First pot, is it decent? What kind of clay?

[Fengzhe]

I am fairly new to tea. I've been using a gaiwan and decided I'd hold off on an YiXing until I know more. Well, I live in China and my work takes me all around the country. I went for a walk after work and stumbled upon what I think is a really nice teashop in an everyday sort of neighborhood in Changsha- not too fancy, but kind of specialist and higher end, things are well laid out and organized. I tried some teas and chatted with the owner, she said the she opened the store 8 years ago. I saw a display of around 30 Yixing pots on the shelves and thought maybe this would be a good place to buy it, since I got such a good vibe from the owner. I decided to hold off til the next time I was in that city and do research in the meantime. I bought some tea and told her 'id be back, the tea was really nice. So forward 3 weeks later and I went back. I had a hard time choosing between two particular pots, but picked one. So my Chinese is pretty elementary, I was able to answer/ask some questions(want to use it for yancha, wulong, 2 people, etc) but I could not ask her what kind of clay it made of or too many other details. I just thought the pot looked good and trusted her that she sells good products. Can you make any comments about my pot? I'm interested in what kind of clay it might be?, is it does it look ok?, is it thick or thin walled?, etc.

[Kale]

Hard to tell from the pics. What is the volume?
Clay looks so so to me, but seems decent (that depends on the price also)

[bagua7]

It's a sanded Qing Shui Ni. Certain zhuni and duanni pots also undergo that treatment for an enhanced visual quality. For example:

http://www.houdeasianart.com/index.php? ... ts_id=1427

They are not cheap though and they belong to the old era (ROC, Factory pots) I doubt modern pots will have that quality as the industry has changed dramatically ---> less craftsmanship ---> more volume and sales. This is modern day China.

Does it good brew good tea? If it does you should be happy!

[12Tea]

They are not cheap though and they belong to the old era (ROC, Factory pots) I doubt modern pots will have that quality as the industry has changed dramatically ---> less craftsmanship ---> more volume and sales. This is modern day China.

Does it good brew good tea? If it does you should be happy!

There's lots of good Yixing teapots available in China with good craftmanship, but not easily available through online channels.

[Fengzhe]

So I was back in Changsha this week and stopped at the shop again. Beforehand, I asked someone to write down a few questions in Chinese for the shop owner to answer for me. Here's what she said:

1) What type of clay the pot made of?
Jiang Po Ni

2) Was it machine, half, or handmade?
Handmade

3) Where was it made?
Yixing (actually a place just next to YX, but I forgot the name)

She also gave me a catalog of the artist who made it, which matches the chop mark on the pot. The artist's name is Tang Wei Ping. The catalog also include her bio, but I don't have it handy. She's around 40 years old(the artist, not the pot

I paid 900 kuai (after an 80k discount) for the pot and it brews beautifully.

[carmeloneo]

So I was back in Changsha this week and stopped at the shop again. Beforehand, I asked someone to write down a few questions in Chinese for the shop owner to answer for me. Here's what she said:

1) What type of clay the pot made of?
Jiang Po Ni

2) Was it machine, half, or handmade?
Handmade

3) Where was it made?
Yixing (actually a place just next to YX, but I forgot the name)

She also gave me a catalog of the artist who made it, which matches the chop mark on the pot. The artist's name is Tang Wei Ping. The catalog also include her bio, but I don't have it handy. She's around 40 years old(the artist, not the pot

I paid 900 kuai (after an 80k discount) for the pot and it brews beautifully.

The author you referred should be her https://www.ebay.com/itm/123388248064

[FBee]

So if it is Jiangponi, that pot will be muting flavors. Depending on what kind of tea you brew with it that might be ok. For others you might better use another kind of clay. 900 RMB should get you a decent pot in China, that is not on the low end for retail. Unless you paid a foreigner tax, which you probably did...

For that price I doubt it is fully handmade, not many people do this. Usually a combination of moulds and handmade is use, so probably a half-honest answer from the vendor

[bagua7]

So if it is Jiangponi, that pot will be muting flavors.

Yeah, but they make great puerh pots.