User avatar
Apr 1st, '13, 03:47
Posts: 1408
Joined: Oct 5th, '09, 05:03
Location: UK

Re: Why aren't small 30-120ml teapot not manufactured new often?

by Alex » Apr 1st, '13, 03:47

Gong Fu Sloth.jpg
Gong Fu Sloth.jpg (39.09 KiB) Viewed 1690 times

User avatar
Apr 1st, '13, 06:13
Posts: 114
Joined: May 19th, '12, 11:45
Location: Toronto, Canada

Re: Why aren't small 30-120ml teapot not manufactured new often?

by minor_glitch » Apr 1st, '13, 06:13

*slow clap*

User avatar
Apr 1st, '13, 08:11
Posts: 1784
Joined: Jul 8th, '09, 23:39
Location: Maui
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Why aren't small 30-120ml teapot not manufactured new often?

by tingjunkie » Apr 1st, '13, 08:11

:lol:

User avatar
Apr 1st, '13, 08:19
Posts: 1408
Joined: Oct 5th, '09, 05:03
Location: UK

Re: Why aren't small 30-120ml teapot not manufactured new often?

by Alex » Apr 1st, '13, 08:19

maison-de-the-hong-kong.jpg
maison-de-the-hong-kong.jpg (42.31 KiB) Viewed 1663 times
OK I'll stop now :oops:

User avatar
Apr 1st, '13, 08:48
Posts: 317
Joined: Sep 8th, '12, 12:26
Scrolling: scrolling

Re: Why aren't small 30-120ml teapot not manufactured new often?

by Devoted135 » Apr 1st, '13, 08:48

ROFL! Great, now my co-workers are looking at me funny... :roll: :lol:

User avatar
Apr 1st, '13, 09:15
Posts: 714
Joined: Feb 12th, '13, 16:21
Location: South Bronx, NYC
Contact: futurebird

Re: Why aren't small 30-120ml teapot not manufactured new often?

by futurebird » Apr 1st, '13, 09:15

LMAO!

User avatar
Apr 1st, '13, 18:24
Posts: 1784
Joined: Jul 8th, '09, 23:39
Location: Maui
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Why aren't small 30-120ml teapot not manufactured new often?

by tingjunkie » Apr 1st, '13, 18:24

Poor sloths... they are only capable of brewing western style. :lol:

User avatar
Apr 2nd, '13, 13:27
Posts: 589
Joined: Dec 13th, '10, 14:04
Location: Seattle
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact: hopeofdawn

Re: Why aren't small 30-120ml teapot not manufactured new often?

by hopeofdawn » Apr 2nd, '13, 13:27

yanom wrote:SilentChaos, these are serious tea-drinkers right? And they figure what they're doing is pretty normal?
I don't go by weight, but I will have to say that I rarely will fill a pot more than a third with dry leaf. (And a lot less if it's green rolled oolong!) I don't normally weigh anything other than Japanese tea, but it probably comes out to 3-5 grams per 100-150 ml pot. I've tried filling the pot more, a la Teachatter recommendations, and almost invariably the resulting brew is just way too overpowering and bitter for my taste, even when I'm doing fast pour-in pour-out infusions. On the other hand, even with 3-5 grams, I generally will get at least 4-5 enjoyable infusions out of most of my teas, minimum.

I would say it's just a difference in personal taste. Not all of us like to go with full-bore 'send you into orbit' tea brewing. :D

Apr 2nd, '13, 14:09
Posts: 760
Joined: Aug 1st, '12, 08:20
Location: not anymore Bangkok, not really arrived in Germany

Re: Why aren't small 30-120ml teapot not manufactured new often?

by theredbaron » Apr 2nd, '13, 14:09

hopeofdawn wrote:I've tried filling the pot more, a la Teachatter recommendations,

Not all. :lol:

i have been in many discussion where i advocated to fill the pot with less leaves, arguing that in high quality teas often the subtleties get lost when overfilling the pot.

User avatar
Apr 2nd, '13, 18:00
Posts: 1784
Joined: Jul 8th, '09, 23:39
Location: Maui
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Why aren't small 30-120ml teapot not manufactured new often?

by tingjunkie » Apr 2nd, '13, 18:00

theredbaron wrote:
hopeofdawn wrote:I've tried filling the pot more, a la Teachatter recommendations,

Not all. :lol:

i have been in many discussion where i advocated to fill the pot with less leaves, arguing that in high quality teas often the subtleties get lost when overfilling the pot.
What kinds of tea do you usually drink trb, and what kind of subtleties do you feel get lost?

Apr 3rd, '13, 00:32
Posts: 760
Joined: Aug 1st, '12, 08:20
Location: not anymore Bangkok, not really arrived in Germany

Re: Why aren't small 30-120ml teapot not manufactured new often?

by theredbaron » Apr 3rd, '13, 00:32

tingjunkie wrote:
theredbaron wrote:
hopeofdawn wrote:I've tried filling the pot more, a la Teachatter recommendations,

Not all. :lol:

i have been in many discussion where i advocated to fill the pot with less leaves, arguing that in high quality teas often the subtleties get lost when overfilling the pot.
What kinds of tea do you usually drink trb, and what kind of subtleties do you feel get lost?
I drink different Yancha (i have several qualities of Shui Shien and Lao Cong Shui Shien, Ro Gui, and on rare occasions a very precious Ti Lo Han, and some very small quantities of aged Yancha - some of it 20 to 30 years - but those are for very special occasions).
I have my own home stored Pu Erh's - the ones i drink now are about 12 years old (stored in Bangkok - great climate for storing Pu Erh). To strech them out i have bought a few less expensive aged Pu's, which are OK.

