Best Yixing Teapot Sellers?

[betta]

Most people have little or no opportunity to see Yixing pots in person. While I have been fortunate enough to select most of my pots in person, I would not hesitate to buy a new pot from at least a couple of web vendors. Not perfect, just part of one's Yixing education.

Relax. Get an inexpensive half hand made pot or a gaiwan. Drink tea. Enjoy.

I like these words very much. It reminds me of the original purpose of teaware. I find I can enjoy tea much better when I care less about the pot issue. Somehow the pot collecting addiction devours the original purpose of the tea wares: to make a good cup of tea.

[britt]

Most people have little or no opportunity to see Yixing pots in person. While I have been fortunate enough to select most of my pots in person, I would not hesitate to buy a new pot from at least a couple of web vendors. Not perfect, just part of one's Yixing education.

Relax. Get an inexpensive half hand made pot or a gaiwan. Drink tea. Enjoy.

I like these words very much. It reminds me of the original purpose of teaware. I find I can enjoy tea much better when I care less about the pot issue. Somehow the pot collecting addiction devours the original purpose of the tea wares: to make a good cup of tea.

After my initial purchase of well over a dozen Yixings that didn't work out very well, I thought about the situation before continuing to throw more money away. I don't dedicate one pot to each individual tea, but one or two pots to each type. When dedicating more than one pot to a type of tea, it's because I want two different sizes for that tea type.

I needed 5 Yixings, one each for greens and whites, high mountain, wuyi, dan cong, and Taiwanese TGY. I also decided it was time to try another vendor and decided I would pay whatever was necessary for each Yixing because it would be cheaper than what I was doing, accumulating multiple pots that don't work well with any type of tea.

Once I aquired appropriate pots for each tea type, as well as a larger additional pot for both wuyi and dan cong, I stopped buying Yixings and started enjoying the tea more than I ever had before. There does seem to be much truth in this thought.

Unfortunately, although I have had no issues with matching Japanese tea and teaware, I haven't yet tamed the kyusu/yunomi/chawan buying binge. I drink so much sencha and matcha, and Japanese teaware is so diverse, that I do enjoy the Japanese tea experience more when I rotate through the various styles of teaware.

[Deleted User #19216]

I'm fairly new at this stuff, and easily confused. My impression is that each individual pot has to be judged on its own merits. The quality of the clay, the harmony of design, and the way it functions are among the most important factors in judging the desirability of a pot. Trying to determine the authenticity of a makers mark or a type of clay is extremely difficult. Considering that world experts, including highly educated museum curators are occasionally fooled into believing that a forgery is authentic, I would not have much faith in my abilty to spot a well made fake from the real thing. I'm posting a quote from Hou de's blog.

"The slip-casting method used by yixing potters has a very long history. We know that Gong Chuan of Ming dynasty initially learned pure hand-made method from old monks of Jing Sha Temple. But one important revolutionary thing he did to yixings was the invention of slip-casting method. By making teapot this way, he was able to better control the preciseness of the shape and improve the firing successful rate.

So while we commonly praise the hand-made beauty of yixings, we cannot forget the slip-casting method is almost as old as the history of yixings."


This only adds to my confusion

The slip-casting method has been used by yixing potters for a long time; however,
there is no record showing that Gong Chuan invented this method.

[Deleted User #19216]

Most people have little or no opportunity to see Yixing pots in person. While I have been fortunate enough to select most of my pots in person, I would not hesitate to buy a new pot from at least a couple of web vendors. Not perfect, just part of one's Yixing education.

Relax. Get an inexpensive half hand made pot or a gaiwan. Drink tea. Enjoy.

I like these words very much. It reminds me of the original purpose of teaware. I find I can enjoy tea much better when I care less about the pot issue. Somehow the pot collecting addiction devours the original purpose of the tea wares: to make a good cup of tea.

Yixing ware should be appreciated in several different ways and levels. With years of tea steeping, the clay exhibited jade-like glass and feeling. The artistic shape and inscription call for literati's mind from the east.

However, if you just want to make a good pot of tea you may just stick to Gaiwan. Gaiwan will give you unbiased opinion. Yixing clay exchanges, takes away something and maybe add something into tea and the person who drinks that cup of tea.

[tjkoko_off]

Kyleshen stated:

However, if you just want to make a good pot of tea you may just stick to Gaiwan. Gaiwan will give you unbiased opinion. Yixing clay exchanges, takes away something and maybe add something into tea and the person who drinks that cup of tea.

At this point I'm totally overwhelmed with strategies on teapot selection. That said, I'm going to select a gaiwan(s) with tea along with brewing instructions from Jing Tea Shop. The next stop will be a Matcha Tea set - the beverage of green goodness!

[betta]

Yixing ware should be appreciated in several different ways and levels. With years of tea steeping, the clay exhibited jade-like glass and feeling. The artistic shape and inscription call for literati's mind from the east.

However, if you just want to make a good pot of tea you may just stick to Gaiwan. Gaiwan will give you unbiased opinion. Yixing clay exchanges, takes away something and maybe add something into tea and the person who drinks that cup of tea.

You're right. If the purpose of teaware is for a cup of tea itself, dependent on circumstances gaiwan could be a better option.
I use yixingpot as a brewing vessel while hoping the brew gets improved (which I got a longer and more aromatic brewing up to now using yixingpot).
Moreover for me it is easier to use than gaiwans.
Therefore, for me if a yixingpot alters the taste of the brewed tea or if I need to look for particular tea to match my particular pot in order to get a decent brewing result, logically I'm questioning the use of yixingpot.
At the end it comes back again to the question:
Yixingpot for tea or tea for yixingpot?
In my case, I've decided on yixingpot for tea. While for aesthetic I've decided on real jadeite as in my avatar
Thanks for sharing us the info here, Kyle.

[t4texas]

Kyleshen stated:

However, if you just want to make a good pot of tea you may just stick to Gaiwan. Gaiwan will give you unbiased opinion. Yixing clay exchanges, takes away something and maybe add something into tea and the person who drinks that cup of tea.

At this point I'm totally overwhelmed with strategies on teapot selection. That said, I'm going to select a gaiwan(s) with tea along with brewing instructions from Jing Tea Shop. The next stop will be a Matcha Tea set - the beverage of green goodness!

The little fisherman gaiwan and horse gaiwan at jing are very nice pieces.

[yssah]

i may have read somewhere that funalliance software still works for ordering but no longer delivers