Official/Different Yixing Show Off Topic!

[Zared]

My F1 green label hongni shuiping has been gaining patina already
It brews great shen.

Before
https://www.flickr.com/photos/160339509 ... 997106694/

After
https://www.flickr.com/photos/160339509 ... 997101474/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/160339509 ... 997099384/

That patina is coming on quickly. I assume you've been using It every day? It took me a few months of using my late 80's hong ni SP 10-15/wk to get a similar look. I'm on a mission right now to do the same for my newest pots.

[Aya]

My F1 green label hongni shuiping has been gaining patina already
It brews great shen.

Before
https://www.flickr.com/photos/160339509 ... 997106694/

After
https://www.flickr.com/photos/160339509 ... 997101474/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/160339509 ... 997099384/

That patina is coming on quickly. I assume you've been using It every day? It took me a few months of using my late 80's hong ni SP 10-15/wk to get a similar look. I'm on a mission right now to do the same for my newest pots.

Actually I use it once every other day, or 2 days out of 3 days or so.
I'm quite surprised too to see it gaining patina after a couple of months!
I assume it is because this pot is very porous, and I brew shen (10-15 years old).

I just received 2 unused green label hongni shuiping, so I will compare how they grow when I brew lighter oxidized tea.

[CheekyChipmunk]

Hi Chatters,

The good 'ole Yixing thread has been silent a while so I thought I'd add a recent acquisition. I was on holiday in China recently and I made a point of going to Yixing to see what I could find. I only had a few hours there but for those who don't know, it is hard to imagine the scale of the place. Of course I am aware of the factories and that millions of teapots have come out of Yixing, but going there makes you realise how many are in the trade. Aside from the main shopping mall/'museum', literally the whole town is lined with store after store of Yixing pots. The other thing I would like to remark upon is that it the bulk do not appear to be cheap, mass produced low quality ten-of-the-same style shops (though there are plenty of these), but a good deal of stores that have more interesting, higher end pots amongst the more generic fodder. I ended up picking up 4, all from the same store (who are at least 3rd generation makers), of mixed quality. When I say quality, I refer to the maker/clay combo, as the shop owner was very upfront about who made the pots. The top, well known maker's pots were well out of my price range (US 10,000+) but I got what I believe to be decent pots made by the shop keeper (the mother of the famous maker) and a couple made by their apprentice. The main reason I chose this store was because as far as what I could gather from the stores I managed to see, the clay seemed to be the best in that price range. I was not interested in traditional Zini per se, but more exotic clays as you will see from this pot:

- Clay type: A type of Lu Ni. I am fairly certain those on this forum who are in the know would say this is a chemically doped clay, but I found both the richness of the olive green and the firing quality the best of similar clays I saw in the little time I had to check out different stores in Yixing. It's hard to tell from the use of flash in the photos, but the clay of this pot has a natural sheen that most pots I've come across do not have.
- Size of pot: Around 120ml (haven't measured)
- What year/decade the pot was made: Modern, as in could be as recent as 2017 (in fact I believe it is 2017 as looking at the photos I finally figured out that the carving depicts roosters)
- How long is the pour? This pot has the strongest pour of any I own (probably due to the elongated spout). With water the pour is >10sec
- Where you acquired the pot: Yixing
- What type of tea you make with it: I haven't tried it yet, I drink mainly sheng pu and I'm happy with my current pots around this size. I got it mainly for it's aesthetics and am not really sure how lu ni tends to affect teas. That said I might throw some heavier roasted oolongs at it and see what happens

UPDATE: After using this pot I have some more accurate info. The capacity is 150ml and the pour time is 8 sec

[Zared]

It could just be the way it photographed but clay color/texture looks uneven around interior walls. Is this pot partially coated with semi-opaque green clay?

[CheekyChipmunk]

It could just be the way it photographed but clay color/texture looks uneven around interior walls. Is this pot partially coated with semi-opaque green clay?

Hi Zared,

To my knowledge it is not coated with a green clay. I have a 'coated' pot which I put on this thread a little while back and the one above definitely has a different appearance. In terms of the unevenness you refer to, do you mean the yellowish prevalence around the lip opening? As far as I know this is due to sandblasting, a common practice to ensure a smooth fitting lid. I believe the lip is made on the verge of too small and sanded back so that the lid and pot meet very tightly. Again I could be completely wrong, but to my understanding, Lu Ni has quite a sandy base texture. As such, the clay always has specks of yellow/red through it which forms the base of the coloured clay. Have a look at the start of the thread which one of the more knowledgeable posters authored (I'm not suggesting mine is made from ROC era clay like the similarly coloured one he/she posts a picture of):

viewtopic.php?t=10685&start=15

The yellowish sand particles which are easier to see in the lip can be seen evenly over the exterior and interior of the pot. The inside of the pot is out of focus but I have put another photo for you to see. There is a stamp on the inside which might also be the unevenness you refer to?

