These entry level Yixing pots look good to me!

[kyarazen]

This is a fun article about yixing and pores:
https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... to_1911_AD

nice article!
just a bit of peer review
1) interesting though, because if they assessed ming to qing yixing, most are excavated, and once buried, the porosity of the material will change, so will the composition (absorbing minerals from the surrounding and also losing some of their own through leaching), the authors could have discussed this

2) the temperatures in table 3 seem quite absolute a figure, the authors should have disclosed further how they discerned or inferred the firing temperatures

3) seems to put forward the concept of the teapot being "absorptive".. but i would rather think of tea pots as "catalytically active" than behaving like a sponge

[steanze]

generally lower fired pots or more porous pots tend to round very much more significantly, seasoned hongni/zhuni is neutral, new hongni/zhuni is quite sharpening

that's my general impression as well - then as you say there are a lot of other details to keep in mind (thickness, particle size, and so on)

[steanze]

nice article!
just a bit of peer review
1) interesting though, because if they assessed ming to qing yixing, most are excavated, and once buried, the porosity of the material will change, so will the composition (absorbing minerals from the surrounding and also losing some of their own through leaching), the authors could have discussed this

I was thinking about this same problem, I think we had a conversation some time ago about how buried pots "recede" in firing

2) the temperatures in table 3 seem quite absolute a figure, the authors should have disclosed further how they discerned or inferred the firing temperatures

3) seems to put forward the concept of the teapot being "absorptive".. but i would rather think of tea pots as "catalytically active" than behaving like a sponge

good points - perhaps it is a combination of absorption and activity (mineral taste from activity, reduction in bitterness from absorption...)

[jayinhk]

Just got one of KS Lo's books through my local library--they have a good number of his books on the stacks here in HK. Will report back if I learn anything, while relishing the teapot porn.

"The Stonewares of Yixing from the Ming Period to the Present Day."

[BioHorn]

Someone just listed a new Etsy yixing storefront.

This pot looks decent and price reasonable:

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/2671985 ... p-header-1

[jayinhk]

There's a hairline crack in the lid!

[BioHorn]

There's a hairline crack in the lid!

Good eye! Maybe an even better candidate for discount!?

[jayinhk]

I have some good older shuipings, so I'd pass! Worth a shot if you want it though!

[BW85]

That seller had quite a few other very decent looking pots beside the shuipings with the hairline crack

[wei301]

I really like the ball filter actually. The pot pours very well and I never have to unclog the spout or push leaves away from the filter!

I try not to choose teapots with ball filters ... I dry pots with cloth after cleaning, worry if I do it too hard this might happen : https://www.reddit.com/r/tea/comments/4 ... y_tea_pot/

[wei301]

The dark under the spout is usually produced by a drop of tea that flows down from the spout opening after you are done pouring. You can wipe the pot with a soft cloth after pouring to dry and spread that drop and prevent the dark under the spout. The pot does get darker on the body around the lid, but also in this case wiping it with a warm damp cloth while the pot is hot takes care of that. If you use dark roasted oolongs, some darkness can also occur in pots that have a rim where the body meets the lid, like shui pings (even if they are hongni). This happens because a little bit of tea gets trapped in the crevice between the body of the pot and the rim, so that area gets stained. If you don't like that, you can consider gently massaging that part of the pot with a damp cloth with a little bit of baking soda - be very gentle though, you don't want to mess up the whole patina!

Thank you very much for your kind suggestions. I wipe the teapot with a dry cloth after cleaning, but not after each pouring, I'll do that after I have removed the marks with baking soda! ^^

[jayinhk]

I really like the ball filter actually. The pot pours very well and I never have to unclog the spout or push leaves away from the filter!

I try not to choose teapots with ball filters ... I dry pots with cloth after cleaning, worry if I do it too hard this might happen : https://www.reddit.com/r/tea/comments/4 ... y_tea_pot/

Interesting, I never ever wipe the inside of my teapots (including porcelain) with anything. I just rinse them out (sometimes with just plain tap water) and let them dry with the lids propped at an angle!

[steanze]

Thank you very much for your kind suggestions. I wipe the teapot with a dry cloth after cleaning, but not after each pouring, I'll do that after I have removed the marks with baking soda! ^^

You are welcome! Remember to go light with the baking soda and do it little by little, you don't want to leave a mark in the patina on that side of the teapot.

[steanze]

Interesting, I never ever wipe the inside of my teapots (including porcelain) with anything. I just rinse them out (sometimes with just plain tap water) and let them dry with the lids propped at an angle!

+1 they dry pretty quickly if you rinse them with hot water

[wei301]

I really like the ball filter actually. The pot pours very well and I never have to unclog the spout or push leaves away from the filter!

I try not to choose teapots with ball filters ... I dry pots with cloth after cleaning, worry if I do it too hard this might happen : https://www.reddit.com/r/tea/comments/4 ... y_tea_pot/

Interesting, I never ever wipe the inside of my teapots (including porcelain) with anything. I just rinse them out (sometimes with just plain tap water) and let them dry with the lids propped at an angle!

I thought it's a way to avoid tea stains or dark marks. However, the 108-hole filter sounds interesting, I might get one just to see how good it is!