Chao Zhou Teapot?

[Tead Off]

I was thinking about purchasing one of these too, until I read this quote from Imen's blog...

"For normal usage, soak the pot in room temperature water for 20 minutes before adding hot water. Else it can crack. (It's not always the case for every pot, but I don't think you want to take the chance.) They are very thin, so more prone to easy breaking. I cracked half a dozen pots myself, it took me that many times to figure out what to do."

a) I'm too lazy and strapped for time to soak the thing for 20 minutes first, and b) I don't think I'm that lucky anyway- it would be broken within the month!

Good luck to the rest of you though. I'll be very interested to hear if the pots begin to season at all.

The thinnest Yixing teapot I have has a noticeable crack running from the lip down to almost the base on one side. Very thin walled teapots are going to be more of a liability no matter where they are from. They need more delicate handling. When I brew, the first thing I do is pour boiling water on the lip of a teapot, wetting the exterior along with filling the pot to try and even the heat out. After this warming, pour the water out and fill the pot with tea. I don't know if this is any guarantee against cracking but it is recommended by some connoisseurs.

BTW, zhuni clay is not an absorbent clay. It is a high shrinkage clay.

[Ms Kita B]

I actually cracked my 1st chao zhou I didn't soak it because I was rushing and it cracked from the base up. Still makes good tea but the leaking water is a nuance. I recommend filling a bowl with room temperature water and soaking the pot. I filled mine with room temperature water and then poured it out within 5 minutes hoping thhis would do the trick what a BIG mistake.

I ended up purchasing 3 new pots. I'm still debating on which teas will be dedicated to which pot especially the 200 ml. I'm now facing the problem of having too many teapots and not enough teas. I guess I just LOVE teaware.

[Maitre_Tea]

I actually cracked my 1st chao zhou I didn't soak it because I was rushing and it cracked from the base up. Still makes good tea but the leaking water is a nuance. I recommend filling a bowl with room temperature water and soaking the pot. I filled mine with room temperature water and then poured it out within 5 minutes hoping thhis would do the trick what a BIG mistake.

I ended up purchasing 3 new pots. I'm still debating on which teas will be dedicated to which pot especially the 200 ml. I'm now facing the problem of having too many teapots and not enough teas. I guess I just LOVE teaware.

OMG, now I'm super-paranoid about my teapot cracking. I have few teapots, but they are all very sentimental to me in a very personal way...the one teapot I lost made me depressed for a couple or weeks or so.

Oh yes, I asked Imen about the differences in clay, and she suggested that the sandy brown ones would suit Pu'Er better...I recall you bought a sandy brown one, right?

[Ms Kita B]

Yes and that's great news because I plan on trying pu's some time soon. These pots are extremely thin imo just make sure you soak them! No cutting corners

[wyardley]

I'm not sure if porosity has to do with seasoning. If then, Zhuni should be the last one to be seasoned. Also, my fastest seasoning clay so far has been Mo Lu ni, which does not breathe, 3 times of using already turned more glossier than year-old Di Cao Qing..from experience, aged clays tend to be seasoned a lot faster than new clays

Also, there are a lot of stories behind the porosity of CZ clay. I've noted it's 'to 7%'....omitting 'beginning from 0.5%'

I would think that harder clay might pick up more of a shine on the outside, but I'd think that porous clays would pick up more actual scent from the tea. But I don't know if that's actually true - just seems logical.

[e d o]

It's possible that the makeup clay on the outside is denser than the inside clay.

Makeup clay. Is that the reason that the exterior of some of these pots is so stunningly shiny and smooth feeling? Is makeup clay a feature of Chao Zhou pots, all pots, only less expensive pots, or what? Of course I love to believe that the exterior surface is as it is due to the firing and the material's reaction to the heat, but it sounds like there is probably a veneer of the shiny stuff on a surface that otherwise looks more like the interior of the pot or more like some of my more drab pots. Is that the case?

When I bought my pot in Hong Kong I was told that it was polished so I think this is the reason many of these pots are glossy.

[Tead Off]

I'm not sure if porosity has to do with seasoning. If then, Zhuni should be the last one to be seasoned. Also, my fastest seasoning clay so far has been Mo Lu ni, which does not breathe, 3 times of using already turned more glossier than year-old Di Cao Qing..from experience, aged clays tend to be seasoned a lot faster than new clays

Also, there are a lot of stories behind the porosity of CZ clay. I've noted it's 'to 7%'....omitting 'beginning from 0.5%'

I would think that harder clay might pick up more of a shine on the outside, but I'd think that porous clays would pick up more actual scent from the tea. But I don't know if that's actually true - just seems logical.

I think it depends on the surface and what the user does to the pot. Rubbing with a towel after every session will do something especially to areas that tea comes into contact with the clay like under the spout, where tea customarily drips out of it and around the lid where tea can leak. On a rougher surfaced pot, I notice more of a dirt-like buildup of tea that I don't particularly care for if I don't clean the exterior enough.

[pb2q]

It's possible that the makeup clay on the outside is denser than the inside clay.

Makeup clay. Is that the reason that the exterior of some of these pots is so stunningly shiny and smooth feeling? Is makeup clay a feature of Chao Zhou pots, all pots, only less expensive pots, or what? Of course I love to believe that the exterior surface is as it is due to the firing and the material's reaction to the heat, but it sounds like there is probably a veneer of the shiny stuff on a surface that otherwise looks more like the interior of the pot or more like some of my more drab pots. Is that the case?

