Shopping for a Yixing

[fletch]

I am looking for a good yixing teapot to drink wuyi oolong at work. I have read a rather large amount of material, but I am a pretty visual learner. Thus, I think my best bet is to get recommendations from those who understand good vs. bad products in this area. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions for yixings and/or vendors. I have currently allotted approximately $120 for the teapot. I definitely have certain aesthetic preferences, but I am going to put function over form on this purchase.

Note: I am new to this forum, so please let me know if I have posted in the wrong subforum.

Sincerely,
CF

[bagua7]

With that budget you can buy real Zisha in here:

http://www.zishateapot.co.uk/

Hmmm. They just jacked up the prices big time!

Most of those pots were just $100 two weeks ago. This only means a sudden demand for Yixings.

[fletch]

With that budget you can buy real Zisha in here:

http://www.zishateapot.co.uk/

Hmmm. They just jacked up the prices big time!

Most of those pots were just $100 two weeks ago. This only means a sudden demand for Yixings.

Thank you for the link! That also leads me to another question: For wuyi oolong, how much would the color of the clay matter?

Sincerely,
CF

[wyardley]

My $0.02 from a while back, with some other links to other threads.
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?p=101309#p101309

I have been making Wuyi yancha for quite a while, and still haven't found a pot that I really love for it. On a more nuts and bolt level, I prefer something that's neither super flat nor super tall (it needs to be wide enough and with a big enough mouth to accomodate large leaves, yet small enough to brew small amounts of tea - given the cost of good yancha, it is wise to try to stay under 100 ml for a pot for yourself). So junde or shui ping with wide mouth are two shapes that have worked for me. I use both hongni and zisha pots for yancha.

Do you plan to brew heavier fire or lighter fire teas in it?

[bagua7]

Thank you for the link! That also leads me to another question: For wuyi oolong, how much would the color of the clay matter?

Sincerely,
CF

Well you mean, the type of clay used, right? We don't want any chemical powders added during the making process in order to achieve certain looks/effects.

Back to your question, I guess it's a matter of personal preference and a lot of trial and error. Cha Dao (Way of Tea) is an Art and like any other Arts it takes a lot of playing around and experience to master it (if you ever master an Art as everything is relative). I would recommend you using a pot of the
Shi Piao style (zhini/purple clay) and see how it goes. If it doesn't really work then use that pot for another pot. Chinese tea connoisseurs don't use one but dozens of pots, often each dedicated to a particular type of tea. The main goal is to find the sweet spot and then you stick to it.

That particular vendor stocks "shi piaos".

Good luck!

[tingjunkie]

For $120, you should be able to find something nice at Jing. Their pot/tea pairing recommendations are usually spot on too. If there's nothing in stock right now, just be patient and wait for an update. Or better yet, contact them and let them know what you are looking for.

[fletch]

Thank you all for the responses. The advice and links help a tremendous amount!

[Alex]

Yeah +1 for jingteashop tell them what you want in an email. They have other pots they dont list on their website plus an idea of what they are getting in next.

[betta]

For $120, you should be able to find something nice at Jing. Their pot/tea pairing recommendations are usually spot on too.

Proper tea pairing is a very complicated subject, it requires a lot of knowledge about teapot, nature of tea, experience, tea sensing, time, etc.

Do you know how do Jing pair those pots with the teas?

There's even a blue-green pot being offered there and I honestly don't have any idea what's blue clay good for.

[tingjunkie]

Proper tea pairing is a very complicated subject, it requires a lot of knowledge about teapot, nature of tea, experience, tea sensing, time, etc.

Do you know how do Jing pair those pots with the teas?

I don't know their exact methods, but I'd bet they rely on a lot of knowledge about teapot, nature of tea, experience, tea sensing, time, etc.

[betta]

I don't know their exact methods, but I'd bet they rely on a lot of knowledge about teapot, nature of tea, experience, tea sensing, time, etc.

I would say, to trust someone is fine but checking/testing him is always better.
And most of the time you'll find "the reality" if you raise the correct question.

I always raised questions to any vendors I dealt with; this way at least I can make a little bit sure that the stuffs I got from them have been selected by persons with appropriate credential; not merely borrowing words from others.

[bagua7]

This is an art. There is no such thing as perfect pairing for everyone. If you believe that you are fooling yourself. What is good for you it's not necessarily good for me same. There is a lot of trial and error in here, and as I already said before, stick to a pot for a particular tea once you hit the sweet spot for that pairing.

Let me give you a non-tea related example but still within the Trad. Chinese Culture context. I practice Bagua almost every day and I love it, and it works best for me, I couldn't possibly practice another internal martial method that would substitute it. I tried Taiji before, which is an art that many people swear by, but honestly doesn't do anything for me. I can't even stand it! Does this mean that Bagua is a better internal art than Taiji? Surely it's not, but to me it is, and that's what matters most.

[wyardley]

I have no direct knowledge one way or another, but I would guess that some of Jing's pairings are suggested by the collector they buy from.

[fletch]

Thank you to everyone for all of the help! I have purchased this one: http://www.jingteashop.com/pd-jing-tea- ... t-bsph.cfm. Now I will just have to decide which wuyi oolongs to pair it with...

Thanks again!

[tingjunkie]

Nice choice! The shape looks great for Wuyi.