Yixing lid test?

[MarshalN]

Red part - Now you've started planting things I didn't say on me. End of discussion on my side.

And I'm really not sure if you give that answer to my question just to "prove" you are right and others are wrong.

Fair enough, I guess this

The green part, my hands that use teapots don't agree with you.

is not quite you can't use them, but certainly amazing. You've got more sensitive hands than machines.

Sorry if I overreacted, but the whole "pots need to pass the lid test or they're no good" theory needs to go away, forever. Clay matters so much more, as well as things that actually matter to brewing tea, like the thickness of the wall and the way the spout pours and the size of the air hole and so forth. Whether a lid fits perfectly or not on the pot makes basically no difference to how tea comes out. It's sort of like saying great paintings need to have a well fitting frame, so when buying paintings make sure the frames fit really tightly, and frames that don't fit tightly - well, forget the painting, even if its great. That's lunacy. At the end of the day, it has nothing to do with the painting and puts the cart in front of the horse. That's the lid fit test for you.

[the_economist]

The blue part, that's exactly what I talked about IQ140 with dirty pants, unless you think there are many more wenge teapots than modern teapots available today.

Never mind Wengge pots. The majority of pots from the 80s and early 90s, both commercial and 'artisan' ones, won't pass the lid test, drip test or whatever with flying colors.

This. Pot with better clay beats pot with worse clay, independent of lid fit.

[wyardley]

Never mind Wengge pots. The majority of pots from the 80s and early 90s, both commercial and 'artisan' ones, won't pass the lid test, drip test or whatever with flying colors.

This. Pot with better clay beats pot with worse clay, independent of lid fit.

That's my preference too. And really, passing the "test" mentioned in the original post doesn't prove anything about the actual functionality of a teapot. It's just a (supposed) indication of the level of workmanship. The problem is, machine-made pots will "pass" the "test", and so the test doesn't really tell you anything on its own.

Some pots do have such a bad lid fit that there is some leaking around the rim, but that's a separate issue, and is easily detected without using the "test" above -- it will be immediately obvious if you use the pot to brew tea, or if you just kind of wiggle the lid around (though personally, I'd still take an older pot with a grossly bad lid fit and good clay over most of the stuff on the market now).

But yes, if you want the pot to pour perfectly, never get bits of tea stuck in the spout, etc., newer pots are probably the way to go. Sometimes these older pots will be a little more finnicky to work with.

But then again, I'm pretty sure I've had a couple of successful job interviews wearing dirty pants, so what do I know (yes, I do work in the computer industry). I think dressing for an interview requires thinking a bit about the environment you're interviewing for.

[gingkoseto]

Never mind Wengge pots. The majority of pots from the 80s and early 90s, both commercial and 'artisan' ones, won't pass the lid test, drip test or whatever with flying colors.

This. Pot with better clay beats pot with worse clay, independent of lid fit.

That's my preference too. And really, passing the "test" mentioned in the original post doesn't prove anything about the actual functionality of a teapot. It's just a (supposed) indication of the level of workmanship.

Much more than that if you think of physics and air pressure. It's quite ironic that many people claim they prefer fast pouring of a teapot and also claim they don't care about lid fit (also ironic that many of these people own teapots of perfect craftsmanship).
Who wouldn't prefer better clay over poor clay? It's irrelevant to the original discussion.

[SilentChaos]

Who wouldn't prefer better clay over poor clay? It's irrelevant to the original discussion.

It is relevant to your original claim that:

A yixing passing lid test ... is just like a job interviewee with a pair of clean trousers ... [e]xcep[t] ... for interviewees with IQ>140 and dirty pants.

Or, if by the original discussion, you're referring to the OP's question:

Just wondering if anyone has pots done by a master, and if the lids did indeed stick.

Then strictly speaking, most of this topic is not relevant.

[gingkoseto]

Who wouldn't prefer better clay over poor clay? It's irrelevant to the original discussion.

It is relevant to your original claim that:

A yixing passing lid test ... is just like a job interviewee with a pair of clean trousers ... [e]xcep[t] ... for interviewees with IQ>140 and dirty pants.

