Jun 11th, '09, 16:43
Posts: 152
Joined: Sep 11th, '08, 17:15
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Location: PA, USA
depravitea: I presume from your other thread that the teapot hasn't arrived yet. When it does, use your nose when opening the package. Look for 'chemical' odors: others have already mentioned shoe polish, I've seen 'aged' pots that were redolent of latex paint.
If you smell something similar (or if your suspicions seem otherwise justified) definitely leave appropriate feedback. And return the pot, unless you're willing to keep it for display purposes. Someday when you have worthy yixing that you're happy with you'll be able to look at it and smile.
And the best way to gain knowledge about yixing is to handle many pots. Unfortunately this isn't always easy depending on your location. At least this is a relatively cheap lesson.
If you smell something similar (or if your suspicions seem otherwise justified) definitely leave appropriate feedback. And return the pot, unless you're willing to keep it for display purposes. Someday when you have worthy yixing that you're happy with you'll be able to look at it and smile.
And the best way to gain knowledge about yixing is to handle many pots. Unfortunately this isn't always easy depending on your location. At least this is a relatively cheap lesson.
what is meant by it's fake? i don't think the seller claimed an age for the pot.
how's it smell? if the patina is indeed shoe polish you'd be able to smell a chemical solvent/petrol smell. if it doesn't smell wrong, i'd just give it a good cleaning and then use it. if you like it, the heck wit others opinions...
btw, thanks for the kind heads up
how's it smell? if the patina is indeed shoe polish you'd be able to smell a chemical solvent/petrol smell. if it doesn't smell wrong, i'd just give it a good cleaning and then use it. if you like it, the heck wit others opinions...
btw, thanks for the kind heads up
Depravitea, I'm afraid I have to agree with some of the other skeptical posters here. I didn't want to say anything because I know what it is like to be excited and then get disappointed and ultimately angry with myself for being either stupid or impatient.
Some time back, before you began posting here, I posted pics of a 'ruyi' pot which some people jumped all over and said it was shoe polished, toxic, bogus, etc. It was stained as badly as yours and most of the stains came out with boiling the pot for some time at a simmer, completely submerged. What did become apparent was the low quality clay that was used to make the pot in the first place. Yours seems to be the same. Chances are that these pots are not from yixing but somewhere else in China. Luckily, I have some great pots to compare brewing in and that is the ultimate test. Getting the best cup of tea is the goal. My pot doesn't give me a great cup, just okay. I never use it anymore and will be happy to sell it to you for the same price I paid!
Just kidding. I look at this as small tuition towards the learning process. Anyone here claiming there are no dues to be paid is not a serious addict. All of us have been fooled in one circumstance or another. No blame in this. That is why I always say 'trust your vendor'. You have to find people who seem to be knowledgeable and respected in this field and you can get real opinions from. Many sellers have no clue what they have.
So, put on your Sherlock Holmes cap and delve into the mysteries of yixing and tea. You will learn a lot. In the meantime, you might want to stick with porcelain for brewing until you are ready to buy a real yixing pot. Or, you might want to check out Chen's website, who many people seem happy with her family's pots. It's a big subject. Many opinions. Good luck.
Some time back, before you began posting here, I posted pics of a 'ruyi' pot which some people jumped all over and said it was shoe polished, toxic, bogus, etc. It was stained as badly as yours and most of the stains came out with boiling the pot for some time at a simmer, completely submerged. What did become apparent was the low quality clay that was used to make the pot in the first place. Yours seems to be the same. Chances are that these pots are not from yixing but somewhere else in China. Luckily, I have some great pots to compare brewing in and that is the ultimate test. Getting the best cup of tea is the goal. My pot doesn't give me a great cup, just okay. I never use it anymore and will be happy to sell it to you for the same price I paid!
Just kidding. I look at this as small tuition towards the learning process. Anyone here claiming there are no dues to be paid is not a serious addict. All of us have been fooled in one circumstance or another. No blame in this. That is why I always say 'trust your vendor'. You have to find people who seem to be knowledgeable and respected in this field and you can get real opinions from. Many sellers have no clue what they have. So, put on your Sherlock Holmes cap and delve into the mysteries of yixing and tea. You will learn a lot. In the meantime, you might want to stick with porcelain for brewing until you are ready to buy a real yixing pot. Or, you might want to check out Chen's website, who many people seem happy with her family's pots. It's a big subject. Many opinions. Good luck.
Generally as I have seen trusted vendors are Yunnan sourcing (generally their most expencieve pots are good quality), Dragon teahouse (they sell a few good teapots, but the price is a bit high for a first teapot), www.Houdeasianart.com (they sell only vintage teapots, but the prices are a little bit too high for what they sell), www.nadacha.co.uk (teapots from personal collection), www.zishateapot.co.uk (she is also a memeber of this forum, also refered as Chen, as I have seen many people were satisfied by their services, I liked only their teapots from the 99 $ category, and they offer the possibility to customise your order).depravitea wrote:I appreciate the advice Oni, though it sounds like you conducted your research after you had already purchased your teapot...
I guess I may have made the mistake of assuming since the pot I was purchasing was from a collector, it would be solid.
I guess I can only wait to see...
Oni, where might I find a nice, simple pot, something kind of like your avatar picture?
Whe you buy an yixing teapot, functionality is the most important, first look at how much liquid it can hold, I prefer less than 150 ml, generally 120 ml (4 oz), if you try Dancong an puerh tea, you will soon find out that a large teapot is not good because the many infusions, I read that a chunk of good aged sheng can go up to 57 infusions (Y.S. wrote it), if 120 ml teapot can make 100 ml tea that would be 5.7 liters of tea, that is a lot for one session.
Second most thing I look at is the material, zisha, can be diveided into many catgory, diffrent clay have diffrent capability of absorbing tea oils, and diffrent heat retention, I wont go deeper into it, that you shoul research, it need to be unadultered, clay, no artificial aditives.
Handmade teapots are generally prefered, it must pour even with no ripping, the lid must fit good, test it fill it with water and when you pour put your finger on the knob where the airhole is, the pouring must stop, that is a good lid fit, an teas that require short infusions prefer fast pouring teapots.
very happy to see so many people like our pot and help me on the chat.
i alreays think online sales is more fair than Line sales, because when a vendor decept only one customer, the bad reputation will spread all the internet. and if you have good product and Reasonable price, many people will praise you. and You will be more and more people are recognized.
so i think any we have been decept, we should post it to Pure the online market.
i alreays think online sales is more fair than Line sales, because when a vendor decept only one customer, the bad reputation will spread all the internet. and if you have good product and Reasonable price, many people will praise you. and You will be more and more people are recognized.
so i think any we have been decept, we should post it to Pure the online market.
Wow baby, actions speak louder than wordsfinddream2020 wrote:very happy to see so many people like our pot and help me on the chat.
i alreays think online sales is more fair than Line sales, because when a vendor decept only one customer, the bad reputation will spread all the internet. and if you have good product and Reasonable price, many people will praise you. and You will be more and more people are recognized.
so i think any we have been decept, we should post it to Pure the online market.