That's a lot better now. The pot is very average, not sure whether it is pure zisha or mixed clay. Hard to judge with those photos.
Anyway, what you can do is compare a brew in your pot to that in a porcelain gaiwan, if worse, then take it as a tuition pot.
Cheers.
Re: Authentic Yixing? I bought this pot in Chengdu
Thanks Bagua and everyone else. Got what I needed.bagua7 wrote:That's a lot better now. The pot is very average, not sure whether it is pure zisha or mixed clay. Hard to judge with those photos.
Anyway, what you can do is compare a brew in your pot to that in a porcelain gaiwan, if worse, then take it as a tuition pot.
Cheers.
Cheers
Re: Authentic Yixing? I bought this pot in Chengdu
LOL that's the first time I hear of the tofu treatment (!) I would personally avoid that... same goes for the sugar cane.
Actually I just googled the tofu treatment and found this from MarshalN: http://www.marshaln.com/2008/08/tuesday-august-12-2008/ which is probably where that advice came from.
The post is followed by a comment that sheds some light into the issue, posted by an anonymous poster who says:
"1. Gypsum (Shi Gao in Chinese medicine terminology) traditionally used to be used to coagulate tofu milk into curds. I don’t think it’s used very often anymore. Check the ingredients (calcium sulfate). Better yet, just use some gypsum. You can buy it at a chinese medicine pharmacy or ask a local acupuncturist / herbalist.
2. Sugar – moistens dryness according to Chinese medicine. Sugar in the raw or turbinado is the ‘whole’ form of evaporated cane juice (with natural minerals)."
Gypsum is something you could try if you can find it, tofu I'd still avoid - I just don't see the advantage of having bits of tofu potentially clogging the pot's pores and getting stuck, which I can't clean out with soap because it's an yixing. If someone tried it would be interesting to hear their view on a side by side comparison of a tofu treated and a non-tofu treated pot (I am not going to try with mine
).
If a pot has some clay smell, it usually goes away in a few uses. A hot rock smell when boiling water is poured in the pot can remain, and it is normal. If there are other unpleasant smells, it's probably a bad pot, or if you are lucky an old pot with gunk in it that needs more thorough cleaning, but in the latter case you probably also know what it is
With new pots, usually pouring in and out boiling water a few times is sufficient. If you want to boil the pot, that's reasonable, in this case I strongly recommend using a cloth to protect it, also using it to separate the body from the lid. I also wouldn't boil 4 pots together like in the figures from taotealeaf, it is easier to have lids and bodies hit each other and get damaged. I prefer to do it one pot at a time, unless they are cheap pots and you have to boil 50 of them...
Actually I just googled the tofu treatment and found this from MarshalN: http://www.marshaln.com/2008/08/tuesday-august-12-2008/ which is probably where that advice came from.
The post is followed by a comment that sheds some light into the issue, posted by an anonymous poster who says:
"1. Gypsum (Shi Gao in Chinese medicine terminology) traditionally used to be used to coagulate tofu milk into curds. I don’t think it’s used very often anymore. Check the ingredients (calcium sulfate). Better yet, just use some gypsum. You can buy it at a chinese medicine pharmacy or ask a local acupuncturist / herbalist.
2. Sugar – moistens dryness according to Chinese medicine. Sugar in the raw or turbinado is the ‘whole’ form of evaporated cane juice (with natural minerals)."
Gypsum is something you could try if you can find it, tofu I'd still avoid - I just don't see the advantage of having bits of tofu potentially clogging the pot's pores and getting stuck, which I can't clean out with soap because it's an yixing. If someone tried it would be interesting to hear their view on a side by side comparison of a tofu treated and a non-tofu treated pot (I am not going to try with mine
).If a pot has some clay smell, it usually goes away in a few uses. A hot rock smell when boiling water is poured in the pot can remain, and it is normal. If there are other unpleasant smells, it's probably a bad pot, or if you are lucky an old pot with gunk in it that needs more thorough cleaning, but in the latter case you probably also know what it is
With new pots, usually pouring in and out boiling water a few times is sufficient. If you want to boil the pot, that's reasonable, in this case I strongly recommend using a cloth to protect it, also using it to separate the body from the lid. I also wouldn't boil 4 pots together like in the figures from taotealeaf, it is easier to have lids and bodies hit each other and get damaged. I prefer to do it one pot at a time, unless they are cheap pots and you have to boil 50 of them...
