Considering getting this yixing pot for oolong. Opinions?

[Frisbeehead]

Hey there,

I am considering getting my first yixing teapot sometime soon, specifically for lightly oxidized oolong or yancha (still deciding). I'm leaning toward lightly roasted Taiwanese oolongs (jin xuan, alishan, lishan, etc). I've been drinking tea for a few months now, experimenting with different kinds and trying to find what I like best. So far I've really liked Taiwanese oolongs and pu-erh. I have yet to try a good roasted oolong, but I have really wanted to try a good Wuyi or maybe roasted/highly-oxidized Taiwanese oolong.

I'm looking at this yixing pot at the moment. It seems like it's pretty decent quality, and i was sent a video showing how it sounds and it has a nice high pitched ring to it.

Anyone have any opinions based on what I want to use it for? Would it be good for light oolongs/maybe roasted oolongs? The clay looks good to me, but I'm not too experienced in yixing wares and I'm just comparing how it looks to other yixing pots I know are nice.

Any thoughts would be really appreciated.

Here is an imgur album with the pictures:

http://imgur.com/a/lH0Mu

edit: changed lightly roasted to lightly oxidized

[tingjunkie]

Keep in mind it's pretty much impossible to pair teas with pots from pictures alone. Real world testing is a must. What's the price?

I think it's very rare that a modern purple/brown clay pot will do well with greener oolongs, but there are exceptions to the rule. Also, at 140ml, that's a whole lot of yancha to burn in one go. Even if I'm preparing yancha for 4-5 people, my pot is only 125 ml.

[steanze]

The clay is not spectacular but it does look like real yixing. A high pitched ring is not a general indicator of the quality of clay. It is a zini pot, so it's unlikely to have a high pitched ring. If that pot has a high pitched ring, I'd see it more as a reason for concern than a sign of quality.
I would use only hongni or zhuni for light oolongs. I think a porcelain gaiwan would do better than zini for light oolongs.
For darker oolongs, it is more of a matter of taste, I suggest to give a look at this thread: http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20577

bottom line is I think that pot would make your light oolongs taste worse than a gaiwan

[Frisbeehead]

Thanks for the responses!

I have a gaiwan that I use and I love it. I have just been considering getting a yixing for my oolongs recently, and I have looked at quite a few. This one seemed like a good deal at $75.

Considering your responses, it sounds like you are saying this is not a good choice for lighter oolongs or even yancha. Do you have any recommendations as to where I can find one? I have done a bit of research on it, and I have looked at quite a few sites/vendors. What style of yixing pot typically is suited for lighter oolong? What about roasted/high-oxidized oolong? My budget can be anything under $200.

From what I have found as far as research goes, it seems like high-fires clay and a taller profile is preferred for light oolong. But it may be incorrect, that's just what I have read.

Any input is greatly appreciated! Thanks again.

[Peacock]

I'll throw my suggestion out there.

http://www.tea-masters.com/en/yixing-te ... eapot.html

It should be great for roasted Taiwanese oolongs, and I own one that I use for just that.

[bonescwa]

Unless you want to spend a lot of money on a real zhuni pot, you're better off with porcelain for Taiwanese tea.

[Frisbeehead]

Unless you want to spend a lot of money on a real zhuni pot, you're better off with porcelain for Taiwanese tea.

Really?


Does that go for all oolongs? Basically I shouldn't get a yixing pot at all for oolongs unless I spend a lot of money.

[tingjunkie]

Unless you want to spend a lot of money on a real zhuni pot, you're better off with porcelain for Taiwanese tea.

Really?


Does that go for all oolongs? Basically I shouldn't get a yixing pot at all for oolongs unless I spend a lot of money.

Not in my opinion. I think there are still occasionally decent pots out there for $60 and up. The hardest part is finding decent pots for that price which are 120ml and under. And FWIW, I think $200 IS a lot of money for a good useable pot. You should be able to get something very nice for that amount. I'd second Peacock's recommendation to look at the modern zhuni teapots from Tea Masters for gao shan.

[Frisbeehead]

Unless you want to spend a lot of money on a real zhuni pot, you're better off with porcelain for Taiwanese tea.

Really?


Does that go for all oolongs? Basically I shouldn't get a yixing pot at all for oolongs unless I spend a lot of money.

Not in my opinion. I think there are still occasionally decent pots out there for $60 and up. The hardest part is finding decent pots for that price which are 120ml and under. And FWIW, I think $200 IS a lot of money for a good useable pot. You should be able to get something very nice for that amount. I'd second Peacock's recommendation to look at the modern zhuni teapots from Tea Masters for gao shan.

Okay, cool. Thanks man!

I like the pots on that site, and there are a bunch in my budget.
Is there a specific pot body type I should look for for oolong? High profile vs low profile, wide vs thin, etc.

[Frisbeehead]

Also, light oolongs have been my favorite lately, however I have not had the chance to try yancha yet. I'm looking forward to trying some, and I will be ordering samples soon.

If I end up liking them a lot, I may want to dedicate a yixing to them.

