Math: Looking for a 70 ml zhuni

[Math]

Hi there.

Was just about to buy that cute long dan zhuni xiao pin pot that JTS had for sale that I've been eyeing for some time, and missed my opportunity. You know the feeling! But it was out there for quite some time and I hadn't the money to pick it up before now so can't blame anyone.

So now I'm looking for a good 70-80 ml zhuni pot for gaoshan teas.

Please pm if you have anything you are willing to part with.

Best regards
Christopher

[茶藝-TeaArt08]

Math,

Greetings!

I know you mentioned wanting a zhuni 70 ml. I was looking for the same and found this pot from Andrzej Bero instead. It's 70 ml and has a very simple, organic feel to it. I prepped the pot last night and poured it for the first time today with an amber Taiwan high mt. wulong that I picked up in Taiwan. So far it seems the clay works really well with the high mt. wulong tea. I was pleasantly surprised. I used 4.2 grams of leaf in the 70 ml. pot with 95 deg. C water. The tea went 10 rounds. I found the pot to really hold onto the aroma of the gao shan tea, again, in a way that surprised me. I had great color and fragrance through the rounds, as well as taste....and the pot is not even fully seasoned yet.

Last night I also prepped a new Shimizu ken kyusu from Hojo at the same time as this Andrzej Bero pot. When I removed the pots from soaking in a brew of high mt. tea, the Bero pot was so much more alive with scent. This morning when I woke the pot was still bright with the scent of gao shan wulong tea. I look forward to developing a deeper relationship to the pot as it is raised and to seeing how much more it can do with Taiwan high mt. wulongs.

Blessings!

[Math]

茶藝-TeaArt08 Thanks for sharing! Love the photos. That pot looks very cute, in a sturdy wabi sabi kind of way. Now I'm getting a bit curious, have been eyeing Andrzej's work for some time..

[NPE]

I cannot praise the work of Andrzej and Petr enough. I have managed to lay my greedy hands on a number of their gorgeous pots and I can only say that you are getting a much bigger bang for your buck from them than if you would be buying a yixing teapot.
If you are looking for something unglazed to use with only one kind of tea, to 'grow' over time, then go with anything unglazed (*edit) from them. For about $50 you will get a first rate teapot which is unique, exciting and will perform marvellously from your first cup onwards.
Should you want something from Asia, go with a teapot from Hong Seong-il. I can personally vouch for the performance of the onggi teapots - but that will set you back a bit more.

If you buy an yixing for around $50, you will most probably buy what is called a 'tuition pot' which is shoddily made in a factory somewhere - potentially near Yixing,if you are lucky - but with clay of unknown and questionable provenance that will make the first gallons of tea brewed in it taste flat.

[JRS22]

So many Teachatters like/want/need small pots. Maybe a TC SO?

[茶藝-TeaArt08]

Math，

Greetings again!

Not trying to steer you away from an "Yixing" pot but I did notice when I ordered my Shimizu Ken kyusu from Hojo (I ordered a 130ml Sado Red Clay Reduction Fired Kyusu) that Hojo stocks a lot of smaller sized pots and his ongoing studies into clay are deep and rich. In fact, this month (June) he is releasing handmade pots/kyusu from a clay that he feels is the best clay of any clay he's yet tested.

On his site there are number of red clay options in a small size. My kyusu from Shimizu Ken arrived in, I believe, four days EMS from Japan to California. It was packaged exceptionally well and I like the pot very much.

I'm not sure what aesthetic you are going for but there are diverse number of styles and volume capacity pots and kyusu there. (http://hojotea.com/item_e/available.htm) Have you looked at his site already or ordered from him before? He was amazing throughout the ordering process: returning emails,taking extra pictures of the pot in different light upon request, etc.

Out of curiosity, is there a particular attachment to one shape or another of Yixing pot and are you wanting an 'authentic' Yixing pot (made in Yixing with Yixing clay, etc.) or a pot in "Yixing" style?

I poured again today with the Bero 70ml pot and got even better results, slight water change, different steep times/grams of leaf, and same temp. The pot is really surprising me and easily is outperforming my other genuine Yixing pots. I have a stone pot from Taiwan that performs as well, but with different results. Today I brewed once with a more green Qi Lai Shan (起來山） Taiwan wulong and then with a more amber/oxidized Taiwan high mt. tea. Both were good, but the amber leaf was amazing in the Bero pot. It was one of those moments where all decorum is set aside, time and space disappear, and one is reduced to a set of feverish ahs, slurps, and strange sounds of ecstasy.

Blessings!

[Math]

Thanks TeaArt. I felt like I was almost drinking that tea with you, entering the zone where good tea sometimes takes you.

I have been looking at Hojo's pots wanting to try them out to find out if they hold up to the claims about them. However, I would rather want a yixing for that price though, but maybe I should reconsider.

I don't think pots are only about improving the tea, but aesthetics as well.

Ideally I would like to get my hands on a 80s/90s/00s pear skinned zhuni with harmony, good proportions and the right curves (or lines). But really you know when you see a pot that speaks to you.

[Chip]

But really you know when you see a pot that speaks to you.

Please let us know if/when they speak back to you!

I never have a concern/problem buying Japanese or even Western teapots from reputable potters/sellers ... but I have always had serious reservations when approaching Yixing. They come in such an enigmatic "package."

This is my personal observations only. And it is not a judgement on Yixing as a whole!

[茶藝-TeaArt08]

I don't think pots are only about improving the tea, but aesthetics as well.

Absolutely! I agree. The connection to teaware is such a personal connection.

But really you know when you see a pot that speaks to you.

My teacher in Taiwan said more than once,"我不找茶具。。茶具來找我." (I don't go out looking for teaware, teaware comes looking for me.) The connection is rich and meaningful to be sure and beyond just what a pot does for tea.

I have been looking at Hojo's pots wanting to try them out to find out if they hold up to the claims about them.

Yes, and I'm curious what the new clay out this month is going to do for tea as well as what appearance it will take on. If I remember correctly, from what he wrote on Facebook, the potter is going to be different too.

Please let us know if/when they speak back to you!

As Chip said, I'm curious what it is that finally speaks to you when indeed that fated moment arrives.

Blessings!