Feb 10th, '16, 15:47
Posts: 749
Joined: May 2nd, '10, 02:03
Location: Shaker Heights, Ohio USA
Re: Authentic Yixing? I bought this pot in Chengdu
Had shampoo and conditoner leak out in luggage which also carried an unused zen8tea 2-3 cup shui ping. It now brews with an extra soft sheen I prefer on my hair and not in my cup.steanze wrote:LOL that's the first time I hear of the tofu treatment (!) I would personally avoid that... same goes for the sugar cane.
Actually I just googled the tofu treatment and found this from MarshalN: http://www.marshaln.com/2008/08/tuesday-august-12-2008/ which is probably where that advice came from.
The post is followed by a comment that sheds some light into the issue, posted by an anonymous poster who says:
"1. Gypsum (Shi Gao in Chinese medicine terminology) traditionally used to be used to coagulate tofu milk into curds. I don’t think it’s used very often anymore. Check the ingredients (calcium sulfate). Better yet, just use some gypsum. You can buy it at a chinese medicine pharmacy or ask a local acupuncturist / herbalist.
2. Sugar – moistens dryness according to Chinese medicine. Sugar in the raw or turbinado is the ‘whole’ form of evaporated cane juice (with natural minerals)."
Gypsum is something you could try if you can find it, tofu I'd still avoid - I just don't see the advantage of having bits of tofu potentially clogging the pot's pores and getting stuck, which I can't clean out with soap because it's an yixing. If someone tried it would be interesting to hear their view on a side by side comparison of a tofu treated and a non-tofu treated pot (I am not going to try with mine
If a pot has some clay smell, it usually goes away in a few uses. A hot rock smell when boiling water is poured in the pot can remain, and it is normal. If there are other unpleasant smells, it's probably a bad pot, or if you are lucky an old pot with gunk in it that needs more thorough cleaning, but in the latter case you probably also know what it is
With new pots, usually pouring in and out boiling water a few times is sufficient. If you want to boil the pot, that's reasonable, in this case I strongly recommend using a cloth to protect it, also using it to separate the body from the lid. I also wouldn't boil 4 pots together like in the figures from taotealeaf, it is easier to have lids and bodies hit each other and get damaged. I prefer to do it one pot at a time, unless they are cheap pots and you have to boil 50 of them...
Boiling with abundant yancha for 1/2 day did little. Am about to go the bleach route, but gypsum also sounds good. Also the unscented denture cleaner sounded like a viable option. Anyone with this experience care to please share? Many searches have yielded few similar examples. Thank you.
Re: Authentic Yixing? I bought this pot in Chengdu
in taiwan people are seen using enoki mushroom stalks too... interesting people with interesting methods
Re: Authentic Yixing? I bought this pot in Chengdu
MarshalN's blog is a good source, so when I found his post my reaction changed from "this is crazy" to "hmm I wouldn't do it but if someone tries I'd be interested to know the results". Has anyone here tried tea made in pots seasoned with tofu or mushrooms? I'd be curious to hear about experiments, especially I wonder if it has any effect on the long run... Feb 11th, '16, 08:53
Posts: 749
Joined: May 2nd, '10, 02:03
Location: Shaker Heights, Ohio USA
Re: Authentic Yixing? I bought this pot in Chengdu
Maybe I will try gypsum? I know another fellow with the same issue as mine but on a much larger scale!steanze wrote:
Re: Authentic Yixing? I bought this pot in Chengdu
I would try scrubbing with a wet towel with baking soda on it. Then boiling the pot for a while. I am a bit wary of bleach because I don't know how it would react with the ingredients in the shampoo. In case, I'd first try a test on a small scale to evaluate the consequences...BioHorn wrote: Maybe I will try gypsum? I know another fellow with the same issue as mine but on a much larger scale!