I found a tea pot that had an interesting feel to it -- it was rough. I'm trying to recall what the clay looked like; it looked mixed (different colors: brown, tan, orange; but all spread evenly).
What would have made the clay rough? Sand? Low firing?
Does this type tend to be more porous then?
Re: Yixing pot: rough texture
I wonder what you mean by 'rough'.
The clay is filtered through a seive, if the seive's holes are large the clay made out of it would have bigger clays.
Or you could be low-quality clay,
Touch the skin of the clay, good clays are almost always tender.
But reading what you've described, it tends rather to be mixed clay of sort..I think it's kinda hard to tell by mere descriptions though.
The clay is filtered through a seive, if the seive's holes are large the clay made out of it would have bigger clays.
Or you could be low-quality clay,
Touch the skin of the clay, good clays are almost always tender.
But reading what you've described, it tends rather to be mixed clay of sort..I think it's kinda hard to tell by mere descriptions though.
Re: Yixing pot: rough texture
Like chrl42 said, I think we need more info. Rough like sandpaper, or bumpy due to sand?
The first thing I thought of from your description was Jiang Po Ni. Something like this? http://www.jingteashop.com/pd-yixing-te ... iu-tan.cfm
The first thing I thought of from your description was Jiang Po Ni. Something like this? http://www.jingteashop.com/pd-yixing-te ... iu-tan.cfm
Re: Yixing pot: rough texture
Hrm, good questions, I know this topic is really hard without photos.
When I say rough, I mean rough like sandpaper -- it felt 'dry.' So if I said that porcelain was smooth and glassy; and tingjunkie, the pot you posted looks (to me) smooth but bumpy; then I would say that this pot I am talking about was rough and no gloss to it.
I'll remember to get pictures at some point, but it might be awhile... so it might be easier to wait until then
When I say rough, I mean rough like sandpaper -- it felt 'dry.' So if I said that porcelain was smooth and glassy; and tingjunkie, the pot you posted looks (to me) smooth but bumpy; then I would say that this pot I am talking about was rough and no gloss to it.
I'll remember to get pictures at some point, but it might be awhile... so it might be easier to wait until then
Re: Yixing pot: rough texture
The feel can also have to do with how much the pot was (or wasn't) burnished [burnishing is basically letting the clay dry after slab building, and then using a tool made of water-buffalo horn, or modern equivalent (apparently plastic coke bottle is a great substitute) to burnish the surface before firing). I find that a really "dry" texture is not usually a good sign - Even with pots with a more porous or sandy texture, most of the time, the overall feel of the pot should be pleasant to the touch if you slide your fingers down it gently.
Last edited by wyardley on Nov 17th, '12, 16:08, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Yixing pot: rough texture
Yeah, "sandpaper" is not a good thing! The term "tender" gets thrown around a lot when describing good Yixing clay. I don't think that's a particularly great translation of the quality, so it was hard for me to wrap my head around what that means at first. Rather than tender (which in my mind denotes slightly squishy) I think good clay feels soft, silky, and oily. Almost like a hardened citrus peel. Your hand doesn't slip off of it like it would a piece of silk, but it does have that satin quality to the touch, even when it has grains of sand blended in.
Re: Yixing pot: rough texture
I got two pots made of that clay and I have to say that it brews the best ripe puerh by a mile. I previously thought it would be di cao qing but when I tried this clay the difference is abysmal. It would be interesting to see how this clays performs with other teas, but I haven't done any testing yet.tingjunkie wrote:The first thing I thought of from your description was Jiang Po Ni.
Re: Yixing pot: rough texture
This pot looks like a classic one with sand added to give it texture and the little dots of discoloration.bagua7 wrote:I got two pots made of that clay and I have to say that it brews the best ripe puerh by a mile. I previously thought it would be di cao qing but when I tried this clay the difference is abysmal. It would be interesting to see how this clays performs with other teas, but I haven't done any testing yet.tingjunkie wrote:The first thing I thought of from your description was Jiang Po Ni.