What Tom said. Yes, you can gently scrub the outside of your pot wth the afore-mentioned baking powder paste and soft toothbrush to rid it of unwanted tea oil deposits that may adversely affect tea infusion aroma and taste.
How well you are able to remove the residue depends on pot use history, type of tea used (residual odor/taste strength), and tea oil penetration depth.
I would try soaking/cleaning the inside first, then soak/rinsing thoroughly and air drying carefully for several days. Try making tea you are familiar with, testing for taste and aroma, before resorting to removing the vessel exterior patina, as it will slightly-to-moderately affect wall heat retention. Teapot patina is considered desirable, by the way. Unless it adversely affects infusion odor, I wouldn't worry about removing it.
You may have to use a couple of soak/wash/rinse cycles to remove offending tea residues from the inside of your vessel.
Edit: Cool pot, TV! Now I am off to look for other examples of yixing bat teapots.
A matching teacup would be awesome. :-)
Hey,
I'm not sure how I would feel about using a "used" yixing teapot. Looks like shoe polish to me, but could be wrong. Even if it is a legitimate pot, it would add strange flavors to your tea (because of the absorbent nature of yixing clay). If you know what kind of tea was used in it, then great. Otherwise, might want to start with a fresh one. Even if you clean the pot, boil the pot etc... might still taste funny.
Just a suggestion. Could be a good decorative piece if it doesn't make a good cup of tea though.
I'm not sure how I would feel about using a "used" yixing teapot. Looks like shoe polish to me, but could be wrong. Even if it is a legitimate pot, it would add strange flavors to your tea (because of the absorbent nature of yixing clay). If you know what kind of tea was used in it, then great. Otherwise, might want to start with a fresh one. Even if you clean the pot, boil the pot etc... might still taste funny.
Just a suggestion. Could be a good decorative piece if it doesn't make a good cup of tea though.
Everything I've heard, as well as my own limited experience, seems to indicate that it takes an extremely long time for a pot to absorb flavor to the point where it's likely to interfere with a different type of tea. And even then, I think most people would agree that a good cleaning should reset the pot sufficiently to use it for a new type of tea.beachape wrote: I'm not sure how I would feel about using a "used" yixing teapot. Looks like shoe polish to me, but could be wrong. Even if it is a legitimate pot, it would add strange flavors to your tea (because of the absorbent nature of yixing clay). If you know what kind of tea was used in it, then great. Otherwise, might want to start with a fresh one. Even if you clean the pot, boil the pot etc... might still taste funny.
If people avoided used Yixing, no one would ever be able to use their old Yixing unless it had never been used or was a family heirloom. If anything, I'd say that used Yixing are more sought out than new ones (hence pots being distressed with shoe polish, soy sauce, etc.).
Excuse my ignorance, but what is the motivation for buying a used, or antique used, etc. yixing pot? I thought it was to increase collection value, rather than to improve taste/use of the pot. A pot that has been used to the point of obvious staining would likely meet the "extreme" amount of time required to impart flavor to the brew. Otherwise there would be no use to resetting the pot.
I would imagine that flavor would negatively impact your future brews, unless of course you could match it with other teas. That is assuming that the flavors are from tea and not dirt and cigarette butts that may have accompanied the pot during the aging process.
Also, after "resetting" the teapot do you have a clean slate? I would imagine that there would still be some lingering flavors. But I've never tried it.
Seems to me that a fresh pot would be better for making tea. I also wouldn't want to buy used underwear, but maybe that's just me.
I would imagine that flavor would negatively impact your future brews, unless of course you could match it with other teas. That is assuming that the flavors are from tea and not dirt and cigarette butts that may have accompanied the pot during the aging process.
Also, after "resetting" the teapot do you have a clean slate? I would imagine that there would still be some lingering flavors. But I've never tried it.
Seems to me that a fresh pot would be better for making tea. I also wouldn't want to buy used underwear, but maybe that's just me.
beachape, the desirability of older yixing pots is the clay that was used. Before the advent of globalism and the desire to mass market, clay was more pure and processed in special ways that were secret and held by the specific workshop or artist. Purity of clay is a big issue nowadays and is not an easy hurdle to jump over. Because this point cannot be made or proven save for side by side tasting, it is important for tea drinkers to conduct their own experiments to either prove or disprove this point. For me, there is no question that clay affects the tea.
Bringing this point back to an older teapot that was used for a specific kind of tea that the new owner wants to use for another type of tea, the clay is still going affect the tea more so than the new pot made of inferior clay. And, over time, with the semi-cleaning and use of another tea, it will do the job we want it to. This is my experience.
Bringing this point back to an older teapot that was used for a specific kind of tea that the new owner wants to use for another type of tea, the clay is still going affect the tea more so than the new pot made of inferior clay. And, over time, with the semi-cleaning and use of another tea, it will do the job we want it to. This is my experience.