[MadameHeather]

I have a very similarly painted tea pot - different shape and different chop on the bottom... once I've been approved (Just joined today) I'll try to post a picture.

[friso]

Hi, I thought I would "show off" some of my acquisitions. Starting with a pot I got last year in Hong Kong :

- Clay type. I guess some sort of hongni mixed with sand, even though the lady sold it as zhuni. High fired.
- Size of pot. 90ml.
- What year/decade the pot was made. Modern?
- If the pot is thin-walled, medium, or thick-walled. Medium walls.
- How long is the pour? Relatively quick ; about 5 seconds.
- Where you acquired the pot. Bonham Strand, HK.
- What type of tea you make with it. I currently make all sorts of oolongs, mainly roasted and aged. Still playing with it. In fact, I use it whenever I don't want to "round" the tea too much, It really highlights the roast.

I'd be happy to have the opinions of more experienced yixing collectors / tea drinkers. What kind of clay do you think it is? Suggested pairing? Please be rude!

[tingjunkie]

Since I just added a new family member (thanks Maxwell!), I figured it would be a good time to show off my Jing Teashop Xiao Pin collection.

Back when I started drinking real tea and collecting pots around 2008, Jing was probably the top Western-facing Yixing vendor around (if you don't count the NYC tea mafia members!). I'll always have a soft spot for their teapots, and with good reason. All have had excellent clay and craftsmanship, and perform quite well. In particular, I love their pin zi ni pots. The clay holds on to aromas and sweetens the brew so well.

If anyone is looking to get rid of their small Jing pots, do drop me a PM and let me know!

My current family includes 4 pin zi ni pots, 1 zhu ni, and 1 hong ni. 130ml-60ml.

[Zared]

Since I just added a new family member (thanks Maxwell!), I figured it would be a good time to show off my Jing Teashop Xiao Pin collection.

Back when I started drinking real tea and collecting pots around 2008, Jing was probably the top Western-facing Yixing vendor around (if you don't count the NYC tea mafia members!). I'll always have a soft spot for their teapots, and with good reason. All have had excellent clay and craftsmanship, and perform quite well. In particular, I love their pin zi ni pots. The clay holds on to aromas and sweetens the brew so well.

If anyone is looking to get rid of their small Jing pots, do drop me a PM and let me know!

My current family includes 4 pin zi ni pots, 1 zhu ni, and 1 hong ni. 130ml-60ml.

How's the xishi working out for you? Repair looks nicely done.

[tingjunkie]

How's the xishi working out for you? Repair looks nicely done.

Hey Zared! It's working out great. It's not really dedicated to a particular tea, but acting as a utility pot when the size and clay dictate. The gintsugi repair came out awesome!

[Maxwell2079]

Since I just added a new family member (thanks Maxwell!), I figured it would be a good time to show off my Jing Teashop Xiao Pin collection.

Back when I started drinking real tea and collecting pots around 2008, Jing was probably the top Western-facing Yixing vendor around (if you don't count the NYC tea mafia members!). I'll always have a soft spot for their teapots, and with good reason. All have had excellent clay and craftsmanship, and perform quite well. In particular, I love their pin zi ni pots. The clay holds on to aromas and sweetens the brew so well.

If anyone is looking to get rid of their small Jing pots, do drop me a PM and let me know!

My current family includes 4 pin zi ni pots, 1 zhu ni, and 1 hong ni. 130ml-60ml.

Looks happy with its new family. Glad you have it, you are a good father

[teapotluck]

I'm a newbie, but as my User ID implies, I have good luck finding tea pots at antique stores for very little $$. I had a lot of luck in New England this past weekend. I don't know how to answer any of the other questions about low fired, what tea I will use, etc. All information anyone can add is greatly appreciated. I do know that the rectangle teapot is Tibetan. I think the blue Yixing pot with overlay is also Tibetan.

yixing and one porcelain

[Zared]

I'm a newbie, but as my User ID implies, I have good luck finding tea pots at antique stores for very little $$. I had a lot of luck in New England this past weekend. I don't know how to answer any of the other questions about low fired, what tea I will use, etc. All information anyone can add is greatly appreciated. I do know that the rectangle teapot is Tibetan. I think the blue Yixing pot with overlay is also Tibetan.2018-teapots-2.jpg

I'd recommend not using those pots. The metal one is meant for decorative purposes only and likely made unsafe materials. The clay ones look like slip cast chemical pots to me. The porcelain pot is likely fine for tea.

[OCTO]

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[OCTO]

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