Guangxi Qin Zhou Teapot via Taobao

[jayinhk]

Just bought this teapot! Taobao is letting me consolidate this teapot so shipping works out nice and cheap to HK. Will report back on how well it works when it comes in.

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a31 ... k1t9pk9cc6

[Bok]

Hey Jay,

Doesn’t that coloring outside not look a bit artificially aged to you?
The inside looks bright new and I would be very suspicious what they used to “dirt-wash” the outside…

Hope it turns out fine though!

[jayinhk]

Bok,

In this case of Guangxi teapots, it's not meant to look aged...just decoration!

EDIT: If this was a Yixing, I'd run the other way!

[jayinhk]

Excellent teapot IMO. It was bigger and heavier than I thought it would be. Clay inside appears somewhat sandy, but high fired. I used boiling water for the first few rinses through it and it smelled like clay. I then brewed some Myanmar green tea in it for a few strong infusions, then rinsed with tea, then boiling water. Barely any clay aroma after.

I should add this pot has better ergonomics than any of my Yixings. The larger handle and knob make it a pleasure to use. It also pours very, very smoothly.

Brewed up a pot of baozhong. This tea had lost aroma in my gaiwan, but is sweeter and has fruit aromas in this pot--quite pleasant. Not as complex as when fresh, but more aroma than in my gaiwan and the taste and hui gan linger afterwards. Much, much smoother drinking than from porcelain too. I'll experiment with other teas to find what this pot does best!

[jayinhk]

Just read something from K.S. Lo's book on Yixings and he said the clay in Qinzhou is almost identical to Yixing clay, but denser and smoother.

[Yannick]

Very interesting, thank you for sharing your views.
I have little experience with Qinzhou, so it's nice to hear someone elses input on it.

I have a Qinzhou xubian myself, and had originally been using it for liubao for no reason other than liking the idea of pairing a tea and clay from the same soil.
I've since switched to using it mostly for hongcha, which I've had great trouble finding a suitable match for with Yixing pots.

In the case of my pot I also agree that ergonomically it's a delight to use, more so than Yixing and Jianshui I've tried have been. I don't know if this is mere coincidence, or something Guangxi potters pay particular attention to. Likely the former.

[jayinhk]

I think it is something the Qinzhou potters care about. I'm thinking about switching my pot to liubao, but we'll see thanks for sharing your experience too!

[victoria3]

I think it is something the Qinzhou potters care about. I'm thinking about switching my pot to liubao, but we'll see thanks for sharing your experience too!

Would love to see a picture of your pot, the original image is gone.

[jayinhk]

Victoria, some pot shots:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHZwypnAZnm ... y=jayinhkg

https://www.instagram.com/p/BB4T1D3SCuf ... y=jayinhkg

https://www.instagram.com/p/BB1-EdPyCsk ... y=jayinhkg