Recent under $50 gongfu sharing thread.

[futurebird]

I thought it would be useful and fun to have a thread where share teapots that we've bought in the last few months (so no showing us bargins you got 8 years ago to depress us!) that cost less that $50 USD or €38 / £35.

Here is one to get started:

When I first saw this pot I was uncertain. My nightmare is paying $$ and getting something that can't be used at all because it's covered in gunk, smells bad etc. Clay can develop a sheen from "high firing" from pottery glaze or from substances added after firing such as wax, paint or shoe polish.



100ml capacity. Marketed as "Chinese Yixing Zisha very mini teapot"

** "high firing" is desirable to some extent.
** a glaze means it's isn't true to the yixing ideal, but if it's not glazed on the inside it can still function well for brewing.
** things added after firing are just scary.

I could nto tell which it was so I asked the seller. She responded that it was "like this from firing" so, though I take the seller word with a grain of salt I bought the pot. ($8 + $3.50 shipping = $11.50)

So, what did I think of it when it came?

I looks nicer than in the pictures. The surface is matte on the inside and slightly shiner on the outside, but the sheen is a part of the clay itself. There are flecks of white in the clay and inspecting the rim shows they are embedded in the clay. The pot has no funny smells or issues. The porous matte inner surface absorbs the water nicely, calming the raw young sheng I've designated it for.

So, I call it a winner.

I'll post about a "loser" in a moment. I've bought 5 teapots in the $10-50 range (including shipping) 3 were "winners" the others.... not so much. I enjoy the process of hunting for pots that meet my criteria, but I'm wary of claims about age and provenance. I just assume all such claims are false and focus on the pot itself.

[tingjunkie]

I enjoy the process of hunting for pots that meet my criteria, but I'm wary of claims about age and provenance. I just assume all such claims are false and focus on the pot itself.

Very wise!

[futurebird]

Wow, just $22 shipped for a pot that looks like this?! I was certain that at twice the cost of the little $11 green pot, this one with it's lovely-looking surface would be a much better pot. True, it was big at 150ml, but maybe it could be my shu puer pot? I need a shu pot.

Besides I didn't have any pots this color. I love the gray.

Well, this pot looks just like the picture, but it has a big problem: it smelled funny. It smelled like clay and earth, and only after much bleach and boiling did that go away.

But, since I know it used to smell I just can't enjoy it. I always suspect it is imparting some nastiness to my teas. I think I'll use it to water my plants, or maybe give it to my niece for her dolls. (scratch that last thought! what is it's laced with lead? the plants it is.) I emailed the seller to ask about the smell, no response.

So, it shows that paying twice as much won't always get you twice as much.

Someday, I'll find a pot in this color that isn't suspect. Till then, I can enjoy looking at this one on the shelf.

[tingjunkie]

Yep, real lu ni pots are very rare, and will not be found for under $50. Likely not for under $200 even. You're right to listen to your nose and other senses.

[yalokinh]

http://store.thechineseteashop.com/mobi ... aspx#P1369

I dont own this one, any thoughts?

[futurebird]

That link isn't working for me.

[futurebird]

Are you talking about this pot:

http://store.thechineseteashop.com/Yixi ... nr-009.htm

as mentioned in your other thread?

they only have two that are under $50 this is the other one:

http://store.thechineseteashop.com/Yixi ... nr-010.htm

I'd love, also, to hear from anyone who has bought from this shop.

[futurebird]

This is a 80ml pot bought on ebay for $30 (including shipping). It was called "yixing" but it is very smooth on the outside, and less so on the inside. Not really like other yixing I've seen... though from time to time I see this kind of very red shiny pottery called "yixing" -- what is up with that? (example of this http://store.thechineseteashop.com/Yixi ... hu-001.htm) Well, whatever it is, it was brand-new when it arrived yet packed in a very old-looking box. I'm thinking it could have been "new old stock" for some kind of middling chinese cooking store. This pot is very functional! This pot is not a work of art!

