Official/Different Yixing Show Off Topic!

[TIM]

I do believe they are about the same. This one is high fired, so it protects the flavors very well. I wish I could find two teapots, one blended and one pure, that were the same size and shape and compare the two.

It's always fun to have a pair

[IPT]

Yes it is. I wish I had more.

[TIM]

Yes it is. I wish I had more.

This could be a cousin

[David R.]

That's a gorgeous pot Tim !! Its skin looks just perfect.

[tingjunkie]

Ok... been a while since I posted new pots on this thread. Doesn't mean I haven't been acquiring them though! Let's start the parade...





Clay: Taiwanese Zhuni Clay[?] High fired.
Size: 140 ml
Age/Year: Modern- late 2000's.
Walls: Quite Thin
Pour: +/- 8 sec. No drips. Perfect lid fit.
Source: Purchased at Luh Yu in Flushing, Queens
Tea Pairing: High Mountain Taiwanese teas (gao shan).
Info: After trying Taiwanese black clay and being rather disappointed in the performance, I switched my pot out for this red beauty. If you didn't know it was Taiwanese clay, you might think it was made from very pure zhuni. It's silky to the touch, has a nice high pitched ring when tapped, and even has zhuni's typical muscle lines (as seen in the third pic). As you'd expect from a pot like this, it preserves all the higher notes and aromas from gao shan such as Da Yu Ling or Ali Shan. Very happy with this one!

[tingjunkie]

Clay: Zi Ni. Medium Fired
Size: 60ml
Age/Year: 1980's?
Walls: Thick for the size.
Pour: +/- 4 sec. Tiny drip if poured hard. Good lid fit.
Source: From Tim as a very generous engagement gift!
Tea Pairing: Aged Wuyi Oolong
Info: I loved this pot as soon as I saw it. How often do you see a tiny Shui Ping with such a wide lid opening? Because of that and the great clay, this pot works fantastically for aged wuyi oolong. Rounds the mouthfeel, evens out the aging taste, and deepens the underlying flavors. As you can see from the engraving on the side, this is one of the famous "Please Drink Chinese Oolong Tea" commissioned pots. These pots are so widely faked that it's beyond my knowledge to tell if it's authentic, but who cares! It makes a fantastic round of tea.

[tingjunkie]

Clay: Fine Zisha. Medium-High fired.
Size: 100ml
Age/Year: Late 90's
Walls: Thin
Pour: +/- 11 sec. No drips. Great lid fit.
Source: TeaChat Tea Swap. Originally from the Tea Gallery.
Tea Pairing: Aged Liu An
Info: When I saw this posted in the Tea Swap section, I had to jump on it! (thanks TokyoB) The clay is a very fine grained high quality zisha, and I have always loved the pomelo shaped pots like this. Of course, being 100ml and from the Tea Gallery made it even better! It took me a while, but I finally found the right pairing for this pot- aged Liu An, which is a good thing since I just bought 7 baskets of the stuff! The pot decreases the slight storage flavors, rounds the mouthfeel, and deepens the underlying flavors. After a few uses, this is already beginning to take on a really nice patina too!
*Update* TIM was nice enough to inform me that this pot is a late 90's special commission by Vesper Chan, owner of The Best Teahouse, and it bears his name on the chops. Apparently, it is destined to become somewhat valuable. I'm just glad my taste in Yixing has been given a little street cred!

[tingjunkie]

Clay: Modern Duan Ni. Medium-High fired.
Size: 90ml
Age/Year: Modern. Late 2000's?
Walls: Thick
Pour: +/- 5 sec. No dips. Good lid fit.
Source: A very generous birthday gift from Dae of the Tea Gallery.
Tea Pairing: Young Sheng Puerh
Info: This pot represents a lot of firsts for me: it's my first duan ni pot, it's my first pot in the classic shi piao shape, and it's the first pot I have ever been happy with for young sheng pairing. Thanks Dae! The pot some how smooths out the harshness of young raw puerh without killing the higher notes. A rare combo indeed! Not surprisingly, my fiancee loves this feminine pot... now if I could only get her to start making me some tea with it.

