Jian Shui Purple Pottery Tea Ware

[oolongfan]

I own three Jian Shu teapots and wondered if there are any other tea drinkers who use them-either full time or only rarely. I realize that I may be in a distinct minority..and perhaps a not particularity well regarded one...maybe I am the equivalent of some one who prefers to drink their coffee out of a styrofoam cup

Having said that, I admit to loving my Jian Shui pots. All of them came from Yunnan Sourcing. I have both a 130 ml and a 200 ml Xi Shi pots as well as a 190 ml Dragon Egg pot.

I have only used porcelain tea ware before getting into Jian Shu....so I can't tell you how they compare to Yixing clays for example. Compared to porcelain, the Jian Shu seems to add more depth to the cup...even lighter more delicate TGY's seem to take on more complexity. Having said that, I suspect that Jian Shu is pretty neutral though compared to Yixing clays...

I did not post pictures as I have a very cheap digital camera which excels in taking horrible pictures. Perhaps I will try and take a few pictures some time in the future...but honestly the teapots are better represented by the pictures On YS's site.

Look forward to hearing from fellow Jian Shui users

[bearsbearsbears]

Never used them! But supposedly the food there is good: http://www.fuchsiadunlop.com/fast-food-chinese-style/

Yunnan pickles everything. *Sigh* I miss it so.

Show some pics of you using the pots. I'd like to see them in action.

[oolongfan]

Thanks for the link I propose that we Tea Chatters do an educational trip to Jianshui to check out it's teaware and food. Morning will be spent checking out the market....with lunch at the 'Three Sisters Fast Food Shop'. Now that is my idea of 'fast food'!

I will get some pictures of my Jian Shui tea ware in action this week

[bagua7]

Never used them! But supposedly the food there is good: http://www.fuchsiadunlop.com/fast-food-chinese-style/

when I read and see that. That's how I feel knowing that I live in one of the junk-food centres of the world. My poor stomach & spleen combo is screaming for help.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Red_rooster_meal.jpg

Get the Aussie real deal on your meal.

[bearsbearsbears]

I was told there would be photos...?

[oolongfan]

Mea culpa regarding pictures.

I tried taking some a few weeks before with my cruddy camera and the results horrible (think black blobs against a fuzzy grey background).

Then came the recent series of tornadoes in Southern Indiana....we were not hit but friends in Pekin were (lucky-just property damage)...so the rest of the week has been sorta busy trying to help out.

Now that things are settling down...I will try taking some better pictures. My problem is that my kitchen and tea drinking areas have dark counters/table tops...and the Jian Shui does not really stand out on them. Might have to try taking pictures on my dining room table, despite it not being my tea drinking area.

Thanks for the friendly nudge...I will get around to it this week...promise Hopefully they will come out decent..but I can assure you that they will not come anywhere near the beautiful photography found elsewhere on this forum

Mary

[oolongfan]

Here is the first of my three Jian Shui teaware from Yunnan Sourcing

Shape/Name: Dragon Egg
Artist: Zi Tao Ren Jia
Capacity: 190ml
Spout: 7 holes
Tea Pairings: Dark Roast Taiwan TGY, Da Hong Pao, Traditional Roast Anxi TGY, roasted Shui Xian.

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[oolongfan]

Shape/Name: Large Peonies Xi Shi
Artist: Xu Rong Gang
Capacity: 200 ml
Spout: 7 holes
Tea Pairings: Song Zhong, Mi Lan Dan Cong

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[oolongfan]

The last one.

Shape/Name: Xi Shi - small
Artist: Chen Bao Yi
Capacity: 130 ml
Spout: 7 holes
Tea Pairings: Lightly oxidized or lightly roasted 'green style' Oolongs, Da Wu Ye Fenhuang, Ba Xian 8 Immortals Dan Cong. Diamond Grade green style TGY

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[oolongfan]

Both the Dragon Egg and the Small Xi Shi are 'purple and red clay' whereas the Large Xi Shi is 'red clay'. As far as I can tell. there does not seem to be a difference as far as effect on tea

Compared to porcelain, Jian Shui clay does seem to add a little depth of flavor to the tea brewed in it...the tea seems to have more body. The difference, though, is not earth shattering..but distinct

The pots all had a wonderful 'wet stone' sort of smell when I first got them. Now they all have a tea smell to them. When I brew tea in them, I always do the lid test: smelling the lid to capture the tea's perfume.

The exterior of these pots is indeed polished-not glazed. The interiors don't appear to be polished much at all...slightly rougher (but still very smooth) with circular marks. The 'purple and red' pot interiors seems to have a little opalescence to them..similar to that of a mussel shell.

The shape and size really does seem to have an effect on the teas. The smaller, flatter shaped pots seem to keep aromas in very well..especially with lightly fired and/or oxidized teas. Conversely, some of the darker roasted/oxidized teas seem 'deeper' fuller bodied in rounder slightly larger vessels.

My choice of a high and round bodied Large Xi Shi pot for Dan Cong and Song Zhong teas might seem odd but let me explain. When testing these teas in all three pots, I noticed that the smaller and flatter Xi Shi softened astringent 'straw like' notes....which was nice...but honestly, I like those notes....I do not want them softened up. Hence the perhaps, slightly unconventional choice for brewing these teas

I will be getting a Yixing pot soon...and will post the results of my comparative testing (amateurish as it is).

In the mean time, I would love to hear from other Jian Shui users....or answer any questions about these pots (bear in mind that I am no expert on this type of clay

[oolongfan]

One other thing I forgot to mention: size. When I bought these pots, the majority being offered were 200 ml and above - with only two selections smaller than than that size. I wish that there were more 'smaller' sizes...and I do see some 130 - 150 ml sized pots offered...really a matter of timing in terms of buying.

Having said that, I am glad that I have two slightly largish pots as I have discovered that some teas do well in large pots So it is sometimes good to be pushed outside one's preconceived notions from time to time.

[bearsbearsbears]

Nice work! Thanks for the photos and descriptions. Worth the wait!

[oolongfan]

Thanks for the compliments BearsBearsBears...especially considering how nice the photography is on your blog

[bagua7]

Very lovely pots, I really like them. They look as hard as rocks, so I guess they could be similar to Yixing's zhu ni.

I wouldn't mind to own a piece of JS pottery but can't really afford more pots at the moment. Anyway it would be nice to hear from anyone who owns both Yixing and JS pots to see how they compare.

Enjoy your pots!

[Herb_Master]

Only used occasionally so far - a little Sheng and a little Hong Dian









Jian Shui Teapot "Spring Bough" a Xu Rong Gang production * 170ml



From Yunnan Sourcing