Yixing F1 Catalogue prior to '82

[victoria3]

Kyarazen. Looking through this publication that you posted I think I see the Chinese kyusu which I purchased at a Japanese auction. It is big, 500cc and heavier than my other vessels at 16.8oz. I have been airing it for 3 years now, after seasoning it several times to get the musty clay smell taste out. I think this vessel, along with the red Chinese Hohin, had been stored in a very damp place for years never having been used. It is now finally ready to be used, no more musty smell or clay taste. Not sure what tea to try out in it though.
Do you know if the 'flower diagram' was also placed on the handles of the purple clay pots in the catalogue?

[kyarazen]

Kyarazen. Looking through this publication that you posted I think I see the Chinese kyusu which I purchased at a Japanese auction. It is big, 500cc and heavier than my other vessels at 16.8oz. I have been airing it for 3 years now, after seasoning it several times to get the musty clay smell taste out. I think this vessel, along with the red Chinese Hohin, had been stored in a very damp place for years never having been used. It is now finally ready to be used, no more musty smell or clay taste. Not sure what tea to try out in it though.
Do you know if the 'flower diagram' was also placed on the handles of the purple clay pots in the catalogue?

nice specimen mdm! 70-80s exported to japan
note the feature.. the filter is red clay.. the pot is purple clay..

and yes, butterfly, flower diagrams etc have been stamped on the handles of such pots.

their original intention was to allow the japanese to brew sencha in it.. it gives it a different flavour/aromatic profile as compared to japanese ceramics

[victoria3]

Kyarazen. Looking through this publication that you posted I think I see the Chinese kyusu which I purchased at a Japanese auction. It is big, 500cc and heavier than my other vessels at 16.8oz. I have been airing it for 3 years now, after seasoning it several times to get the musty clay smell taste out. I think this vessel, along with the red Chinese Hohin, had been stored in a very damp place for years never having been used. It is now finally ready to be used, no more musty smell or clay taste. Not sure what tea to try out in it though.
Do you know if the 'flower diagram' was also placed on the handles of the purple clay pots in the catalogue?

nice specimen mdm! 70-80s exported to japan
note the feature.. the filter is red clay.. the pot is purple clay..

and yes, butterfly, flower diagrams etc have been stamped on the handles of such pots.

their original intention was to allow the japanese to brew sencha in it.. it gives it a different flavour/aromatic profile as compared to japanese ceramics

Cool, for a long time I thought the flower kyusu and the Chinese hohin were just stinky pots, but now I'm enjoying using the hohin for my early morning oolong, it smooths out the rough edges. I noticed in your catalogue a hohin- but it's difficult to see. Is it anything like the red one I posted? I have wondered for a long time about the circumstances and history of Chinese pots made for Japanese clients. These have thick walls.

Maybe I'll try sencha in the kyusu, although it is so big, plus the walls are thick so they will retain lots of heat. Maybe kukicha....or....a roasted sencha or... oolong...
Wonder why the filter is red clay, possibly easier to work with

[raoula]

Great to have the possibility to look at the catalogue, thanks for sharing, Kyarazen!
I found a teapot on a fleamarket in France that has the same form and size as the Number 2046 in the catalogue. But it has no seal on the base, only a little stamp in the lid. Filled to the top the size is exactly 500 ml.
What does the carved writing on this teapot mean?

[jayinhk]

Nice score! Maker's name. Sweet pot!

[raoula]

Thanks, Jayinhk!
It is a little large, but I discovered it works quite well for my darjeeling.
I wonder why most of the teapots in the catalogue are so large? Were most of them produced for abroad and not for gongfu cha?

[jayinhk]

Thanks, Jayinhk!
It is a little large, but I discovered it works quite well for my darjeeling.
I wonder why most of the teapots in the catalogue are so large? Were most of them produced for abroad and not for gongfu cha?

Many Chinese people brew in big pots every day--it is very common. That kind of pot is great for big pot drinking. I like shu pu erh in my big Yixing pots I need a larger hongni or duanni for green tea!

[raoula]

Thanks, Jayinhk!
It is a little large, but I discovered it works quite well for my darjeeling.
I wonder why most of the teapots in the catalogue are so large? Were most of them produced for abroad and not for gongfu cha?

Many Chinese people brew in big pots every day--it is very common. That kind of pot is great for big pot drinking. I like shu pu erh in my big Yixing pots I need a larger hongni or duanni for green tea!

You like yixing for green tea? I have never tried it, maybe I should with a high fired duanni pot I have. But from what I read, general opinion seems to be yixing clays not beeing the best for green teas and deminishing the taste?

[jayinhk]

Thanks, Jayinhk!
It is a little large, but I discovered it works quite well for my darjeeling.
I wonder why most of the teapots in the catalogue are so large? Were most of them produced for abroad and not for gongfu cha?

Many Chinese people brew in big pots every day--it is very common. That kind of pot is great for big pot drinking. I like shu pu erh in my big Yixing pots I need a larger hongni or duanni for green tea!

You like yixing for green tea? I have never tried it, maybe I should with a high fired duanni pot I have. But from what I read, general opinion seems to be yixing clays not beeing the best for green teas and deminishing the taste?

Yixing potters drink green tea, and sometimes red tea, from what I've read. That's what they drink out in Jiangsu! Yixings are great with any tea, as long as you select the right pot!

Try your green tea in porcelain and then in the duanni pot and see which you prefer.

[victoria3]

My concern with most Japanese green teas for my kyusu pot #3084 are the thick walls that will retain a lot of heat, heat that most of these greens do not perform well with. I'm already using the tick walled houhin for oolongs (perfect although fingers get hot), so would like to give the kyusu a change with a Japanese tea which it was designed for. I'm still scratching my head, wondering what Japanese tea to feed it

P.S. I have also wondered if these Japanese style pots were successfully sold to Japanese market and over how many years? They were both acquired at a Japanese auction here in Los Angeles, an auction for Japanese community, so I can assume these pots made it to Japan and were not just a novelty for Chinese market.

[raoula]

My concern with most Japanese green teas for my kyusu pot #3084 are the thick walls that will retain a lot of heat, heat that most of these greens do not perform well with. I'm already using the tick walled houhin for oolongs (perfect although fingers get hot), so would like to give the kyusu a change with a Japanese tea which it was designed for. I'm still scratching my head, wondering what Japanese tea to feed it

P.S. I have also wondered if these Japanese style pots were successfully sold to Japanese market and over how many years? They were both acquired at a Japanese auction here in Los Angeles, an auction for Japanese community, so I can assume these pots made it to Japan and were not just a novelty for Chinese market.

You could start with seasoning it with Bancha.When it is seasoned you could try if it also works with sencha or whatever green tea you like. It propably needs strong seasoning so the clay of the pot does not inhale too much flavour from the first teas.
I imagine if the temperature of the water is right and you don't heat the teapot beforehand, the thick walls will lower the temperature of the water.

[raoula]

Try your green tea in porcelain and then in the duanni pot and see which you prefer.

I will try within the next days