[tingjunkie]

The $10 wonder pot...



Clay: Slip Cast Zi Ni. Medium-High fired.
Size: 50ml
Age/Year: Modern. Late 2000's.
Walls: Thin
Pour: +/- 4 sec. No dips. Great lid fit.
Source: Zen8Teas eBay purchase.
Tea Pairing: High Fire TGY? Aged sheng puerh?
Info: I bought this pot purely as an experiment. I saw it on eBay, the clay looked decent enough, and the chance to grab a 50ml shui ping that doesn't look asymmetrical and cruddy is pretty rare. Oh, did I mention it was only $10! I really wasn't expecting much out of this pot given the price, but when I began testing it out, I was quite pleasantly surprised. Not only were the lid fit and pour both fantastic, but the pot immediately passed the sniff test and the water test. Even though I would never think to pair zi ni with a fragrant Da Yu Ling, I tested the pot with some just for laughs. To my amazement, the pot didn't kill the higher notes and aromas like I expected it to, but preserved them while generally softening the tea.
If I didn't already have a killer pot for high fire TGY, this would be an ideal pairing. It is a great size and clay match for personal sessions with aged sheng puerh too. Time will tell. The only down side of the pot is that there is a visible seam running down the front due to the fact that it is slip-cast. Other than that, it's a real diamond in the rough. If Zen8Teas restocks, I highly recommend grabbing one.

[tingjunkie]

Clay: Zi Ni/Zi Sha mix. Medium-High fired.
Size: 160ml
Age/Year: Modern. Late 2000's.
Walls: Medium-Thick
Pour: +/- 7 sec. No dips. Great lid fit.
Source: Luh Yu Tea Emporium in Flushing, Queens.
Tea Pairing: Not sure yet. Just got it today!
Info: When opportunity comes knocking, you answer. Did I need another Yixing pot? No. Is 160ml out of my preferred size range? A bit. So why did I buy this? Because it is a shape I really like, the clay is an excellent quality sandy clay, the craftsmanship is quite good, and the price was fantastic! I'm sure I'll find some way to put this beauty to use. If not, I'll hide it away and keep watching the price of Yixing rise as China's economy grows. (Ahhhh... the justifications of an addict!)

[TIM]

Clay: Zi Ni. Medium-High fired.
Size: 100ml
Age/Year: Maybe late 90's or early 00's?
Walls: Thin
Pour: +/- 11 sec. No drips. Great lid fit.
Source: TeaChat Tea Swap. Originally from the Tea Gallery.
Tea Pairing: Aged Liu An
Info: When I saw this posted in the Tea Swap section, I had to jump on it! (thanks TokyoB) The clay is a very fine grained high quality zi ni, and I have always loved the pomelo shaped pots like this. Of course, being 100ml and from the Tea Gallery made it even better! It took me a while, but I finally found the right pairing for this pot- aged Liu An, which is a good thing since I just bought 7 baskets of the stuff! The pot decreases the slight storage flavors, rounds the mouthfeel, and deepens the underlying flavors. After a few uses, this is already beginning to take on a really nice patina too!

OMG! You lucky dog!! How much did you paid for this one??

[tingjunkie]

OMG! You lucky dog!!

Thanks for the update Tim! I will change my description accordingly.

[TIM]

OMG! You lucky dog!!

Thanks for the update Tim! I will change my description accordingly.

You Hit a Jackport! Congrats

[tingjunkie]

OMG! You lucky dog!!

Thanks for the update Tim! I will change my description accordingly.

You Hit a Jackport! Congrats

My hat's off to you sir! I was taught by the best.

[Tead Off]

Tingjunkie, nice to see the zisha and zini pots. This kind of clay is amongst my favorites. I hardly ever see any here in Thailand. Almost all red except for the early duanni and zisha Rama V pots which ain't cheap.