yi xing dribbling....

[heavydoom]

some of my yi xing pots dribble. i know. this is just a superficial thing but it irks me sometimes. you know when you hold your pot to pour and then some tea dribbles out of the the lid, a tiny river of tea. is this common? does this even happen to the most perfectly made yi xing pot? i have also noticed that some pots act differently when there is nothing in them compared to when the pot has tea leaves in them. i am talking about dribbling.

it's just that i bought two nice nice pots and they both dribble. utlimately with gong fu cha brewing, it's about the other parameters that determines whether your tea is going to be tasting well such as : water temp, shape of the pot, thinness of the wall of the pot, infusion times etc......and not whether the pot dribbles, right?

just reassure me guys that i am just being to nerdy about dribbling.

[Salsero]

I think MarshalN has made some comments about dribbling somewhere ... I suppose you could PM him to see how depressed you should be ... or Hop. Hop will likely stop by this thread before long. MarshalN, on the other hand, may be busy with his new bride and traveling for a while still.

Personally, if the pour is fast, I am happy. I generally pour over a tea tray or pie plate or bowl so a little spilling and leaking and dribbling is just part of the fun. I think most of my pots do leak at least a tiny bit around the lid.

[shogun89]

If I pour fast I get no dribbling but slowly I do get it. Its not a big deal, The whole fun on gongfu is to make a mess. Enjoy your tea dribbles!

[chrl42]

Hello, heavydoom!

dribbling is a defect of a product, well-made pot won't dribble from a lid or a hole

But there are more to it one should consider too.

First is hand-made pot.
Hand-made pot don't use a tool that helps shaping circular or straight geomatrical patterns and to balance intimination between lid and body is one of the most difficult procedure in hand making. So to expect a geometrical perfection for crafters could be a burden but they make em too.

Second is Zhuni.
Zhuni shrinks up to 25 percent so the shape in and out of kiln looks very different.
So it's more easier to say Zhuni with a defect than a perfection.
Some Zhuni collectors won't even consider a perfection in shape, rather they would consider purity of a clay, rarity of a clay or a color.

[Geekgirl]

Hello, heavydoom!

dribbling is a defect of a product, well-made pot won't dribble from a lid or a hole

But there are more to it one should consider too.

translation:

a well made pot won't dribble, but a well made pot dribbles.

[chrl42]

Hello, heavydoom!

dribbling is a defect of a product, well-made pot won't dribble from a lid or a hole

But there are more to it one should consider too.

translation:

a well made pot won't dribble, but a well made pot dribbles.

I think I might have a problem on this one, could you elaborate it more?

[heavydoom]

Hello, heavydoom!

dribbling is a defect of a product, well-made pot won't dribble from a lid or a hole

But there are more to it one should consider too.

translation:

a well made pot won't dribble, but a well made pot dribbles.

I think I might have a problem on this one, could you elaborate it more?

charlie, i think what was meant was that with a machine made pot, things are too perfect, so perfect that there is no dribbling. with a hand made pot, it's impossible to get it 100% perfect. maybe 99% perfect. that missing 1 % allows the dribbling to happen. that is my take of what you wanted to say.

[hop_goblin]

Yes, it can be a manufacturing defect, or it could also be that your spout is getting plugged causing the flow to back up. Try filling the pot just under the neck of the opening when you add water and tilt the pot slower as you pour. See how that works.

[chrl42]

Hello, heavydoom!

dribbling is a defect of a product, well-made pot won't dribble from a lid or a hole

But there are more to it one should consider too.

translation:

a well made pot won't dribble, but a well made pot dribbles.

I think I might have a problem on this one, could you elaborate it more?

charlie, i think what was meant was that with a machine made pot, things are too perfect, so perfect that there is no dribbling. with a hand made pot, it's impossible to get it 100% perfect. maybe 99% perfect. that missing 1 % allows the dribbling to happen. that is my take of what you wanted to say.

You are right that whirling-made pot or mould-made pot won't likely to dribble.

But half-hand made pot won't dribble as well and most of 'real yixing' on the market are half-hand made(with a tool) pots.

Entirely hand-made pots are very rare and have a stamp inside the pot (on the wall)...where was I...

So anyway I think if it's not hand-made or Zhuni pots, it should more likely to have no dribbles.

[Geekgirl]

translation:

a well made pot won't dribble, but a well made pot dribbles.

I think I might have a problem on this one, could you elaborate it more?

Heehee, I was just thinking of the contradiction of handcrafted objects. With a machine made object perfection is desirable, even required. With handmade, artisan objects, quality of the finished product has to be based upon other things because the imperfections of the artisan can be reflected in the finished work.

Thus a pot that dribbles slightly, it is an acceptable imperfection even in a high quality artisan object.

On a practical note: I have several nice pots that dribble if I immediately turn them on their side when starting the pour. If I do a slight tilt for the first 1/3-1/2 of the pour, it still pours just as fast, but no dribbles. I believe that when the tilt is too aggressive at the outset, it may force just enough back pressure to break the lid seal and increase leaking.

[betta]

Could it be related to the shape of the pot itself?
I see many pots have fancy geometry which I think quite difficult to control pour of water out of it. Well... it's my guess

[heavydoom]

Yes, it can be a manufacturing defect, or it could also be that your spout is getting plugged causing the flow to back up. Try filling the pot just under the neck of the opening when you add water and tilt the pot slower as you pour. See how that works.

filling the water just under the neck of the spout. but most gong fu cha makers fill the water right to the rim of the pot. don't you? i do. i will try this water filling up to the neck to see if this helps.

the dribbling still happens when the pot has no leaves in it but water is filled to the rim. i will try to this again with water up to the neck without leaves.

again, this is not the end of the world to me. just curious. i know that the whole enjoyment and the experience of gong fu style is to make a bit of a watery mess.

[heavydoom]

Could it be related to the shape of the pot itself?
I see many pots have fancy geometry which I think quite difficult to control pour of water out of it. Well... it's my guess

no, the pots in question were of regular traditional shapes.

i do pour right away at full tilt, 90 degress, right down the chute, so to say.

[Salsero]

it could also be that your spout is getting plugged causing the flow to back up.

Good diagnostic technique, Hop. The obvious is so easily overlooked and so often the best explanation! Some pots plug more easily than others and that is as likely the cause as the lid fit. Course none of it bothers me much since I love splashing water everywhere anyway.

a machine made pot

Off topic a bit, but I don't think there are any pots truly made by machines. I think cheaper pots are all SLIPCAST, a non-artisan technique that is nonetheless manual, not done by a machine.

[betta]

Course none of it bothers me much since I love splashing water everywhere anyway.

Mom says you're bad bad boy....