Do you need help with Yixing?

[hop_goblin]

Here is a little resource that I read when I first started collecting YiXing teaware. I have found it extremely useful. I am sure some of you have read it but for those who have not, I recommend it.

http://www.terebess.hu/english/yixing1a.html

[treazure]

I am glad you posted that link. Having been certain that I would not need or want to buy a Yixing pot, not I have to eat my words. Dagnabbit. So I've found a decorated (outside, inside unglazed), commercially produced pot I like and can afford, so I figure that is fine for beginning Yixing.

Here's the question. Cups. I found some unglazed Yixing that I like somewhat but not like true tea love, but some glazed inside and out, chrysanthemum cups that call to me. So glazed or not?

I'll be using the first Yixing for either my oolong, and if I like it and can find the Pu Erh a friend sent me that had no name on it other than Puerh, I'll get another pot for that. Then maybe....... You know if I find a figural Yixing pot in the shape of cats, pumpkins or fishies, there goes my budget.

Sigh. 'Tis better to eat my words with a cup of tea, so I'm off to put the kettle on. Anyone want to join me in a cup of Lapsang Souchong?

[Trioxin]

Interesting read. Its kinda nice to see the craftsman of a couple of my pots listed.

[pb2q]

I'm glad you posted this. One reason I created an account here was a growing list of questions and things like this that I wanted to share. As soon as I created an account that list leaked right out of my left ear.

When I found the Billy Mood guide a few years ago, there were two versions, this one from terebess and another that was on/off available in the internet archive. As I recall the one from the internet archive was superior for some reason... images maybe? Additional sections? Does anyone else remember this?

[daughteroftheKing]

I've put off getting into yixing, too (not wanting to feed another addiction!), but I shall surely soon succumb. Treazure - regarding the cups, I'm looking to cups that are glazed on the inside b/c I don't want them confined to only 1 tea. It's bad enough to have a different pot for each tea (or each type of tea), but different cups for each tea, too, would be overwhelming for me.

[treazure]

Thank you Daughter of the King! That's kind of what I was thinking as well. There are times like tonight when I'd love to wrap my paws around a cup of hot tea just for the heat.

Sigh. Tonight I found a figural cat teapot that I've never seen before and must have. Plus I found a yixing pot that is glazed on the outside but not the inside and since I love the feel of glazed pottery against my hands.

ARGH! I want to play with clay NOW! Guess I'll have to settle for making pumpernickel bread tomorrow. I wonder. Do bakers become potters or do potters become bakers? I used to get as much pleasure out of kneading and preparing the clay as I did creating with it.

One of these years I'll get a camera and hopefully figure which end points toward the teapots. I'm not a visual person, so my photographs will not be very good.

In my bedtime cup, hot, spiced apple cider mixed with Bigelow's Pumpkin Spice tea. Nighty night.

[danluie]

It is very important that what's the purpose of buying yixing teapot.
For decoration? For making good tea? Or for collection?
Personal, I like to have my teapots have all these purposes.
First, make sure it is real original yixing clay(very important).
Second, the shape is good and easy to use(not too fancy).
third, need to know different yixing teapot is good for different tea.

[Maitre_Tea]

I've read that lengthy article on yixing a while back, and I remembered that it was very insightful. However, I found myself with more questions after reading the article, in terms of where the hell to find "authentic" yixing ware. I was also a little saddened, because it seems that if I'm going to ever buy a master grade yixing I'm going to have to pay thousands, and quite possibly have to actually track down the master to authenticate the handiwork

[Oni]

What type of clay and shape is suitable for Wu Yi teas such as Da Hong Pao?

[hop_goblin]

What type of clay and shape is suitable for Wu Yi teas such as Da Hong Pao?

Oni, I would recommend a high fired pot no bigger than 120ml.

[Oni]

[Oni]

This is my only yixing pot, it is da hong pao clay from yunnan sourcing, I dedicated this exclusively to Tie Guan Yin, but i am new to oolongs, for a year now I have been drinking japanese green tea, I want to dedicate a pot to da hong pao too, I haven`t tried it but both TGY and Da Hong Pao are among the most famous chinese oolongs.

[hop_goblin]

I've read that lengthy article on yixing a while back, and I remembered that it was very insightful. However, I found myself with more questions after reading the article, in terms of where the hell to find "authentic" yixing ware. I was also a little saddened, because it seems that if I'm going to ever buy a master grade yixing I'm going to have to pay thousands, and quite possibly have to actually track down the master to authenticate the handiwork

Yeah, you can almost forget buying a Master's piece.. those babies are already spoken for by fat cats in Taiwan and China.

[britt]

It is very important that what's the purpose of buying yixing teapot.
For decoration? For making good tea? Or for collection?
Personal, I like to have my teapots have all these purposes.
First, make sure it is real original yixing clay(very important).
Second, the shape is good and easy to use(not too fancy).
third, need to know different yixing teapot is good for different tea.

For those whose main purpose for their Yixings is brewing tea, I can't stress enough the importance of tea/Yixing matching. I have found that the shape, size, and weight may be more important than the clay type, although that can also make a difference. I dedicate at least one pot per type of tea, not one for each individual tea.

I agree that real clay is important for anyone whose intent is to purchase a Yixing teapot. Why buy an Yixing fake? If real clay isn't an issue, there are Taiwanese gong-fu pots that work very well. Some are as little as $25 and did a great job with verious oolongs when I owned one. There are also more expensive Taiwanese pots that rival Yixings in price. I do admit, however, that there is a certain charm with real Yixings that is hard to match, especially when you're lucky enough to get one that works well with the tea for which you purchased it.

I have had great luck with Yixings from Jing Tea Shop in China. They always recommend a tea for each Yixing, and although some of their recommendations seemed to contradict everything I thought I had learned, every pot has worked well with their recommended tea types.

[britt]

What type of clay and shape is suitable for Wu Yi teas such as Da Hong Pao?

Usually it's believed that darker clay and wide, flat shapes are best. Some go further and say flat and square.

I agree that the shape is very important I but believe the clay is less so. I have found that the most important characteristic for Yixing's dedicated to darker teas such as Wu Yi is that they be thick and heavy.

I have tried three pots with Wu Yi that have worked very well, but they contradict some theories on the best match for for this tea. I have chosen one to dedicate and the other two are now used for Dan Cong. Two of them are dark brown Zisha in a round-bodied pot that is very compressed and flat, have thick walls, and are quite heavy for their size, which are 130CC and 180CC. They both worked very well with various Wu Yi's.

The third, which is the one I dedicated to Wuyi upon Jing Tea Shop's recommendation, is a taller, square Yixing made of Lu Ni (green clay). It is also very thick and heavy for it's 145CC size. After boiling it for 30 minutes before use, I never bothered seasoning it other than to just keep brewing tea in it and drinking the tea. After using it for a while, I feel this Yixing is the best choice for Wu Yi of the three, but all of them do an excellent job.

I stress thick and heavy as being very beneficial to any Yixing dedicated to Wu Yi. I do all versions of Wu Yi that I have tried in the same pot; Rou Gai, Bai Ji Guan, and Da Hong Pao.

Good luck!