Help with new Yixing pots.

[graffititype]

Hi all,

First time poster, long time lurker!

Sorry to make yet another post asking for help on yixing pots, but I bought two new pots a few months ago while in China and feel like I don't know enough about them. I'd like people's guesses as to what kind of clay they might be, what sorts of teas I might try in them, etc. I also included artist information on the authenticity cards I got with the pots. I tried to colour adjust these photos, but they still turned out a little bluer than the actual pots (which are more brown and slightly more orange).















They both have a very good seal and pour, but make a sort of dull thunking sound when tapped (maybe I'm doing it wrong?!). Any thoughts/opinions would be appreciated.

[Chip]

Welcome to the forum, graffititype!

Sorry, I am not much help here, but they look and sound quite nice and certainly functional. Hopefully one of our resident "experts" will chime in!

[TIM]

No worries on the sound (don't recommend tapping yixing if you are not sure what to look for, Might end up with hairline cracks). They are good pots, good clay and nice balance. Congrats and Welcome

[graffititype]

Thanks for the welcome and the help! I'm thinking I'll try the first with light oolongs and the second with pu erh.

[beachape]

On the card, the second line describes the clay (handwritten fill in the blank). Unfortunately it is covered by the picture. It looks like di cao qing, but just a guess because you can only see the bottoms of the characters.

[chrl42]

nice commercial pots

[graffititype]

Thanks for the info, beachape.

chrl42, what do you mean by that?

[tingjunkie]

There are many grades of Yixing pots- or to be more accurate, there are many levels of Yixing artists. Commercial grade pots can be well made and great for making tea, but usually the artistry and clay quality is not top shelf. Not bad, but just not a "collectors piece." I'm willing to bet that very few people who are on this forum (including myself) actually own pots from Yixing masters, so you are in good company.

[justinchina]

If the price of yixing teapots is more than $100, it is handmade by artist in all probability. And there are at least two seals at the pot. One of seals is at the bottom of teapot, and another is at the lid. And almost of artists will provide a certificate in the teapot when you get it.

The material of most of yixing teapots is Qing Shui Clay (清水泥) and Purple Clay (紫泥). Some is made of Duan Ni (段泥). All these clay is only in Yixing, Jiang Su province, China.

Get more help from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yixing_clay_teapot

[justinchina]

Thanks for the welcome and the help! I'm thinking I'll try the first with light oolongs and the second with pu erh.

Hi, You should not try more than one kind of tea. The best way to care Yixing teapot is only a kind of tea.

[tingjunkie]

Thanks for the welcome and the help! I'm thinking I'll try the first with light oolongs and the second with pu erh.

Hi, You should not try more than one kind of tea. The best way to care Yixing teapot is only a kind of tea.

I disagree. Trying a pot with several different types of tea at first is the only good way to figure out what kind of tea the pot handles best. A session or two of different teas isn't going to permanently season a pot. However, once you find the right tea/pot combo, then stick with it.

[rayFrev]

hey congrats on the fine little YiXing pots i used to collect them... the cheaper more affordable ones anyway. Some artisan pots can go as high as $50k or more no kiddding. Only brew black teas in them, and choose one tea type per pot to get the ultimate results. Many people cure the pots prior to actual brewing which equals submerging them in boiling water for a period of time(don't boil your hands though). Once you get a good combo going (pot/tea) they start sweating tea from the pores of the pot as you brew then the pot becomes seasoned over time. It's rather fascinating. I don't drink black teas anymore but i still have about 20 tea pots. I gave a bunch away to my sisters over the years.

I don't read, speak Chinese but most of my pots have multiple artisan seals on the bottom, underside of the lid sometimes at the base of the handles.