Yixing help for a newbie.

[zero9]

Hello all! I've been drinking (bad) tea my entire life but have recently gotten into it with my wife after seeing a tea ceremony video and thinking it's the coolest thing we've ever seen. Fun new nightly ritual for us to share and we look forward to the journey of learning how to make great tea.

I purchased a yixing pot from http://www.zishateapot.org via their etsy page b/c it also has free shipping and was a hair cheaper there. Anyone order from these guys? Are they a safe/trusted place? I bought a tea trey and tool set from them so went ahead and got a pot to save on shipping. I literally bought this one: https://www.etsy.com/listing/170498143/ ... _active_11 b/c I found it aesthetically appealing but have since learned that it doesn't have the proper straight line between handle/top and spout. They had an issue with my order so it's on pause until after the new year holiday... I have time to change my order b/c of this or take this of my order and only purchase the tea board and tools I got from them.

If they are a safe vendor... I'm wondering if this second pot is a better option than the one I originally selected: https://www.etsy.com/listing/181079609/ ... ese-gongfu

They have other options so I was thinking about switching if these guys are a trusted vendor and what I picked isn't a good starter pot. I was all excited until I started reading about lead/safety/coated being worthless vs uncoated/good vs bad vs handmade vs half handmade etc.. I don't know enough right now to tell what I'm buying.

I was also eyeing these guys that they have:
http://www.zishateapot.org/Tian-Gan-Tea ... e-312.html

http://www.zishateapot.org/Ni-Xing-Pott ... d-236.html

Any ideas on if these guys are good/trusted and if I'm getting a good started pot is much, much appreciated. I think I have a few days to decide.

Thanks in advance for any input/knowledge.

[steanze]

Hi zero9, welcome to the forum!!
None of the pots you linked are yixing pots. They are jianshui and nixing pots. I see that the website is a bit confusing because it calls purple clay (zisha) even janshui and nixing, while usually zisha is used to refer to yixing clay.
Depending on the tea you want to make, you want to look for a teapot with different properties. Do you know what tea you want to brew most of the time? If you are not sure yet, I suggest that you start using a porcelain gaiwan: since it is not porous you don't need to dedicate it to a type of tea - you can brew everything with it. Later when you find out more about your preferences you can think about getting an yixing teapot.

[jayinhk]

Steanze beat me to the first response by a few minutes, but I agree that a gaiwan or a porcelain teapot may be a better first purchase since they can be used for any tea, and you might still reach for them even if you buy fancier teapots. I still use easy gaiwans and porcelain pots every day, along with my clay teapots.

You're going to have to wait a few weeks if you're going with Chinese vendors as Chinese New Year is a big deal in China (obviously) and many vendors will be off until Valentine's Day or even later.

[zero9]

Thanks for the advice! I ordered a Gaiwan last week and some tea samples from Verdant Tea for this exact reason. I figure we experiment across the board and hone in one what we like using the Gaiwan and then once we get to what we like we start using the Yixing for that only. I was just ordering two other things from them and I knew I'd want a Yixing pot sooner or later so I figure get it all in one shot and save on the shipping. Funny that I wasn't even looking at the right thing. Haha. So much to learn.

I bought two Yixing tea cups and aroma cups (uncoated on the inside) this past week from a local tea store. I figure they need to be used with one tea since they're not coated on the inside? I did a water test though and I swear these things are magical. The water straight out of my filtered source in a porcelain cup doesn't taste nearly as good as the same water when I drink it from one of these Yixing tea cups.

Ok... back to the drawing board on the pots. I'll probably wait... taste stuff across the board and then order something when I know more about what I'm doing!

Thanks again!

[steanze]

I'll probably wait... taste stuff across the board and then order something when I know more about what I'm doing!

Thanks again!

Sounds like a good plan Verdant tea doesn't have exactly the best reputation:
http://teacloset.blogspot.com/2012/06/2 ... ea-is.html
http://www.marshaln.com/2012/08/steepster-is-useless/
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=17729

I usually recommend this to beginners: http://www.ebay.com/itm/TEAHOME-Formosa ... 230dd6b215

[jayinhk]

Which tea fits which teapot is a whole other thing too! I'm in the process of testing two new pots to see which tea they perform best with. It's supposed to be a function of firing, wall thickness and shape, as well as clay type. There are 'rules' for these, but I'm experimenting a little to see what my non-Yixing teapots do to different teas.

Your Yixing cups may just be generic clay with additives to give it the right color--it's hard to say. First off I'd suggest trying different teas (buy samples from a few different vendors, and avoid Verdant Tea in future) and see what floats your (and your wife's) boat. You might like completely different teas!

There's an active thread here on entry-level Yixings you should check out. The eBay vendor has good modern pots for fair prices and a lot of TeaChatters are pretty excited about his offerings. His prices aren't much higher than I'd pay buying online in China. You could also see some discussion on which pots and clays fit which teas, and how opinions differ.

[theredbaron]

Personally speaking, the pots you have been looking at are not really good at all.

Pots that are nice to start off and which won't break your budget are those from the vendor who is topic of this thread here:

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=20904

Another vendor who has some not expensive and nice entry level pots of a slight vintage are here:

http://www.chawangshop.com/index.php/te ... -85cc.html

The size i would chose for two people is between 80 and 100 or 120 cc at most.

[bagua7]

Pots that are nice to start off and which won't break your budget are those from the vendor who is topic of this thread here:

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=20904

IMO, not just to start off but to buy something that'll last you until your last breath (unless you breal the pot ).

Some more vendors that sell real Yixing pots:

1. Life in Teacup (send an email first to see what is available since some of their stuff is out of stock).

2. Wisdom China (eBay). Their pots got a bit pricier, some are still cheap but very few. Site is currently down due to CNY holiday.

3. Chinateaware (etsy)

3. Tea Masters

[BioHorn]

Personally speaking, the pots you have been looking at are not really good at all.

Pots that are nice to start off and which won't break your budget are those from the vendor who is topic of this thread here:

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=20904

Another vendor who has some not expensive and nice entry level pots of a slight vintage are here:

http://www.chawangshop.com/index.php/te ... -85cc.html

The size i would chose for two people is between 80 and 100 or 120 cc at most.

I agree with the Factory 2 recommendation. It is a very usable pot that will not break the bank and give you room to develop an individual idea for moving on to others.