Best Yixing Teapot Sellers?

[tenuki]

Do all of you use 1 pot for each flavor of tea? Or just one pot for each type of tea? Or maybe not bothered by which tea you use in your Yixing at all?

I don't buy that 'dedicate a pot' theory. I do however believe each pot has certain characteristics that make it good for a particular tea, so one of my pots tends to get used a lot for yancha, a couple others for green oolongs, one for baozhongs and a couple others for shen, one for shu, etc.

But the key is knowing your pots and selecting the right one for what you want to do to the tea. I have no problem using a particular pot for any kind of tea, it's just that certain pots tend to be used more for one kind of tea.

I would be happy with just one pot too, the differences are very slight and it's not like you can't just use a gaiwan and manipulate the tea via leaf amount, water temp, and brew time. Still, YiXings tend to pull certain special flavors out or mute certain unpleasant flavors that may be hard to do with a gaiwan, so I have a few.

See some more thoughts here...

[britt]

Although the integrity of Hou De is impeccable, I stopped purchasing Yixings from them. Out of at least a dozen Yixing purchases, I'm not currently using any of them. Tea just doesn't taste very good when brewed in my Hou De pots, and Guang wasn't very helpful when I e-mailed him about this. He usually doesn't recommend a tea to go with his Yixings and I think he should on each one he posts. The tea seed powder didn't do much the one time I tried it.

After Hou De I purchased five Yixings from Jing Tea Shop in mainland China, something I have always avoided. For some reason I felt I could trust Jing so I placed my first order and was very pleased with the results. I've continued purchasing Yixings from them, as well as cups. They recommend a tea pairing, and although some don't seem to make sense, the recommended tea worked very well in all five Yixings. Although they're mostly older (not antique) pots, they don't seem to be seasoned and I have found no weird aftertaste like I have with Hou De's Yixings. Jing is somewhat irratic in posting Yixings; sometimes there are two pages and sometimes only two pots listed. I know they are constantly looking for more, but even in China this doesn't apppear to be an easy task. I highly recommend Jing Tea Shop for their Yixings and Jing De Zhen porcelain.

I also purchased two older, unseasoned Yixings from Shan Shui Teas. They're selection is small but very high quality (look under Collector's Yixings). They don't usually recommend a tea pairing, but Brian was very helpful with this when asked. He gave valuable advice that worked. The same positive comments I made about Jing apply to Shan Shui.

I currently use all five Yixings I purchased from Jing and both of the ones I purchased from Shan Shui. I have no complaints with the products or service of either vendor.

[tjkoko_off]

Greetings and would this 100ml YiXing teapot for $33 from Yunnan Sourcing at ebay be suitable for learning oolongs like TKY:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Yixing-100ml-Teapot ... 240%3A1318

This looks like a company I may go with for my 'real' learning experience.

[betta]

Greetings and would this 100ml YiXing teapot for $33 from Yunnan Sourcing at ebay be suitable for learning oolongs like TKY:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Yixing-100ml-Teapot ... 240%3A1318

This looks like a company I may go with for my 'real' learning experience.

Seems to be the same pot as this one.

[tjkoko_off]

What about this one:

http://www.jingteashop.com/pd-yixing-te ... dinghu.cfm

[ABx]

Personally I think a better tool for the beginner is a gaiwan - actually three. One thin porcelain eggshell gaiwan, one thicker gaiwan, and one yixing gaiwan (glazed inside). These are all very versatile, will help you get used to brewing gongfu style, and will let you see the differences between the thicknesses for different teas. Some will come out better with the thicker ones, and others will come out better with the thinner ones. This way once you get used to using them you will have a better idea of the types of teas you would want to dedicate to a yixing pot and you'll already have a much better idea of how to brew with them They will also continue to serve you well for as long as you have them, and will do so for any and all types of tea. Dragon Tea House would be a good place to get the gaiwans because they have them for cheap.

Of course you can keep looking at and researching yixing teapots. If you see something that a vendor only has one of and is really nice then you can grab it for later before someone else does. But then just stick with using the gaiwans until you're very comfortable using them and sipping small amounts of tea.

I would actually stay away from 5000friends; most of his teapots seem to be rubbed down with shoe polish to make them look old (hint: if they're less than several hundred dollars, they're probably brand new). Some people clean them off, but shoe polish contains oils meant to protect the shoe leather and give it extra shine, and I don't think that oil would be easy to get out of the pores (though I'm sure you'd get some in your tea).

[tjkoko_off]

ABx is the Dragon Tea House you mention the one listed at ebay?

[Salsero]

ABx: is the Dragon Tea House you mention the one listed at ebay?

