The results are in, and the people want yixing (thankfully, since the longjing hasn't arrived yet). Since Tuo Cha Tea mentioned the titular pot for this blog, I'll start there. Fill your teapot up with tea/come and take a ride with me!

This pot has got to be my #1 favorite, if I had to pick one, aesthetically as well as functionally. I acquired it from Hou De last August, started using it for Yen Cha and other roasted oolongs ever since. Here are some quick stats--Age: "60's or early." Clay: Zhuni. Capacity: 85 ml. I'm not planning to talk about prices with these pot profiles; I don't think it's really necessary, as you can compare prices of other pots on the websites where the pot came from; plus it's about finding the perfect pot, not how much the perfect pot costs. I have no idea how to guess or verify the age of a pot, but since this APPEARS to be genuine zhuni, it would have to be several decades old. I've also got no way of verifying the clay type either, but compared to modern zhuni pots I've had, the surface texture is definitely naturally glossier, more complex-looking, and there's evidence of shrinkage both on the surface of the clay and around the hand working lines (visible in many of these pics). In the end, whether or not it's some sort of "true" zhuni isn't really that important to me; the piece satisfies me on so many levels that it's a joy to be able to use it every day. Comparing the below pic to the others you can see how different the clay looks in different types of light; this seems accentuated with zhuni pots, but it's definitely true of most yixing I've seen (thankfully the day I took all of these pics provided good light and my camera actually held up its end of the bargain).



Another reason that this pot functions extremely well is because the hole in the knob is pretty large. With many pots that I have with smaller holes, the hole tends to become blocked with steam water. This, of course, prevents the hole from allowing the tea water to displace the air up inside the lid's dome when the lid is placed on the full pot, so if you put the lid on when the hole is blocked, it shoves a lid-sized amount of tea out of the pot. This pot almost never does that, so I don't have to spend much time blowing the water out of the hole. You can also see in the above pic that some patina is developing on the crook of the spout. Anywhere that tea water can come to rest on a pot seems to build patina faster.

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Post-script! I've heard a lot of bloggers badmouth "internet pots" and claim that "you just can't get a good pot on the internet," and I just have to vehemently disagree. I've bought pots in person and online, and the online pots have been much much better. Thing is, you have to have a trustworthy vendor. Of course, the 4000Friends $7 eBay pots are going to be terrible, but you could guess that easily. There are a few really great vendors online who sell authentic and high-quality pots and do a great job representing them. Yes, Guang and Irene at Hou De do sometimes have to charge a bit to make margin on their pots, but they really know their stuff and if they say a pot has a perfect pour with no drips, they're not lying. Of all the vendors I've bought pots from, Hou De offers the most consistently brilliant pots, sacrificing very little in the way of ideal characteristics. That's one reason I wanted to write about some of my yixing; to identify which vendors are great sources and why. I also want to share my experiences and especially my mistakes so hopefully others can avoid them or have a better idea of what to look for when buying a pot online or in person. If anyone out there has pictures or blog posts about their yixing, please do share! I always love seeing other pots, especially well-loved ones.
5 comments:
Thanks for sharing this beautiful pot. I also want to buy a zhuni lixing shape pot in the near future (probably for Yancha as well.)
I have also been reading a lot about "Internet pots" lately. The message which I took away was not that these pots were inherently bad per say, but that one is asking for trouble if one neglects due dilligence.
Another thing I understand from my reading about "internet pots" is that Houde pots are the one fairly certain exception. You can buy any pot from them and you are guarenteed to get a nice product.
Good Post! That looks to me to be a damned fine pot. I like you also beleive that there are plenty of online sources for genuine Yixing out there, buy from reputable sources and remember that you get what you pay for. For me a the qualifications for being "genuine" doesnt have anything to do with the pots history or how old it is, although those factors definately affect the price. For me as long as it,s made from traditional clays and to some degree hand made then I,m good to go with it and consider it "genuine" But above all else the pots functionality is the most important factor. Your Zhuni is a beauty and obviously is getting some serious attention from you, the seasoning appears to be coming along nicely. Hope your Long Jing gets there soon, cant wait to read your opinions.
I remember that pot!
Guang at Hou De posted two small {under 100 ml| teapots at the same time and I got the flat one! That one is great, too, I use it for green oolongs.
Thanks for the comments fellas.
LaoChaGui--I added your excellent blog to my reading list; I should have been checking it out more before!
Bret--I agree. I've also had some pots that are similar to yours from Yunnan Sourcing and they're extremely functional, especially for the price. It's nice to know you can get a completely usable pot for $35 if need be. Unfortunately I've fallen into the decadent habit of wanting fancy old pots, which is certainly much more expensive without much of a measurable increase in how well my tea turns out.
Tuo Cha--Wow, I never saw the other pot Guang posted. You should post that up on your blog sometime; I'm always up for ogling beautiful yixing.
Reality is China is running out of the clay to make Yi Xing teaware. And all the best clay was used in the past. So the farther back you go in history finding a pot for yourself the better you're going to do if you're so interested in the subtle differences between the kinds of clay.
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