I use this pot for oolongs on the rare times that I drink oolong. I like how it has a huge lid so I can see the leaves once they have expanded. It's a nice size. I do think $30 is a bit much for such a basic pot, finding things in this size is hard. So, I'm happy with it intill I can get something made of higher quality clay for the oolongs. Still the unglazed inner walls have a nice impact on the tea water in this basic pot.

I will say that this pot is made with great precision. The lid is a perfect fit, the filter works very well and has not clogged.

So I call this pot a "win" but not a huge win because of the price.

(I hope these posts are interesting, I plan on doing one for each of my purchases including duds, I like it when people post about duds since I learn a lot from that!)

[TIM]

Not a Yixing

[theredbaron]

Not really like other yixing I've seen...

This pot looks to me like a Chaozhou pot, and not made from Yixing clay. The major problem for me with this pot is the quite badly fitted ball filter - there is no chance that you will be able to completely empty this pot, and always leaving a bit of liquid inside.
I personally only use pots with single holes for Chinese teas. No filters whatsoever. When the spout gets stuck with leaves, a quick poke with a pincher will clear it. When though a pot with filter gets stuffed (it happens on occasion) - it's somewhat of a major operation to clear it mid session.
I also prefer the flow of single hole spouts.

[yalokinh]

Are you talking about this pot:

http://store.thechineseteashop.com/Yixi ... nr-009.htm

as mentioned in your other thread?

they only have two that are under $50 this is the other one:

http://store.thechineseteashop.com/Yixi ... nr-010.htm

I'd love, also, to hear from anyone who has bought from this shop.

First one was right, the other one was supposed to be a 50 ml shui ping by the same seller

[yalokinh]

Not really like other yixing I've seen...

This pot looks to me like a Chaozhou pot, and not made from Yixing clay. The major problem for me with this pot is the quite badly fitted ball filter - there is no chance that you will be able to completely empty this pot, and always leaving a bit of liquid inside.
I personally only use pots with single holes for Chinese teas. No filters whatsoever. When the spout gets stuck with leaves, a quick poke with a pincher will clear it. When though a pot with filter gets stuffed (it happens on occasion) - it's somewhat of a major operation to clear it mid session.
I also prefer the flow of single hole spouts.

If it is from the ebay seller that i think it is, then its not a chaozhou either. I asked the seller and he/she said it was a taiwanese pot, not chaozhou.

And i find single holes too much of a hastle,never once has it not been clogged. But it also depend on the type of leaf

[futurebird]

The teapot has no trouble emptying. That said, I enjoy having the single hole on my 40ml and 60ml pots (these are the infamous $6 pots and coming up soon) I'm really curious what they are made of. They look like red yixing or terra cotta... how could one distinguish the two?

I don't think this pot is chaozhou. I think it's just a regular pot. Which seller?

[theredbaron]

The teapot has no trouble emptying. That said, I enjoy having the single hole on my 40ml and 60ml pots (these are the infamous $6 pots and coming up soon) I'm really curious what they are made of. They look like red yixing or terra cotta... how could one distinguish the two?

I don't think this pot is chaozhou. I think it's just a regular pot. Which seller?

Look at the way how the filter is fitted to the wall of the pot, the few mm without holes - there will always be a bit of liquid left in the pot as it cannot fully drain. This is not so good. You should be able to completely drain the pot.

[theredbaron]

If it is from the ebay seller that i think it is, then its not a chaozhou either. I asked the seller and he/she said it was a taiwanese pot, not chaozhou.

And i find single holes too much of a hastle,never once has it not been clogged. But it also depend on the type of leaf

It's very difficult to judge from pictures. The sheen of the pot, and also the lines on the inside point to me to Chaozhou. But anyhow, definately not Yixing.

When a single hole pot is clogged you just have to use the pincher tool, no hazzle for me. I am maybe just used to it. While filtered pots clog less, the times when i got them clogged it was a major hazzle for me, opening the pot, and then trying to free the holes from the leaves stuck.