How to brew Dan congs Western style?

Semi-oxidized tea
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Bok
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Fri Jan 12, 2018 12:05 am

Teachronicles wrote:
Thu Jan 11, 2018 7:30 pm
Can you buy Mary cottermans pots online?
Maybe just try to contact her via her IG.
On the other hand I suspect that her stuff will be exponentially more expensive than just buying a local Chaozhou pot, while being made of the same clay.
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Baisao
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Fri Jan 12, 2018 1:25 am

Bok wrote:
Fri Jan 12, 2018 12:05 am
Teachronicles wrote:
Thu Jan 11, 2018 7:30 pm
Can you buy Mary cottermans pots online?
Maybe just try to contact her via her IG.
On the other hand I suspect that her stuff will be exponentially more expensive than just buying a local Chaozhou pot, while being made of the same clay.
I have a 100 ml dragon egg teapot from her that did not cost much more than the pot linked to at YS. The clay is, I believe, the Chaozhou zhuni clay. Others have said the clay actually comes from Yixing. Either way, it tastes good and is lead free. Craftsmanship is head and shoulders above what I’ve seen from modern Yixing. It performs like a high performance item (I call it my Ferrari teapot, haha!). She can be reached via IG or FB. Usually responds within 24 hrs.
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Bok
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Fri Jan 12, 2018 1:33 am

Baisao wrote:
Fri Jan 12, 2018 1:25 am
I have a 100 ml dragon egg teapot from her that did not cost much more than the pot linked to at YS. The clay is, I believe, the Chaozhou zhuni clay. Others have said the clay actually comes from Yixing. Either way, it tastes good and is lead free. Craftsmanship is head and shoulders above what I’ve seen from modern Yixing. It performs like a high performance item (I call it my Ferrari teapot, haha!). She can be reached via IG or FB. Usually responds within 24 hrs.
Good to know! Heard from other people that Chaozhou ware is a lot better in general than Yixing these days, maybe due to the lower popularity?
There is also something to be said about gongfu ware seen and interpreted by an outsider, good to hear they perform well too.
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tealifehk
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Fri Jan 12, 2018 8:27 am

Bok wrote:
Fri Jan 12, 2018 1:33 am
Baisao wrote:
Fri Jan 12, 2018 1:25 am
I have a 100 ml dragon egg teapot from her that did not cost much more than the pot linked to at YS. The clay is, I believe, the Chaozhou zhuni clay. Others have said the clay actually comes from Yixing. Either way, it tastes good and is lead free. Craftsmanship is head and shoulders above what I’ve seen from modern Yixing. It performs like a high performance item (I call it my Ferrari teapot, haha!). She can be reached via IG or FB. Usually responds within 24 hrs.
Good to know! Heard from other people that Chaozhou ware is a lot better in general than Yixing these days, maybe due to the lower popularity?
There is also something to be said about gongfu ware seen and interpreted by an outsider, good to hear they perform well too.
Chaozhou pots are good for the money. Better than Yixing? Different. Chaozhou clay acts very differently and I find it quite muting! I've heard it is quite popular to use it with pu erh on the Mainland nowadays.
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Baisao
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Fri Jan 12, 2018 11:53 am

tealifehk wrote:
Fri Jan 12, 2018 8:27 am
Chaozhou pots are good for the money. Better than Yixing? Different. Chaozhou clay acts very differently and I find it quite muting! I've heard it is quite popular to use it with pu erh on the Mainland nowadays.
I can only speak of her teapots (I've used two): they compare favorably to Yixing hongni. They are a little porous and therefore muting, but no more than hongni from Yixing. If other pots are more porous then I can see why they would be used for puerh.

I have several Taiwanese pots that I bought without inspecting and not one of them is porous. I suppose that is because of their love for gaoshancha, but that is only a guess. It could just be chance that they are all tight.
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Bok
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Fri Jan 12, 2018 8:58 pm

If your Taiwanese pots are wood fired then they are as tight as if they would be glazed. The extreme heat seals the clay really tight.

The other common Taiwanese type is mostly clay from Miaoli, glazed on the outside. That clay also does not have any muting effects. For reasons unknown to me those perform really well with high mountain tea.
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tealifehk
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Sat Jan 13, 2018 5:47 am

Baisao wrote:
Fri Jan 12, 2018 11:53 am
tealifehk wrote:
Fri Jan 12, 2018 8:27 am
Chaozhou pots are good for the money. Better than Yixing? Different. Chaozhou clay acts very differently and I find it quite muting! I've heard it is quite popular to use it with pu erh on the Mainland nowadays.
I can only speak of her teapots (I've used two): they compare favorably to Yixing hongni. They are a little porous and therefore muting, but no more than hongni from Yixing. If other pots are more porous then I can see why they would be used for puerh.

I have several Taiwanese pots that I bought without inspecting and not one of them is porous. I suppose that is because of their love for gaoshancha, but that is only a guess. It could just be chance that they are all tight.
I've only compared CZ clay to modern hongni with dancong, and the difference is staggering. I no longer think porosity makes any difference since the clay gets a nice coating of palmitic acid with use and the pore structure gets sealed off. I think it's all about firing and thermal properties, which is what Bok told me two years ago. I didn't believe it then, but I now think what he said is entirely true!

I do think my nice CZ pots seem less highly fired than hongni/modern zhuni, so I think the difference in thermal properties contributes to the difference in performance. My CZ pots are definitely very nicely made for the money and a pleasure to use! It's been a while since I've used them, so I should really dust em off and give them a try with some pu!
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Bok
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Sat Jan 13, 2018 9:02 am

tealifehk wrote:
Sat Jan 13, 2018 5:47 am
I think it's all about firing and thermal properties, which is what Bok told me two years ago. I didn't believe it then, but I now think what he said is entirely true!
:mrgreen:
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