Help Me Choose a Yixing Pot From These Options

[MarbeL]

Ok, I've been searching around everywhere for at least a week now. I've narrowed my selection down to the following options, but need help to decide which one to get.

The most important factors to me include:
1. Authentic material, if one of the options look like a fake pot I don't want it.
2. A good lid fit. I want to be able to pour without water coming out of the lid.

The two I'm most interested in are below.

Pot option #1 - $200
https://essenceoftea.com/collections/yi ... ing-teapot
Concerns: I've read that factory 1 teapots many times don't have good fitting lids. I'd be disappointed if I try to pour tea and lose tea out of the lid. Can someone assure me the lid should be somewhat decent? I like the way this pot looks the best, it looks very unique with the lotus lid.

Pot option #2 - $139
https://verdanttea.com/teas/carved-xi-s ... wang-ting/
Concerns: the spout looks really tiny, will I be able to pour without dribbling?

Which of the 2 would you choose?



Other's that I was considering include:
Pot option #3 - $179.95
https://www.teasenz.com/da-hong-pao-teapot#.Xg4HeEdKiHs
Concerns: Not the biggest fan of the "old man" art on the side. On the plus side, they do have a video showing the teacup passing the lid test.

Pot option #4 - $119
https://www.mudandleaves.com/store/p553 ... 125ml.html
Concerns: rather basic looking, but I appreciate all the articles the website has on yixing pots.

Pot option #5 - $88
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/ ... ing-teapot
Concerns: Not sure if site is trustworthy. Will the material really be Da Hong Pao Clay? Is this pot really hand made? I find it odd that they say "Every pot is hand-made and the artisan will sometimes change the stamps they use.". Why would the artist change their signature... doesn't make sense to me, it's impossible to establish a brand if you keep changing your signature. I really like the shape of this pot though.

Pot option #6 - $99
https://www.teavivre.com/antique-yixing ... eapot.html
Concerns: rather basic looking.

[Zared]

#1 has good clay but high likelihood that it’ll drip.

#4 looks decent clay compared to the others you listed.

[DailyTX]

#1 has good clay but high likelihood that it’ll drip.

#4 looks decent clay compared to the others you listed.

#1 pot will meet your 2 criteria of good clay and good lid fit. Zared is also right about drip when you finish the pour due to the size, shape of sprout, and thickness of clay to teapot ratio. I own pot #1, I would recommend it.

If you don’t mind modern clay, #4 pot should have better craftsmanship. I own a different pot from mud and leaves, the craftsmanship is much better from factory 1.

Been a tea drinker for so long, I have overcome the drip aspect of pot #1. By drip, it’s not the lid that leaks, but when you finish a pour, a droplet of tea drip from the tip of the sprout which glide down from the pot body, and over time it will create a line of stain if not cleaned each use. Maybe personal bias, I will choose #1 out of the 4 because #1 pot is not being produced while you can still buy the others later. Good luck!

[bagua7]

IMO you'll enjoy more the pour and shape of pot no. 4 in the long run. Clay is OK, not as good as no. 1 (the best of the whole lot you mentioned) but overall is a more enjoyable pot.

Ignore any DHP pots. It's a made up clay; that is, a mix of who knows what. A bastard creation.

[12Tea]

Purely based on the pictures, I think you should avoid teapot 1 (clay looks weird/off), 2 & 5 (carving is so sloppy, it wouldn't be carves so bad with good clay).

If you insist on teapot 1 or 2, I would go for 2, but I think with the xishi shape, there's always risk of dripping. I would contact the seller first and ask them to test before shipping out.

[MarbeL]

Thanks for all the comments so far.

I am leaning toward option #1 based on DailyTX's point that I won't be able to buy that option for very long. But then 12Tea said the clay looks wierd/off, does it look wrong to anyone else?

See link below for detailed pics, hovering over the pic lets you zoom in:
https://essenceoftea.com/collections/yi ... ing-teapot

If others think the clay looks questionable, I think my choice is option #4. Otherwise I think I'm ready to purchase option #1. Maybe I'll get them both to start my collection


Bagua7 said not to trust any DHP pots, but I don't think that's true. I think we can trust modern "Zhuni DHP" pots, but don't trust any other DHP pots per the following article:
https://www.mudandleaves.com/teatime-bl ... ngpao-clay

[Zared]

Thanks for all the comments so far.

I am leaning toward option #1 based on DailyTX's point that I won't be able to buy that option for very long. But then 12Tea said the clay looks wierd/off, does it look wrong to anyone else?

See link below for detailed pics, hovering over the pic lets you zoom in:
https://essenceoftea.com/collections/yi ... ing-teapot

If others think the clay looks questionable, I think my choice is option #4. Otherwise I think I'm ready to purchase option #1. Maybe I'll get them both to start my collection


Bagua7 said not to trust any DHP pots, but I don't think that's true. I think we can trust modern "Zhuni DHP" pots, but don't trust any other DHP pots per the following article:
https://www.mudandleaves.com/teatime-bl ... ngpao-clay

Pot #1 is authentic F1 w/ normal looking hongni from this era. Pots from this era aren’t that rare so don’t expect them to disappear anytime soon.

Clay on pot #2, #3 and #5 look artificial to me.

Zhuni and DHP are generally just buzzwords that vendors used to sell pots with mystery red clay.

[DailyTX]

Maybe if budget is not a problem, getting 1# and #4 would be a good start into yixing zisha. Those two pots have about 20 years apart, you can see how craftsmanship changed with modern tools.

#1 pot is not anything rare due to so many F1 pots produced in 80s and early 90s. It’s a good beginner pot to try out to see if yixing is for you. Personally, I think the title F1 pot will have better resell value. Now, if you have an extra 200 dollars, it’s worth looking into the private order pot from essenceoftea. I purchased one a few years back when they were operating in Malaysia, it’s still one of my go to pot for Sheng Pu erh.

[MarbeL]

Maybe if budget is not a problem, getting 1# and #4 would be a good start into yixing zisha. Those two pots have about 20 years apart, you can see how craftsmanship changed with modern tools.

#1 pot is not anything rare due to so many F1 pots produced in 80s and early 90s. It’s a good beginner pot to try out to see if yixing is for you. Personally, I think the title F1 pot will have better resell value. Now, if you have an extra 200 dollars, it’s worth looking into the private order pot from essenceoftea. I purchased one a few years back when they were operating in Malaysia, it’s still one of my go to pot for Sheng Pu erh.

What private order pots are you talking about? The most expensive pot I see on essenceoftea is $220. Do you have to message them for special pots?

[DailyTX]

Maybe if budget is not a problem, getting 1# and #4 would be a good start into yixing zisha. Those two pots have about 20 years apart, you can see how craftsmanship changed with modern tools.

#1 pot is not anything rare due to so many F1 pots produced in 80s and early 90s. It’s a good beginner pot to try out to see if yixing is for you. Personally, I think the title F1 pot will have better resell value. Now, if you have an extra 200 dollars, it’s worth looking into the private order pot from essenceoftea. I purchased one a few years back when they were operating in Malaysia, it’s still one of my go to pot for Sheng Pu erh.

What private order pots are you talking about? The most expensive pot I see on essenceoftea is $220. Do you have to message them for special pots?

Here is one:
https://essenceoftea.com/collections/yi ... g-teapot-1

It’s 90s private order di cao qing pots. Most of them are gone, once in a while, they will add a few to the site.