Yes. The proprietor is Gordon

[tjkoko_off]

And how am I going to determine the thickness of the Gaiwans: thin porcelain eggshell gaiwan versus one thicker gaiwan?

[betta]

What about this one:

http://www.jingteashop.com/pd-yixing-te ... dinghu.cfm

Or if you still prefer new yixingpot, I would recommend another way. There're couple of experienced members here who are willing to help with the pot purchase directly in china. As far as I know, one member here is helping other member to look for particular old pot directly in china. You should take into account the shipping rate from there and also reward for their kindness to help, however I wouldn't mind too much if the pots are good. Because sometimes buying a bad pot is as horrible as spending money on nothing.

[tjkoko_off]

Betta:

ABx in an earlier post mentiones going with a Gaiwan to begin my gongfu journey. Truly I am intrigued by the poster's recommendation. I will now start a new thread concerning gaiwans and will leave to rest the YiXing teapots since there seems to be too many of questionable quality out there. And at this stage of my experience I'm not ready to request assistance in the selection of a finer YiXing teapot costing $$'s. Your comments are well taken, however.

[Woots]

After many of the posts here and experts sending me private messages. Its not hard to read between the lines.

I have to conclude that when you buy online you are taking a chance at buying a low quality pot. Likely slip cast or partial slip cast. Now that I can spot slip cast yixings on websites I laugh at the extreme costs of these things. When you go to the garden store and see fancy slip cast clay pots they are a fraction of the cost. China is booming with success these days and the chinese demand for yixing is booming as well. This brought on the need for mass production and also the high costs to take advantage of the situation.

Also, the antique yixing market online (which at 1st seemed like the smart way to go) may likely be fake and possibly poisonous if aged in an unsafe way. Even if aged safely anyone who fakes antiques would not deserve my business. Its very hard to tell what antiques are legitimate or not within personally knowing the vendor and how they go about acquiring their stock.

Various users have recommended I buy in person so that I can inspect the pots 1st hand or from people I can trust who know how to differentiate quality from mass production.

Having said that....I think that a slip cast (or partial slip cast) yixing will do the job. It certainly will be an intro into the world of yixing. I even thing you would get a majority of the same benefits out a slip cast pot as a real pot. Its most likely the difference between driving a 30,000 dollar car vs a 100,000 dollar car. You pay for quality and you get refinements if you are willing. The trick is with Yixing finding quality is not that easy as it is with the automotive market.

If you are truly looking for real high quality hand crafted yixing its better to know what your getting into 1st hand. The quality of the clay will also have a positive effect on how your infusions will taste. I do agree this is sound advice after a lot of reading and recommendations. I think its best to get to know the community here and around the net. Find experts who excel at tea culture and get to know them.

I still encourage people to post opinions and or facts as its clear this thread is immensely helpful to the population here interested in yixing.

Thanks goes to all for contributing.

[t4texas]

You really don't have to settle for slip cast. As Charles has said, you can get a half hand made pot for $12-15 and up. I am sure you can get a fake pot or a mis-represented pot and pay too much, but it doesn't have to be so difficult (or expensive) unless you are determined to locate a genuine older pot using older clay or a truly antique pot.

Even the half hand made pots are made in the hundreds (or more) I am pretty sure. And somewhat older pots from Factory #1 may have been pretty much mass produced, too if you are talking thousands of one pot design.

Most people have little or no opportunity to see Yixing pots in person. While I have been fortunate enough to select most of my pots in person, I would not hesitate to buy a new pot from at least a couple of web vendors. Not perfect, just part of one's Yixing education.

Relax. Get an inexpensive half hand made pot or a gaiwan. Drink tea. Enjoy.

[Cinnabar Red]

I'm fairly new at this stuff, and easily confused. My impression is that each individual pot has to be judged on its own merits. The quality of the clay, the harmony of design, and the way it functions are among the most important factors in judging the desirability of a pot. Trying to determine the authenticity of a makers mark or a type of clay is extremely difficult. Considering that world experts, including highly educated museum curators are occasionally fooled into believing that a forgery is authentic, I would not have much faith in my abilty to spot a well made fake from the real thing. I'm posting a quote from Hou de's blog.

"The slip-casting method used by yixing potters has a very long history. We know that Gong Chuan of Ming dynasty initially learned pure hand-made method from old monks of Jing Sha Temple. But one important revolutionary thing he did to yixings was the invention of slip-casting method. By making teapot this way, he was able to better control the preciseness of the shape and improve the firing successful rate.

So while we commonly praise the hand-made beauty of yixings, we cannot forget the slip-casting method is almost as old as the history of yixings."


This only adds to my confusion