I don't have an elaborate set-up or anything really unique and beautiful, as many of you have, but I bought this yixing pot in October 2010, and the purple (banko?) clay houjin and kyusu in early spring of 2011. Of course, it's possible (likely, even) that the Houjin and the Yixing aren't the types of clay they are purported to be, but I'm still happy to have them.
Oh, and, you also might be amused to know that I took pictures of each one as I received them, for the specific purpose of posting the photos here on teachat. It took 3.5 years, but finally...
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The one I use the most is also the least expensive --the Houjin from Yukki-Cha (with apologies to Chip):
http://www.yuuki-cha.com/teaware/japane ... hin-teapot] I have no way of knowing the clay quality, but I love how it brews Chinese (and Japanese, for that matter) greens. To my tastebuds, it's an improvement over brewing them in glass.
The Kyusu is from hojotea.com, and I have more faith that the clay is authentic. If I recall correctly, he had just started selling machined pieces for those who wanted the banko clay experience at a lower price point. I'm sure there are many benefits to having the much nicer, hand-made or partially hand-made kyusus, but factory machined and all, I still love the looks of this one and I love brewing gyo and sencha in it.
The Yixing was the most expensive, and it's had next to no use due the odd smell it has when wet. I've read that others here on the forum had similar issues (one described the smell as "like wet latex paint"), and it seems that their pots became usable over time, so I just brought mine out of storage and re-seasoned it. We'll see how that goes, but still, I don't regret buying it. The packaging is lovely and if nothing else, it's a nice decoration.
