months down the line and I'm still in the homeymoon phase with it. Mine was $40 and in my eyes exceptionally good value, my budget was twice that, so I have a rough idea how pleased you are just now.

Just remember to look after it properly, it needs a staple diet of Japanese green and should occasionally be treated with something fairly green from China

Yea greens is all it feeds off of. I am very happy with it, but im looking to purchase a yixing pot and cannot figure what a good price will be

I'd aim a little higher pricewise for a yixing, ~$20 is likely to be much more of gamble buying yixing as opposed to kyusu. I'd venture spending $30-50 might put you in safer territory. Stéphane at Tea Masters is in my opinion a fairly safe bet and was fairly reasonably priced when I bought one from him a few years ago - not sure what his prices are atm but if you contact him through the blog he'll send you a pricelist. Yunnan Sourcing also has a load of fairly cheap yixing which would make for a nice entry level pot. I wouldn't spend too much on a first yixing as the main thing it will teach you is what you want to be different in your next one.

I ordered some pu ehr from yunna sourcing. I just hate that it takes forever to come

Nice pics, Plant Partaker!!!

Thanks! I am so grateful for the help you gave me

plant partaker wrote:I ordered some pu ehr from yunna sourcing. I just hate that it takes forever to come

EMS - This is the safest and fastest method of receiving your parcels from Yunnan Sourcing. EMS shipping is based on a per kilo basis.

plant partaker wrote:This is my first tea pot (besides the ingenuitea) and i really like it! No one else in my family has this awesome obsession, so I'm usually making tea for myself and this 10 oz. pot works great. I use it only for greens but it could be used for other teas as well. The price was 22 dollars and i think it was worth it. As a beginner I am not sure what the blue book value is on tea pots , but I think it was a good price. Will put picture up as soon as possible

Looks like a good choice of a kyusu, especially for someone who is new to Japanese tea. I think the screen filters are the best way to start off; although I prefer clay sasame filters, the metal screens don't clog so can make the experience a lot more pleasant. I honestly believe that Japanese mass produced products like yours are a very good deal and come without the safety issues often found in lower-priced mainland Chinese products. I also think Yuuki-cha has some very good products at reasonable prices.

Proinsias wrote:Nice pot, $22 is an awesome price.

I picked up a lovely little 4oz Gyokko from there last year for Japanese greens, 9 months down the line and I'm still in the homeymoon phase with it. Mine was $40 and in my eyes exceptionally good value, my budget was twice that, so I have a rough idea how pleased you are just now.

Just remember to look after it properly, it needs a staple diet of Japanese green and should occasionally be treated with something fairly green from China

I purchased a Gyokko 4 ounce "Pine Bark" kyusu from Yuuki-cha recently and I am also very pleased with it even though it has the metal filter. I thought at $40 it was an exceptional value. Another vendor carries the same one for $47.

plant partaker wrote:Yea greens is all it feeds off of. I am very happy with it, but im looking to purchase a yixing pot and cannot figure what a good price will be

Do you plan on purchasing the Yixing for Chinese/Taiwanese green teas or oolongs? If greens, I would not recommend an Yixing. The kyusu would probably be a better choice if you want to use clay. I have found that clay kuyusu are fine for green tea but clay Yixings typically are not.

IMO porcelain and glass produce consistently better results with Chinese green tea. I spent a lot of money and effort trying to find Yixings that worked well with Chinese green tea. I finally found a couple that did. Then someone on this forum asked if I'd done a comparison between the Yixings and porcelain. I hadn't. When I did, I found that although the tea was acceptable, even good, when brewed in these particular Yixings, it was much better when brewed in thin, light porcelain or glass.

I do not necessarily apply this to white tea, which I've had excellent results with when using an extremely thin and light Duan Ni Yixing.

For darker teas, porcelain is also fine but the Yixings should work well if carefully chosen.

plant partaker wrote:Yea greens is all it feeds off of. I am very happy with it, but im looking to purchase a yixing pot and cannot figure what a good price will be

Ooooh, nice! I think I know what a future teaware purchase of mine will be now.

Proinsias wrote:I'd aim a little higher pricewise for a yixing, ~$20 is likely to be much more of gamble buying yixing as opposed to kyusu. I'd venture spending $30-50 might put you in safer territory.

I completely agree with this statement. When I first started buying teaware online I picked up a couple of questionable Yixings that I wouldn't even use. Rather than throw them away (I didn't trust the safety, quality, or authenticity of them) I gave them to a co-worker for display purposes only; I made her promise she would never use them to brew tea! I then realized I needed to pay more and buy from vendors I trust, like Hou De and Jing Tea Shop.

Although choosing and buying teaware, including Yixings, can be fun and rewarding, it can also be expensive, frustrating, and the source of mistakes and disappointment. It may be better starting off with a general-purpose, moderately thick porcelain gaiwan with a built-in filter and spout that comes with two cups. You can brew just about any Chinese of Taiwanese tea in this setup with good results and a minimum of mess and frustration. This type of set is available from both China and Taiwan.

This link is to a set I purchased a while ago from Pure Puer. It's no longer in stock, but has worked so well it has become one of my most-used pieces of teaware. It is very convenient and without the mess of a standard gaiwan. I have brewed various Chinese and Taiwanese greens, Dan Congs, Wuyis, and other oolongs, as well as Chinese, Taiwanese, and Japanese black teas, all with very good results. Although I prefer Yixings for oolongs overall, this set is often just more convenient.

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