Newbie: Pumpkin pot - yay or nay?

[VoirenTea]

I'm wanting to get my first Yixing pots.

I have ordered an 80s Yixing 'Xi Fang' 60ml pot from Adventure in Every Teacup as a sensibly-shaped small older pot.

But I really like pumpkins. I'm looking at lukevecent's 135ml 'zisha pumpkin teapot zini' pot as something that will amuse me to use. Is that a bad idea? How usable are those shapes? It's also slightly big for single-user purposes. (I don't always fill my current pot all the way so that may not be a problem).

At the moment I have a clay pot I was given as a present from Amazon, probably 100ml though I tend to put 80ml in it. It was just bought as a cute little pot, not as Yixing (which is just as well!). It seems fine to me in use, but I want to compare it with a real one. On Amazon UK, it looks the same as the one being sold as 'Ufingo-Chinese Yixing Handmade Zisha Purple Clay Teapots-Xiaobiandun-Zini-140cc' though I don't know if that's the same size - it may well be, in which case the 135ml pot should be no problem. I've been using my current pot for absolutely everything over the last year, and have just recently got a kyusu for my Japanese greens and a couple of gaiwans to use as well.

Essence of Tea have the 130ml Zhou Liu Mei Factory1 1987-1992 for £156 which is also pumpkin-shaped but that is probably more than I should be spending right now, unless that was a 'you will need no more pots for years' pot.

The other pot I quite like the look of on EoT is the 110ml 1980's Ba Gua Zini Factory 1. Again this is just by looks and not whether it would be a good pot for me to use, so I probably shouldn't buy it until I have some idea.

I drink oolongs (heavy roast and not), young sheng, aged sheng and aged shou, and I like Guangdong storage. I don't entirely know what I want to keep the pot for, but I do want to compare various types of puerh in it against my current pot. I'm fine with having oolongs in a gaiwan right now.

[stevorama]

I think pumpkin shapes are commonplace. Typically they're a roundish shape, which is very functional. I think size is really up to your preference.

[steanze]

Shape's ok. Focus on quality of clay, type of clay (depending on the tea you want to make), pour speed.

[VoirenTea]

I re-weighed my current pot - if I fill it right to the brim, then it does pretty much take 140ml, so that size is fine in usability for me.

I will go back to reading about clay types, then!

(Pour speed is not mentioned on most of these).

[VoirenTea]

The pots that grab my eye first all appear to be dark zini or duanni... I guess I should find a decent red clay pot later I can compare with, and not buy any duanni at the moment as it seems harder to find a tea that suits it.

So I think I can safely get my cheap and pretty zini pumpkin for now, wait for the AiET pot to arrive and see how those two go.

Then eventually maybe look for one for young sheng. Fast-pouring and flatter, thick-walled? (Assuming one of the zini pots don't do for that). Maybe dicaoqing to compare. *shrugs*

[VoirenTea]

I have not ordered any pumpkins yet - the last week or so I've been drinking the same 2007 sheng in my previous clay pot and the 60ml Yixing.

It does highlight pour differences and the benefits of a 7-hole filter in the former! The Yixing has a lovely delicate handle and spout - it's hard to judge just how small they are in photos.

[steanze]

Clay type and clay quality are not the same thing... the same type can come in different levels of quality

[ethan]

Clay type and clay quality are not the same thing... the same type can come in different levels of quality

+1 from me (although I am so far from the expertise of steanze).

Unfortunately, the easy way of getting a name of a clay or a tea varietal to be able to buy well; is not a reality. Thus, all the discussion on teachat about pots and all the details about a tea one is enjoying--vendor, when purchased (spring or winter) etc.

[VoirenTea]

Yes, I realise. Clay quality I have no way to recognise, let alone tell across the internet. I've got lists of vendors that get mentioned as reliable, and that's about it.

(I'm not looking for exceptional because I'd only get it by luck - I'm looking for better than my first pot, for some value of 'better')

ETA: I should say, I wasn't ignoring that point, I just have no way to act it on other than what vendors say about their stock.

[VoirenTea]

I decided I don't know what I want at the moment, so I'm buying nothing. (Also it's too hot, so I'm cold brewing instead!)

My current pots can be seen at viewtopic.php?f=87&t=11539&p=296231#p296231