When I bought my pot in Hong Kong I was told that it was polished so I think this is the reason many of these pots are glossy.

These pots are clearly coated/glazed with something on the exterior. This is not polish/seasoning.

[Tead Off]

It's possible that the makeup clay on the outside is denser than the inside clay.

Makeup clay. Is that the reason that the exterior of some of these pots is so stunningly shiny and smooth feeling? Is makeup clay a feature of Chao Zhou pots, all pots, only less expensive pots, or what? Of course I love to believe that the exterior surface is as it is due to the firing and the material's reaction to the heat, but it sounds like there is probably a veneer of the shiny stuff on a surface that otherwise looks more like the interior of the pot or more like some of my more drab pots. Is that the case?

When I bought my pot in Hong Kong I was told that it was polished so I think this is the reason many of these pots are glossy.

These pots are clearly coated/glazed with something on the exterior. This is not polish/seasoning.

I don't know what they do to zhaozhou pots but burnishing pots has been done for thousands of years. Bringing it back to Chinese teapots, in the mid to late 19th century, the Thai King, Rama V, commissioned many pots from Yixing that can still be found in antiques shop and collections here in Bangkok. One of the more common styles was highly polished purple clay teapots that look almost like glass. Many have bronze handles. Some are lined with gold around the mouth of the spout, lip of the pot, and, around the edge of the lids. When you lift the lid to look inside, you see immediately that this is a zisha pot. This was a style of finishing that makes the teapots much more ornate looking but has no effect on the way the pot brews tea. It's aesthetics.

[peterliem]

I also recently purchased one of Imen's Chaozhou pots, and as I ran across this thread while surfing the interweb, I thought I'd throw my two cents in. The pot is indeed thin, noticeably thinner than any of my Yixings, and despite following Imen's instructions to the letter, I cracked mine too. It's only a small hairline fracture, not nearly large enough to leak or anything, and as long as the crack doesn't expand further, I don't mind it. But I certainly treat this pot more carefully than others.

Here's what Imen told me regarding the shiny exterior of the pot:

Some pot makers add a layer of fine red clay solution after the pot mold is made. It's nothing but the same red clay and water made into a rather thin watery mixture. By doing so, the fine dusty clay in the mixture will seal and smooth the exterior of the pot, making it more refined and shiny after firing. This technique is an innovation by the Zhang's family. You'll see it a lot in his pots.

I like this pot a lot. I haven't brewed the same tea in a Yixing zhuni yet to compare, but I clearly prefer dan cong, both young and old, from this pot vs. a gaiwan. I feel like it took longer for the clay flavors to subside with this pot than with a Yixing, although that could be because I seasoned it the way Imen instructed, without boiling. It could also just be noticeable because dan cong's flavors are so delicate and transparent, too.

[Maitre_Tea]

Very interesting to hear that...wow, it seems like everyone is cracking their CZ pots left and right, I'm even more paranoid now about cracking mine

[Ms Kita B]

Very interesting to hear that...wow, it seems like everyone is cracking their CZ pots left and right, I'm even more paranoid now about cracking mine

You should be fine as long as you follow Imen's instructions unlike me

[wyardley]

I don't know what they do to zhaozhou pots but burnishing pots has been done for thousands of years. Bringing it back to Chinese teapots, in the mid to late 19th century, the Thai King, Rama V, commissioned many pots from Yixing that can still be found in antiques shop and collections here in Bangkok. One of the more common styles was highly polished purple clay teapots that look almost like glass.

Yes - this is a completely different style, though... these pots have makeup clay on the outside, but they haven't been polished.

I think I read that some of this was actually done in Thailand after the pots were imported, but I'll have to check the book that was talking about it to make sure.

[chrl42]

Glazing, carving, attaching, painting etc on Yixing pots are frequently done in today and past, on Yixing, on Porcelain, on Ceramics overall, it's nothing sanctioned.

There are many potters in Yixing do that in their own style..so it's all innovation..plus it has nothing to do with tea tasting, it's just done to 'look good'.

Glazing, a lot was exported during late-Qing to Thailand, with stamps of 'Gong Ju - 贡局' or 'Li Xing - 利兴', lined with gold or other metals

Earliest script mentioning 'glazing on Yixing' can be found from ‘宜兴陶艺西渐’, is dating back to 1710, Kangxi 49-year. At that time Yixing teapot was very popular in Europe along with Japanese porcelain, among them cheap products were glazed, resembling East-India company's ceramics..etc

[Tead Off]

Glazing, carving, attaching, painting etc on Yixing pots are frequently done in today and past, on Yixing, on Porcelain, on Ceramics overall, it's nothing sanctioned.

There are many potters in Yixing do that in their own style..so it's all innovation..plus it has nothing to do with tea tasting, it's just done to 'look good'.

Glazing, a lot was exported during late-Qing to Thailand, with stamps of 'Gong Ju - 贡局' or 'Li Xing - 利兴', lined with gold or other metals

Earliest script mentioning 'glazing on Yixing' can be found from ‘宜兴陶艺西渐’, is dating back to 1710, Kangxi 49-year. At that time Yixing teapot was very popular in Europe along with Japanese porcelain, among them cheap products were glazed, resembling East-India company's ceramics..etc

I recently saw a Robin's Egg glaze on a Qing Yixing pot that was in an auction here in Bangkok. Plus, it had gold painting illustrating a design. Very unusual with an unusual shape. Zisha clay inside.