These entry level Yixing pots look good to me!

[BioHorn]

Thank you for this thread! Thinking about this one, what sort of teas would you try first in this type of clay?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/authentic-Chine ... 1996284372

That looks pretty versatile! Maybe try a bunch at home and get there via trial and error? Who knows the weight?

[Ysilla]

Thank you for this thread! Thinking about this one, what sort of teas would you try first in this type of clay?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/authentic-Chine ... 1996284372

Can only really talk for pu'er, duanni is great for ripe pu'er, it's very porous and will give a softer taste (especially younger pu'er, it helps removing the taste that can arise from artificial ageing and that goes away with natural ageing). I also like it for raw pu'er, but some may be "softened" too much by that type of clay.

It might not be best for some kind of teas since it might take too much out of the tea. Should be good for most teas with very strong/pronounced taste I guess.

[bagua7]

Here's that photo:

Thank you for this thread! Thinking about this one, what sort of teas would you try first in this type of clay?

Duanni suits ripe puerh quite well as well as young raw (if you want to trim down a bit the characteristic bitterness of this tea); other suitable teas are any high roasted oolongs.

[jayinhk]

Thank you bagua, that's a very nice pot and thinner than I expected. I like the striations in the pot. I just bought this pot, but the seller is unresponsive on Taobao and I may have to get a refund:

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a31 ... k1t9pkbf01

[wei301]

Hi, jayinhk

I have bought 4 zhuni teapots from the ebay seller. I can totally guarantee the quality! Go ahead and buy one, you won't be disappointed, and probably will want to buy more (like I did)!

These are the ones I have bought :

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221997553619

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221994481025
(this one has the thinnest wall)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221979673085

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221985697724

[jayinhk]

Thanks Wei, I am looking for a pot for Taiwanese oolong. If the Taobao seller doesn't ship to me then I'll buy one of these zhuni pots!

[jayinhk]

Bought this one as I felt the 60ml one was too small.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/222002425069?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

[jayinhk]

Thank you for this thread! Thinking about this one, what sort of teas would you try first in this type of clay?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/authentic-Chine ... 1996284372

Can only really talk for pu'er, duanni is great for ripe pu'er, it's very porous and will give a softer taste (especially younger pu'er, it helps removing the taste that can arise from artificial ageing and that goes away with natural ageing). I also like it for raw pu'er, but some may be "softened" too much by that type of clay.

It might not be best for some kind of teas since it might take too much out of the tea. Should be good for most teas with very strong/pronounced taste I guess.

I immediately thought raw pu erh/traditionally stored sheng when I saw the pot, although it is pretty small. The 'stout' dimensions will definitely suit shu/traditional sheng pu erh best IMO.

[Tead Off]

Duanni can help control some bitterness, but the trade off of losing high notes and flavor is usually not worth it. Control of bitterness is better had with brewing technique and better quality tea. Many young raw puerh teas will be bitter if pushed. The idea is to shorten the brew time and use less leaf. Losing the floral nose and flavor of young puerh can be avoided with paying attention to your brewing. Experiment with thick and thinner walls, higher and lower fired pots and see the difference.

[jayinhk]

I use a thicker zini pot for storage aroma. With good sheng I'd want to taste my tea!

[Devoted135]

Thank you to everyone who replied! I'm still pondering, and also eyeing my TAD since I just made another purchase... I'll post back if I end up getting it!

[whosehair]

Here are some pictures of the teapot I ordered a couple of weeks back:

IMG_2440 copy.jpg (10.12 KiB) Viewed 743 times

It shipped double wrapped in bubble wrap in a nice, padded gift box. Shipping was super quick too considering it came from China!

IMG_2439 copy.jpg (5.02 KiB) Viewed 743 times

A free little clay cup was included also. Great for when I've got that extra person at a session.

IMG_2438 copy.jpg (12.66 KiB) Viewed 743 times

Just to give a scale of size (compare to my wifey's fingers, I assure you she has dainty, little hands). Functional capacity is around 90 mL.

All in all, I'm a big fan. Big improvement over my cheap-o clay gaiwan. So far I've only brewed a few different shou puerhs in it and the results have been great. Here's a link to the pot: http://www.ebay.com/itm/authentic-Chine ... 2008141863?

In fact, I like it so much I went ahead and ordered another pot from him already! http://www.ebay.com/itm/221996294819?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

[jayinhk]

Interesting choice for shu--I'd like to see how that would perform!

[whosehair]

Interesting choice for shu--I'd like to see how that would perform!

Oh, haha, whoops. I'm a coffee drinker who's quite new to the world of tea, even newer to the world of puerhs! (And I used to think coffee was complicated...) What types of tea would this type of teapot/clay typically be used for?

[steanze]

looks like hongni/modern zhuni, the first kind of tea that comes to mind is green rolled oolongs