I'm still relatively new to tea though, I've been drinking Chinese/Taiwanese tea now for about 2 or 3 months. I get the vibe that most people around here see yixings as something for more experienced people though, so I might just wait until I develop my palate a bit more. I have a great 150ml celadon gaiwan at home that I love, as well as the rest of the standard gongfu set up. Currently waiting for the tea table I ordered to arrive too.

I may just wait, it seems like the general advice is to wait to get a yixing until I really feel I need one, and until I get a better taste for tea in general.

Feel free to share your thoughts. I appreciate all the info so far.

[tingjunkie]

I get the vibe that most people around here see yixings as something for more experienced people though, so I might just wait until I develop my palate a bit more...
I may just wait, it seems like the general advice is to wait to get a yixing until I really feel I need one, and until I get a better taste for tea in general.

Trust me, I fully understand the power of Yixing fever. You're in a potentially dangerous time at the moment, since you are just learning. There is a very high risk of paying too much "tuition" if you start buying up pots now. You may find that you'll outgrow your first pots quite quickly, or that your tastes will change. I'd stick to buying one pot for now, 60ml-120ml preferably, and trying a bunch of different teas in it so you can begin to learn how Yixing can change a teas characteristics. Start ordering lots of samples, use your gaiwan, and develop your palette for high end teas first, then in the future the pots you'll buy will have a better chance of being keepers. It may be hard, but patience with Yixing will bare greater rewards in the end.

[Frisbeehead]

I get the vibe that most people around here see yixings as something for more experienced people though, so I might just wait until I develop my palate a bit more...
I may just wait, it seems like the general advice is to wait to get a yixing until I really feel I need one, and until I get a better taste for tea in general.

Trust me, I fully understand the power of Yixing fever. You're in a potentially dangerous time at the moment, since you are just learning. There is a very high risk of paying too much "tuition" if you start buying up pots now. You may find that you'll outgrow your first pots quite quickly, or that your tastes will change. I'd stick to buying one pot for now, 60ml-120ml preferably, and trying a bunch of different teas in it so you can begin to learn how Yixing can change a teas characteristics. Start ordering lots of samples, use your gaiwan, and develop your palette for high end teas first, then in the future the pots you'll buy will have a better chance of being keepers. It may be hard, but patience with Yixing will bare greater rewards in the end.

That makes a lot of sense, and I have heard the same thing from others. There are quite a few other pots from the same vendor that are the same price as the one in that imgur album (&75), so I am considering just getting one sometime soon and experimenting with it. One that is small preferably, around 100ml give or take.

Thanks for the advice! I definitely want to order some more samples, especially some yancha. I have yet to try any darker oolongs and I am excited to try them.

[bonescwa]

I drank Chinese and taiwanese tea for like 2 or 3 years before I thought about buying one. And I currently have 3 pots. I wasn't saying you can't get good pots under $200, especially for roasted oolongs, dancongs, yancha, things like that. Its just that I think that porcelain is pretty much your best bet for greener Taiwanese tea.

[theredbaron]

Unless you want to spend a lot of money on a real zhuni pot, you're better off with porcelain for Taiwanese tea.

I am sorry, but that is a rather snobbish comment suggesting that one has to spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars - which a real Zhuni pot will cost at least - to enjoy Taiwanese tea in a Yixing pot.

High fired hong ni pots are perfectly fine for low oxidation oolongs, they give better body than porcelain, and if one is patient and looks around a bit one can still find alright pots for around and maybe a bit below 100 US$.


It is a strange world now. When i started drinking Chinese tea in '91, or so, you just bought a Yixing tea pot with your tea. There were no gaiwan (and i still don't like them, and won't ever like them) other than using them directly as a cup for green tea like in Chengdu tea houses. There was no discussion that Yixing is only for advanced tea drinkers. Yixing pots simply belonged to Yancha and Oolong, simple as that.
If you went to south-eastern China back then, for example (and also in many Chinatowns in SEA), people everywhere drunk tea in front of their shops and houses - a small table with a much used Yixing pot, a couple of cups, and chairs. When you passed by you were inevitably invited for a cup or two and a polite chat.
That is the basics of Chinese tea art and culture, and from which modern tea appreciation developed, and should be kept in mind.

[hobin]

Unless you want to spend a lot of money on a real zhuni pot, you're better off with porcelain for Taiwanese tea.

Really?


Does that go for all oolongs? Basically I shouldn't get a yixing pot at all for oolongs unless I spend a lot of money.

I often buy my teaware on yahoo Japan (I'm into japanese teaware, at the moment!). However there are a lot of old yixing teapots on sale here.You can use a Japanese agent (I use Jauce, but there are others). Don't fret, take your time to learn and compare between different pots (also old pots can be crap sometimes)
If you want to have a look at here, with a bit of patience you'll get something interesting without investing a fortune:

http://www.jauce.com/category-leaf/2084024105

http://www.jauce.com/auction/b173460332
that one doesn't look bad imho (maybe not so old)... if you manage to get it for say 5000 yen (40 dollars) it would be a great deal