Tead Off- That certainly makes sense.
How do you feel about new pots made of old clay? I've seen many pots advertised with 90's clay. Or what about antique pots that have not been used? I realize that these pots are likely not as "antique" as a pot that has been used for generations, but perhaps the clay quality is good.
The whole yixing market is confusing for me. New pots could be made with inferior clay, or even contaminated clay, while "antique" pots could easily be replicas. However, I don't think I'd ever buy a used yixing. Thanks for the info though.
How do you feel about new pots made of old clay? I've seen many pots advertised with 90's clay. Or what about antique pots that have not been used? I realize that these pots are likely not as "antique" as a pot that has been used for generations, but perhaps the clay quality is good.
The whole yixing market is confusing for me. New pots could be made with inferior clay, or even contaminated clay, while "antique" pots could easily be replicas. However, I don't think I'd ever buy a used yixing. Thanks for the info though.
Jun 12th, '09, 02:05
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It's been said that the only way to get to know this field is to handle many pots. If you don't live in Asia, and, if you are not in close proximity to a reputable and knowledgeable tea seller, it will be even harder to understand all of this. It would seem the only alternative is to find a seller with whom you feel comfortable and go from there. Once you have a high quality pot in your hands, you can begin to understand a little about the clay and how it affects the tea. The problem then becomes identifying the inferior from the superior. This is not an easy topic and I don't consider myself an expert. I can usually recognize inferior clay but the good copies using mixed clay with oxides pose the biggest hurdle.beachape wrote:Tead Off- That certainly makes sense.
How do you feel about new pots made of old clay? I've seen many pots advertised with 90's clay. Or what about antique pots that have not been used? I realize that these pots are likely not as "antique" as a pot that has been used for generations, but perhaps the clay quality is good.
The whole yixing market is confusing for me. New pots could be made with inferior clay, or even contaminated clay, while "antique" pots could easily be replicas. However, I don't think I'd ever buy a used yixing. Thanks for the info though.
You've got to be a gambler.
I would just boil it with tea leaves I wanna drink after taking care with toothbrushbeachape wrote:I'm not sure how I would feel about using a "used" yixing teapot. Looks like shoe polish to me, but could be wrong. Even if it is a legitimate pot, it would add strange flavors to your tea (because of the absorbent nature of yixing clay). If you know what kind of tea was used in it, then great. Otherwise, might want to start with a fresh one. Even if you clean the pot, boil the pot etc... might still taste funny
It's true lots of potters still own clay or ore that was mined decades ago. The Chinese call it Chen Fu (strong), clay that undergone proper Chen Fu period usually turns glossier than new clay, if it's Zhuni that undergone Chen Fu, it raises the percentage of success in a kiln (1 out 2 bursts in a kiln), grows patina quicker.beachape wrote:How do you feel about new pots made of old clay? I've seen many pots advertised with 90's clay. Or what about antique pots that have not been used? I realize that these pots are likely not as "antique" as a pot that has been used for generations, but perhaps the clay quality is good.
So at this point, these 90's or factory no.1 clays have to be better in quality than actual factory no.1(though they as well undergone Chen Fu) or antique pots.
But these clays are harder to witness out of China, the reason is Yixing market is switching from overseas market to mainland market. So in a place like Taiwan, 7~80's pots are rather easier to witness than new pots made of 7~80's clays. Serious approach unto Yixing clay just started after 90's, that was when Yixing heat was cooled in Taiwan, Taiwan Yixing market collapsed in 90's so some pre-ordered pots are roaming around in Yixing cheap. So while the Taiwanese grasp the chance of earning good 70's Zhaozhuang Zhuni pot, they also lack information of clay study that had started in 90's or new clay or none-Zhuni clays.
All I want to say is to oppose a myth 'only antique pots are good in quality'.
Well, I finally got it in the mail. It was in pretty gnarley condition with some leaves still crusted to the inside. I took Tom's advice and went at it with a toothbrush and some baking soda. I also boiled it twice just to make sure I wouldn't die from some microbe - or worse, become a zombie. Anyway, here's a few pics, before and after. I also took a couple shots of the maker's mark on the bottom in the hope that someone might recognize it, or possibly direct me to some online resource to look for myself.
I know it may be (most likely is) a knock off, I don't need to feel like any more of a fool, but it was a learning experience, and I had fun cleaning it. I'm just not sure if I should use it...
BEFORE -
THE TOOLS -
AFTER -
THE MAKER'S MARK
I know it may be (most likely is) a knock off, I don't need to feel like any more of a fool, but it was a learning experience, and I had fun cleaning it. I'm just not sure if I should use it...
BEFORE -
THE TOOLS -
AFTER -
THE MAKER'S MARK
