Mom and Dad's Yixing Teapots

[jayinhk]

Mom and dad have had these Yixing teapots on top of their crystal cabinet for quite a while. I had no interest in them and thought they were just touristy junk they bought or were gifted. Now I know what they are, I'm interested in trying them out, and would appreciate any information on them and which teas to try in them. From reading a little on here, it appears the decorated kind are less suitable to serious brewing due to heat distribution issues.

I'd like to start with a wet-aged raw Hong Kong pu-erh...which pot would you guys go with to start with? I believe the tallest one is the one I should season first, correct? The darker ones appear to be thicker walled, too.

Here's the first six...there was one more hiding behind something that I missed.

http://mojoimage.com/free-image-hosting ... to-52-.JPG

The missing one:

http://mojoimage.com/free-image-hosting ... to-53-.JPG
The stamp on the bottom of one of them (the same as on all of them):

http://mojoimage.com/free-image-hosting ... to-54-.JPG

EDIT: I just resized the pics by 50% and I'm still getting a 640-pixel limit message.

[chrl42]

Thanks for showing your family Yixings

[Chip]

Yeah, your photos are still over 640 pixels wide. Hopefully you can resize more and post some here!

[MarshalN]

Yeah, your photos are still over 640 pixels wide. Hopefully you can resize more and post some here!

Or teachat can enter the 21st century and allow wider pictures.



This is from my last 100 visitors to my blog, a readership that has considerable overlap with peeps who frequent TeaChat. Other than obvious mobile devices, it's pretty clear that everyone can handle bigger pictures.

[SilentChaos]

Or teachat can enter the 21st century and allow wider pictures.

Sorry Chip, but I'll have to agree with M on this one.

[jayinhk]

Since this is Chip's ship, I'll make sure to make my pics smaller next time

As far as the pots go, M's told me they are knockoffs, so I won't bother even attempting to season them. I thought they were junky when I first saw them and I didn't even know what a Yixing was. I saw some very pricey ones at a store here yesterday ($500+ USD) in glass cases. The sales lady walked over and told me they were 50% off, which I guess means the prices were artifically inflated like many handicraft stores all over Asia seem to do.They even had a lab report on their Yixings up indicating the lead content was very low. The cheaper 'Yixings' were available to one and all to handle.

I think I'll stick with porcelain until I learn more about the Yixing biz: I like the fact porcelain doesn't color anything.

I did pick up two green porcelain gaiwans with phoenixes and dragons on them. Perhaps a little tacky, but they were less than $8 and they'll get a lot of use.

[MarshalN]

I'd avoid those yixings you saw in Yue Hwa. They're not, er, the best.

[jayinhk]

I'm glad I have a dai lo (big brother) of tea watching out for me. Any suggestions on where to get a reasonably priced entry-level Yixing for my bo lei?

[MarshalN]

What's your idea of reasonably priced?

[jayinhk]

Good question--let me respond with one.

Which is the cheapest Yixing for pu erh you yourself would be ok using, and where could I get it? I really appreciate being able to ask you for your opinion on them so I don't end up wasting money on lap sap (garbage).

I am in no rush to buy one just yet as I am quite happy with my porcelain for now, but I'm interested to see what you would consider the entry level as I may pick one up in the near future to see what all the fuss is about.

[MarshalN]

300 HKD will get you a pretty reasonable thing. PM me if you are interested.

[jayinhk]

PM sent...300 HKD is much less than I was expecting!

[MarshalN]

If you sent me something, I didn't get it

[edkrueger]

Marshal, do you think those are junk? I am sure you are right about them being fake, but some of them don't look too bad. They look a lot better than what I expected when I saw the thread's title, at least. Also, I am curious about the 300HKD pot you think is acceptable.

[MarshalN]

Marshal, do you think those are junk? I am sure you are right about them being fake, but some of them don't look too bad. They look a lot better than what I expected when I saw the thread's title, at least. Also, I am curious about the 300HKD pot you think is acceptable.

These things.

And yeah, those are probably junk. Or at least, I'd rather brew tea in a gaiwan.