These entry level Yixing pots look good to me!

[wei301]

Yes, I have seen them. I read it's "half-handmade"... so a bit unsure...
And is it true? : "The clay used then by factory 5 was much better than most contemporary offerings and brews very nice tea."

Half-hand made is not an issue at all, it just means that molds were used in support of forming the body and it was hand finished. It's an old technique used in making Yixing pots.

Do you think this eBay seller's teapots are 100% hand-made or half-handmade?

[steanze]

They are half-handmade. They are too cheap to be fully handmade, and also too many of these pots are being produced to be handmade. I did a bit of research on Taobao, and for each model sellers have hundreds of these pots in stock. For example, this particular seller sold 550 of these: https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?spm=a ... abbucket=5 and has another 1000 in stock.
I think that several craftsmen are making pots that are then sold under a same name. Otherwise Li Xiaolu should have made over 1000 of that pot just for one Taobao seller, and many thousands of other pots too...

Here are links to taobao searches for some of the artisans on the ebay store:
Li Xiaolu:
https://s.taobao.com/search?q=%E6%9D%8E ... 19&ie=utf8
Zhou Yu:
https://s.taobao.com/search?q=%E5%91%A8 ... =1%2C3&s=0

the clays look reasonable and the markup on the ebay store is not a ripoff in my opinion considering the greater hassle of ordering from taobao from the US/Europe. I agree with tingjunkie that these pots look pretty ok and will make fine tea. I would not buy these thinking that this is very limited clay which is running out however (many thousands - probably tens of thousands are available on the market), nor that they are fully handmade pots

[BW85]

Essence of tea has some 90's factory 5 pots for ~$70-$80

Yes, I have seen them. I read it's "half-handmade"... so a bit unsure...
And is it true? : "The clay used then by factory 5 was much better than most contemporary offerings and brews very nice tea."

The vast majority of older factory pots are half hand made, which mean they used a mold.

Factory 5 used very decent clay in the 90's

I have a few factory 5 pots from the 90's, they are very well made. They are actually made with better craftsmanship than the factory 1 pots i own from the same era. They clay is nice too, patinas fast and brews well

[wei301]

They are half-handmade. They are too cheap to be fully handmade, and also too many of these pots are being produced to be handmade. I did a bit of research on Taobao, and for each model sellers have hundreds of these pots in stock. For example, this particular seller sold 550 of these: https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?spm=a ... abbucket=5 and has another 1000 in stock.
I think that several craftsmen are making pots that are then sold under a same name. Otherwise Li Xiaolu should have made over 1000 of that pot just for one Taobao seller, and many thousands of other pots too...

Here are links to taobao searches for some of the artisans on the ebay store:
Li Xiaolu:
https://s.taobao.com/search?q=%E6%9D%8E ... 19&ie=utf8
Zhou Yu:
https://s.taobao.com/search?q=%E5%91%A8 ... =1%2C3&s=0

the clays look reasonable and the markup on the ebay store is not a ripoff in my opinion considering the greater hassle of ordering from taobao from the US/Europe. I agree with tingjunkie that these pots look pretty ok and will make fine tea. I would not buy these thinking that this is very limited clay which is running out however (many thousands - probably tens of thousands are available on the market), nor that they are fully handmade pots

Thank you! I do see a very faint vertical line under the spout of a couple of his pots. I'm still quite happy with them! ^^

[wei301]

Essence of tea has some 90's factory 5 pots for ~$70-$80

Yes, I have seen them. I read it's "half-handmade"... so a bit unsure...
And is it true? : "The clay used then by factory 5 was much better than most contemporary offerings and brews very nice tea."

The vast majority of older factory pots are half hand made, which mean they used a mold.

Factory 5 used very decent clay in the 90's

I have a few factory 5 pots from the 90's, they are very well made. They are actually made with better craftsmanship than the factory 1 pots i own from the same era. They clay is nice too, patinas fast and brews well

Thank you! I'm quite happy with the eBay seller's pots even though they are half-handmade. I will try the Factory 5 and compare! Thank you all for the information. I've learnt a lot!

[steanze]

Thank you! I do see a very faint vertical line under the spout of a couple of his pots. I'm still quite happy with them! ^^

You should be happy with them the clay looks reasonable and half handmade is not a big drawback IMO - I have several half-handmade pots with very nice clay that brew great tea.

[stevorama]

Hmmm...I think the ball filter is what is interfering with raw pu, your pot obviously doesn't like the aggressivity of young sheng because of the filter acting like a barrier for the quick energy flow of this particular tea. Cooked pu is a lot more forgiving.

Interesting idea for sure. Yang qi wants to flow!

I was thinking it was a rounding effect of the clay.

I'm gonna test it more.

[stevorama]

I will add that the pot has a ball filter. Something that wasn't listed and not preferred by me. However minimal issues thus far. Very little tea retained after pouring. Slower to dry for sure though.

I don't like ball filters either... The seller does show the ball filter in the 11th photo, not in the description though...

Yeah, I overlooked it in the photo. I do notice that the newer descriptions are very clear about mentioning the ball filter.

[jayinhk]

Got my duanni pot yesterday--darker than the seller's pics for sure. Quite high fired and thin walled too! 7-hole filter. Handle/spout aren't in line though, but still good for a lefty.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCAzI_SyCu9/

Tested with two green teas--brings the taste out and really brought forth the aroma. Not what I expected at all! I think I'll stick to thick walled zini for shu. I may try this pot with gaoshan too.

[wei301]

Got my duanni pot yesterday--darker than the seller's pics for sure. Quite high fired and thin walled too! 7-hole filter. Handle/spout aren't in line though, but still good for a lefty.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCAzI_SyCu9/

Tested with two green teas--brings the taste out and really brought forth the aroma. Not what I expected at all! I think I'll stick to thick walled zini for shu. I may try this pot with gaoshan too.

Thank you for the info.
Is it clearly visible that handle/spout aren't in line?

[jayinhk]

Yes, clear from on top, but I love the performance of the pot!

[pedant]

just grabbed a couple myself..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/222024634117
http://www.ebay.com/itm/222015888889

a zhuni and a jiangponi

[stevorama]

I just received a second pot from this vendor. This one is a bit rough on the inside. There is a patch on the inside covered with sand with a lighter clay underneath. Firing issue I assume? Anyone familiar with this?

[bagua7]

That's not good. Contact him for a refund/exchange. That vendor is very helpful, I also has an issue with a cracked pot (probably damaged during delivery) and he quickly offered me both options. I chose a replacement and happy since.

[jayinhk]

Hmmmm that makes me wonder if these pots are coated with better clay, with cheaper clay underneath, and fine sand applied under the top coating to provide texture...