Rarely i drink TKY or greener Oolongs, only once a while i like them. I am mostly not into Taiwan High Mountain Oolong - too much flavor, not enough body. On occasion i like Baozhong though.

As to description of taste - i am not good with that other than what i feel are certain subtitles are lost with too strong brews in especially top quality Yancha.

User avatar
Apr 3rd, '13, 00:48
Posts: 4536
Joined: Apr 1st, '09, 00:48
Location: Bangkok

Re: Why aren't small 30-120ml teapot not manufactured new often?

by Tead Off » Apr 3rd, '13, 00:48

theredbaron wrote:One reason is also that drinking tea in very small pots has been mostly a southern Chinese custom. Most central and northern parts of China do traditionally drink in larger pots.
The renaissance of tea culture and art has mostly been driven by Malaysian, Hongkong and Taiwanese Chinese - which to the most part are Southern Chinese.
Also in China different teas are to the most part consumed locally - that means that central Chinese mostly drink green tea, etc.

In areas with many Southern Chinese plenty of small pots are available, such as in SEA and southern China. But people there do not need to buy on the net, they just buy locally, as they have always done, and inspect the pots they buy directly.

The market for westerners is still miniscule, driven more by enthusiasts that by possibility for real profit.
+1. I just wanted to add that the gaiwan has become extremely popular and many Chinese drinkers use it regularly for all kinds of teas. Gaiwans come in all kinds of small sizes and are usually less expensive than pots. Compare a commercial porcelain 80ml gaiwan to a Yixing commercial 80ml pot and the price difference can be big.

Apr 3rd, '13, 01:05
Posts: 760
Joined: Aug 1st, '12, 08:20
Location: not anymore Bangkok, not really arrived in Germany

Re: Why aren't small 30-120ml teapot not manufactured new often?

by theredbaron » Apr 3rd, '13, 01:05

Tead Off wrote:Compare a commercial porcelain 80ml gaiwan to a Yixing commercial 80ml pot and the price difference can be big.

Commercial Yixing pots made from pure clay once were very cheap - a few dollars a pot. Even in the 90's commercial pots were nothing one thought too much about buying...

Is it only China's economical rise, or are other factors involved as well? The last ten years or so prices for Yixing pots have multiplied. I am glad that i started more than 20 years ago, and have more than enough pots. I feel sorry for people who start today.

Similar price developments i see with tea... :(

User avatar
Apr 3rd, '13, 02:30
Posts: 1591
Joined: Jul 21st, '10, 02:25
Location: Oz
Been thanked: 3 times

Re: Why aren't small 30-120ml teapot not manufactured new often?

by bagua7 » Apr 3rd, '13, 02:30

theredbaron wrote:Is it only China's economical rise...
Purely driven by profit as told to me by two vendors I know of; they used different words, of course. :) Mainlanders are very into Yixing and drinking higher quality teas which wasn't the case in the past.

Apr 3rd, '13, 10:29
Posts: 760
Joined: Aug 1st, '12, 08:20
Location: not anymore Bangkok, not really arrived in Germany

Re: Why aren't small 30-120ml teapot not manufactured new often?

by theredbaron » Apr 3rd, '13, 10:29

bagua7 wrote:
theredbaron wrote:Is it only China's economical rise...
Purely driven by profit as told to me by two vendors I know of; they used different words, of course. :) Mainlanders are very into Yixing and drinking higher quality teas which wasn't the case in the past.


I woudn't mind being a billionaire one day :wink:

Had a walk through Chinatown today afternoon - i haven't done that in a long time. Coz' of the heat i haven't been going anywhere the last days, trying to move as little as possible, but i just needed to get out.

I was trying to look for another one of the clay kettle/stove sets which can be alternatively used with alcohol flame or charcoal which they sold quite cheaply ten years or so ago. Nothing - it's all electric kettles now. Gotta continue looking if i can find some old stock.

On the plus side - i found a shop which has some 5 to 6 year old low/mid fired Shui Xien which is very nice as an every day Shui Xien. I guess in the next days or so i will go back and buy more before they run out of stock. It's mostly high fired Yancha in Thailand, finding low fired Yancha is rare.

I had a look at a few tea pots as well. Doesn't look very good - the nice older ones are mostly just for show. Shop owners straight away say that they are not for sale, even the commercial pots from the 70's/80's.

Well, i am enjoying my Shui Xien right now, in a standard red clay Shui Ping, which i got presented with when i visited Factory 1 back in '95, or so, and talked with a master potter there. When i left she had her assistant grab it out of a box with a dozen or so of the same pots and handed it to me. Not sure how old it is - it has in the inner lid a number stamp - "57". I like the pot a lot - it's commercial grade, very thick walls, and it evokes many nice memories of lovely tea gardens, and chats with tea people.

+ Post Reply