Nobody would deny a higher IQ interviewee holds more advantage than low IQ interviewee (for most technical jobs and when the IQ difference is big). In such case, it's irrelevant to the discussion of clean or dirty pants. Is it so hard to understand?

[JBaymore]

My goodness,.... are we developing a tempest in a teapot? Or is it a tempest OVER a teapot?

best,

.................john

[the_economist]

Much more than that if you think of physics and air pressure. It's quite ironic that many people claim they prefer fast pouring of a teapot and also claim they don't care about lid fit (also ironic that many of these people own teapots of perfect craftsmanship).
Who wouldn't prefer better clay over poor clay? It's irrelevant to the original discussion.

'Fast pouring due to a tight lid with not so good clay' vs 'better clay with non-perfect lid fit', i'll take better clay any day. The effect of perfect lid fit on pour speed doesn't seem to be that great in my experience, other things matter more, like the spout and the air hole.

To be sure -
Pot 1: perfect lid fit, clay A. Pot 2: nonperfect lid fit, clay B.
Clay B > Clay A. Everything else equal, I'll take pot 2. Lid fit comes in close to last on my list of things to care about regarding a pot.

To the OP, IMO: care more about clay, care less about lid fit.

[gingkoseto]

Much more than that if you think of physics and air pressure. It's quite ironic that many people claim they prefer fast pouring of a teapot and also claim they don't care about lid fit (also ironic that many of these people own teapots of perfect craftsmanship).
Who wouldn't prefer better clay over poor clay? It's irrelevant to the original discussion.

'Fast pouring due to a tight lid with not so good clay' vs 'better clay with non-perfect lid fit', i'll take better clay any day. The effect of perfect lid fit on pour speed doesn't seem to be that great in my experience, other things matter more, like the spout and the air hole.

To be sure -
Pot 1: perfect lid fit, clay A. Pot 2: nonperfect lid fit, clay B.
Clay B > Clay A. Everything else equal, I'll take pot 2. Lid fit comes in close to last on my list of things to care about regarding a pot.

To the OP, IMO: care more about clay, care less about lid fit.

Sounds like you don't disagree with me but disagree with what somebody else said earlier that lid fit absolutely doesn't matter.
If you change clay B= clay A, then you would have disagreed with me. But you didn't. So I'm not sure if your comment was a follow up to my comment. But you are welcome.
Either way, there is nothing wrong with what you believe as long as it's not over generalized.

[the_economist]

Great that we agree, clay trumps everything else and poor lid fit is at most a minor inconvenience.

[SilentChaos]

Great that we agree, clay trumps everything else and poor lid fit is at most a minor inconvenience.

+

[gingkoseto]

My goodness,.... are we developing a tempest in a teapot? Or is it a tempest OVER a teapot?

best,

.................john

I'm sure such circular and girly talks aren't the norm of yixing users Just once in a while.

[elps99]

No doubt lid play lesser role in making a good cup of tea, usually good pot, good clay, good workmanship , good lid fitting , good shape , and everything else come together.

Hardly one will get good pot , but lousy fitting lid, or bad shape.

Under a master craft, everything else come together.
Only question is how to make a good cup of tea using that pot.

[MarshalN]

Much more than that if you think of physics and air pressure. It's quite ironic that many people claim they prefer fast pouring of a teapot and also claim they don't care about lid fit (also ironic that many of these people own teapots of perfect craftsmanship).
Who wouldn't prefer better clay over poor clay? It's irrelevant to the original discussion.

Actually, pots with poor lid fits have great pouring times - air comes in from everywhere. It's the pots with great lid fits and a small air hole that pour really slow

[gingkoseto]

Much more than that if you think of physics and air pressure. It's quite ironic that many people claim they prefer fast pouring of a teapot and also claim they don't care about lid fit (also ironic that many of these people own teapots of perfect craftsmanship).
Who wouldn't prefer better clay over poor clay? It's irrelevant to the original discussion.

Actually, pots with poor lid fits have great pouring times - air comes in from everywhere. It's the pots with great lid fits and a small air hole that pour really slow

I was talking about a good product with good lid fit and well made air hole. When air leaks from everywhere, there isn't as strong, focused air force to push a perfect pouring. Not that the difference is always big, but I was just against the notion that "lid fit doesn't matter".