Hello,
My first post and surprise, surprise, it's a question. I'm no stranger to good tea. I really like Japanese variants followed by good Oolong's. When I travel to Asia I like to seek out and bring home the best I can find. I've been thinking of buying a Yixing pot. I find the darker ones more attractive but someone mentioned that there might be some safety issues with the darker pots due to additives. What do folks here think?
Apr 9th, '09, 19:40
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Joined: Feb 15th, '08, 10:15
Location: Pennsylvania
You should be fine. I have one that is black "Zisha". I paid $12 for it so I know its not real but it makes a kick a$$ cup of tea. Anyway, as long as you buy from a reputable source such as YSSLC and smell it when you receive it to make sure there are no obvious scents of chemicals or stuff like that, then you should be fine.
oh and welcome to TeaChat!
oh and welcome to TeaChat!
It might depend on the amount used.
Traditionally, those intentional ingredients used is less than 0.5%, more used is much stronger color and mostly breaks in a kiln so fired at low temp so smells a lot.
I don't like those oxide ingredient-used pots for its unnatural color and patina.
There are original clay-used dark pots as well. Like Wuni, Heixingni and WuHui(reduction method)-fired pots..these pots have slightly lighter color inside than outside, due to lack of oxygen when firing. Mixed clay or oxide ingredient-used clay ruins its natural composition, so have the same color in and out.
Traditionally, those intentional ingredients used is less than 0.5%, more used is much stronger color and mostly breaks in a kiln so fired at low temp so smells a lot.
I don't like those oxide ingredient-used pots for its unnatural color and patina.
There are original clay-used dark pots as well. Like Wuni, Heixingni and WuHui(reduction method)-fired pots..these pots have slightly lighter color inside than outside, due to lack of oxygen when firing. Mixed clay or oxide ingredient-used clay ruins its natural composition, so have the same color in and out.
Charles, I've tried sending you a private message but it is not working. Can you tell me more about the small teapot in your avatar. I have the same one that I bought in Bangkok but the seller could not give me any info on it. I'm assuming it is zisha. How old, and, where did you get yours? Thank you.chrl42 wrote:It might depend on the amount used.
Traditionally, those intentional ingredients used is less than 0.5%, more used is much stronger color and mostly breaks in a kiln so fired at low temp so smells a lot.
I don't like those oxide ingredient-used pots for its unnatural color and patina.
There are original clay-used dark pots as well. Like Wuni, Heixingni and WuHui(reduction method)-fired pots..these pots have slightly lighter color inside than outside, due to lack of oxygen when firing. Mixed clay or oxide ingredient-used clay ruins its natural composition, so have the same color in and out.
Messsge sentTead Off wrote: Charles, I've tried sending you a private message but it is not working. Can you tell me more about the small teapot in your avatar. I have the same one that I bought in Bangkok but the seller could not give me any info on it. I'm assuming it is zisha. How old, and, where did you get yours? Thank you.
Of course it's not me who owns it, maybe somewhere precious.
It's called ZheGu teapot, ZheGu is some bird (Francolin?) living in southern China. A story intriguing me,
"Gu Jing Zhou had a pox disease at 24 and his face not the greatest, only knew about Yixing teapot for his life so could get his first wife at the age of 50.
This pot was made in his 60's, after the CR period, when his name was already famous his precious wife got a disease, consolate his mind by making a teapot resembling ZheGu spreading wing. On the bottom of this pot, his self-made poem is written
"1983, spring. Coming to Shanghai to cure wife's disease. During staying in HuaiHuai middle school, when my mind is depressed and empty, to remember a roughness of this destiny by making some teapot, this year my age 69"
A few months later, his wife died.
ZheGu is a bird often found in Song poems, usually to depict a sadness longing friends or lover. Gu Jing Zhou himself was a fan of Song poem, predicting a destiny what might have come a few months later.
i think you can use two methord to indetify the good teapot.
1\ the price, in yixing, one kg good clay is about 140 yuan(about $20), a small teapot about 170ml about half kg, so about $10. so the worst good clay teapot in yixing is about $25(made by artists'sAssistant), out yixing, at least $40, if you buy out china, i think the price is higher.
2\the color, the teapot mixed Chemical substances has good looking, the color is very bright, and too smooth. these teapot not by artist but by factory though"zhu jiang"tech.
