Chao Zhou Teapot?

[Tead Off]

After reading more carefully, I realized these pots were not made by the potter who made cheap pots for Imen, but by his father, a well known artist who received the title of “National Master of Ceramics” from the Chinese government.

Imen spoke about him on her blog. This will best explain the prices. Also, these pieces are special models which were used for the exhibition PcT just had.

The pots she sold were made by Zhang Yanming. Are you saying that he did not make the pots at Postcard Teas?

[David R.]

Sorry for the confusion. I thought the pots Imen used to sell were not made by Zhang Yanming. (I thought this was the name of the father, not the son.) If you are saying they were, I believe you.

The ones PcT is selling are definitively made by Zhang Yanming (it is said so in the description) but look different from the ones Imen used to sell. They look more like collectible items.

FYI, I don't think that every Zhang Yan Ming pots are likely to break easily. It was maybe the case for the ones Imen used to sell, but it may be premature to generalize it to all Zhang pots. Someone I know went to the Phoenix Mountains and bought a Zhang Yanming teapot on location. He never bothered with all the bathing process and never had a problem with his pot.

[alan logan]

And, didn't she mention something about there being a high % of breakage from using boiling water with them? I think this may be the reason she only carries Master Wu's Chao Zhou pots. Can anyone corroborate this?

Yes, that's how I remember it too. No fun using a pot if your always waiting for the other shoe to drop (or the other pot to crack, as it were).

And, weren't they priced way under $100? Even under $50?

yes. $39 if I remember right.
always useful to keep track of products seen here and there...

[Tead Off]

Hopefully, there is a difference between the qualities that Imen had and what Postcard is selling. They may have a studio production line that is made by workers and sold inexpensively and the ones by the master, priced much higher. I would think they would use 2 different chops to distinguish between the 2. I have 3 CZ pots and none have ever cracked from boiling water. But, I do have one Yixing that has cracked but it is so much thinner than any pot I have or have seen so far.

[greenleafblue]

david, Zhang Yanming is "guojidashi" level. seems his pots sell 1.5X the price of Wu Peiliang pots for the cheaper, pure functional pots; for more expensive artistic pots.... up to you....but some Wu family teapots also sell for $600+

I have no clue about super cheap Zhang Yanming pots.

[greenleafblue]

http://www.postcardteas.com/accessories ... uct_id=316
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=6973626793

postcard price is a lot cheaper,

[David R.]

Thanks a lot Greenlea for the precision and the links.

[Tead Off]

Thanks a lot Greenlea for the precision and the links.

http://www.grandtea.com/Zhang-Yan-Ming- ... -1836.html
http://tea-obsession.blogspot.com/2007/ ... s-dad.html

[Herb_Master]

Thanks a lot Greenlea for the precision and the links.

http://www.grandtea.com/Zhang-Yan-Ming- ... -1836.html
http://tea-obsession.blogspot.com/2007/ ... s-dad.html

Thanks for these links, it seems that both 'Lao An Shun' and 'Zhang Yan Ming' maybe brand names.

1 of 2 most famous pot making families in the Chao Zhou region is Zhang's 章氏. Zhang Yan Ming teapots can be found easily, some are collectible items. Beautiful hand made pots, but takes longer to raise. 100 sessions of tea drinking should do the trick. If 3 sessions in a day, 3 days drying after 3 days usage, which will take about 2 months of drinking and polishing to give it a luster shine and great flavor.

Lao An Shun is a brand name owned and made by the father. Rumor has it that pots he made 20 some years ago was so thin and well balance, it won't tip over placing over water with lid on, floats like a boat. I have not tried it with this pot, but tempting.

No problem with 'Lao An Shun' expect to pay big.

Zhang Yan Ming teapots on the other hand may come in a wide variety of qualities, some cheap and frequent, and others are collectible items, perhaps PCTs had special high quality ones made for the exhibition, or maybe raised the margins to help pay for the exhibition.

It is nice to know that Imen's prices were similar to Grandteas.

[bagua7]

.

[David R.]

I recently bought a Chao Zhou teapot from Postcard Teas. I have been playing a lot with it lately. So far I am really happy with my purchase. That's some great craftsmanship from “National Master of Ceramics” Zhang Yanming, very pleasant to handle. Great pour. Brings out beautifully the mineral side of teas. Works great with wuyi yan cha.

[Herb_Master]

Looks stunning, I like the shape, I am surprised given the shape of DC leaves that Imen's CZ pots don't tend to the 'flatter' shapes. They do have nice openings however.

I always fancied a 'Fang Gu' type shape for a CZ pot, this shape is even more extreme than 'Fang Gu' does it have a name?

How much does it hold?

[David R.]

It holds roughly 110ml. You are right, I chose this kind of shape because I have read that flatter teapots were better for long-shaped leaves teas, which I believe to be logic in a sense; like using a round-shape teapot for rolled oolong for them to unfurl properly.

I don't know the name of this shape, sorry. Maybe someone will be able to help.

[TaoTeaKing]

I`m thinking about buying a Chaozhou teapot at http://jingteashop.com/cat-chaozhou-teapots-by-jing.cfm
and i`m wondering how porous they are.
I recognized some different opinions on that matter here... any final thoughts about that?
I have one "Yixing-Clay" teapot and i think it is very porous, it takes out a lot of the fruity notes when paired with Dancong.
Mostly i like these (and Yixing) pots because of their aesthetics, i prefer when they do as little as porcelain... so i want them to be most not porous as possible.

Do you think with that preference i should go for a Chaozhou or a Yixing?

[kuánglóng]

I`m thinking about buying a Chaozhou teapot at http://jingteashop.com/cat-chaozhou-teapots-by-jing.cfm
and i`m wondering how porous they are.
I recognized some different opinions on that matter here... any final thoughts about that?
I have one "Yixing-Clay" teapot and i think it is very porous, it takes out a lot of the fruity notes when paired with Dancong.
Mostly i like these (and Yixing) pots because of their aesthetics, i prefer when they do as little as porcelain... so i want them to be most not porous as possible.

Do you think with that preference i should go for a Chaozhou or a Yixing?

If you want your unglazed clay pot as non-porous or non-absorbant as possible I'd primarily look for high fired clay but it's no more than a good place to start (vs. low-fired). (Compared to their low-fired, more porous and dull sounding brethren higher fired pots tend to have a brighter, glass or bell like sound when you carefully strike them with something equally dense or denser.)
As to Chaozhuo vs. Yixing these names won't tell you anything specific about the actual clay (chemical composition, particle sizes) and how it has been fired, could be pretty much anything, including not so safe clays (heavy metals).
For some more info you might want to google 'clay firing temperature porosity' or 'clay sintering temperature' for some extra fun.