1\ the price, in yixing, one kg good clay is about 140 yuan(about $20), a small teapot about 170ml about half kg, so about $10. so the worst good clay teapot in yixing is about $25(made by artists'sAssistant), out yixing, at least $40, if you buy out china, i think the price is higher.
2\the color, the teapot mixed Chemical substances has good looking, the color is very bright, and too smooth. these teapot not by artist but by factory though"zhu jiang"tech.
Apr 11th, '09, 11:37
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Chen, is that anyway you can get more info on the Qinglong mountain clay, you did mentions which look like bronze? Thanks ; )finddream2020 wrote:i think you can use two methord to indetify the good teapot.
1\ the price, in yixing, one kg good clay is about 140 yuan(about $20), a small teapot about 170ml about half kg, so about $10. so the worst good clay teapot in yixing is about $25(made by artists'sAssistant), out yixing, at least $40, if you buy out china, i think the price is higher.
2\the color, the teapot mixed Chemical substances has good looking, the color is very bright, and too smooth. these teapot not by artist but by factory though"zhu jiang"tech.
[quote="finddream2020"]i think you can use two methord to indetify the good teapot.
1\ the price, in yixing, one kg good clay is about 140 yuan(about $20), a small teapot about 170ml about half kg, so about $10. so the worst good clay teapot in yixing is about $25(made by artists'sAssistant), out yixing, at least $40, if you buy out china, i think the price is higher.
The amount of clay needed to make a small teapot surprises me. When you say half a kg, do you mean in wet weight? I knew that it would take an accomplished artist at least 5 days to make a teapot, are there a lot of clay wastages during the process?
Someone says that a "genuine" item (one made of good quality clay) would have relatively thin wall, as an artist would save as much valuable good clay as he or she could.
Also, I noticed from a blog written by an Yixing teapot artist posted in 2006, she said Huang Long Mountain No. 4 mine shaft has been closed since the 90s then she went on to say that very few people actually still have material from that mine shaft. Chen, I wonder do your parents still have the very valuable clay from the famous shaft No. 4? If they have, I'm sure the price would be well above $20 per kg.
1\ the price, in yixing, one kg good clay is about 140 yuan(about $20), a small teapot about 170ml about half kg, so about $10. so the worst good clay teapot in yixing is about $25(made by artists'sAssistant), out yixing, at least $40, if you buy out china, i think the price is higher.
The amount of clay needed to make a small teapot surprises me. When you say half a kg, do you mean in wet weight? I knew that it would take an accomplished artist at least 5 days to make a teapot, are there a lot of clay wastages during the process?
Someone says that a "genuine" item (one made of good quality clay) would have relatively thin wall, as an artist would save as much valuable good clay as he or she could.
Also, I noticed from a blog written by an Yixing teapot artist posted in 2006, she said Huang Long Mountain No. 4 mine shaft has been closed since the 90s then she went on to say that very few people actually still have material from that mine shaft. Chen, I wonder do your parents still have the very valuable clay from the famous shaft No. 4? If they have, I'm sure the price would be well above $20 per kg.
to make a small teapot will use more clay, and the clay is filled with water.apache wrote:finddream2020 wrote:i think you can use two methord to indetify the good teapot.
1\ the price, in yixing, one kg good clay is about 140 yuan(about $20), a small teapot about 170ml about half kg, so about $10. so the worst good clay teapot in yixing is about $25(made by artists'sAssistant), out yixing, at least $40, if you buy out china, i think the price is higher.
The amount of clay needed to make a small teapot surprises me. When you say half a kg, do you mean in wet weight? I knew that it would take an accomplished artist at least 5 days to make a teapot, are there a lot of clay wastages during the process?
Someone says that a "genuine" item (one made of good quality clay) would have relatively thin wall, as an artist would save as much valuable good clay as he or she could.
Also, I noticed from a blog written by an Yixing teapot artist posted in 2006, she said Huang Long Mountain No. 4 mine shaft has been closed since the 90s then she went on to say that very few people actually still have material from that mine shaft. Chen, I wonder do your parents still have the very valuable clay from the famous shaft No. 4? If they have, I'm sure the price would be well above $20 per kg.
a good artist has thin wall, but need 5days to make a teapot, so total handmade yixing teapot's price is higher
yes, you are right, the no.4 mine is closed in the late of 90's, but our clay all is huanglong mountain no.4 mine, our clay is early 90's. so the price is high. we put the high quality clay writen in centification to indentify it.