Puzzled wannabe Yixing buyer

absence
Posts: 31
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Tue Nov 05, 2019 7:15 am

Baisao wrote:
Mon Oct 21, 2019 2:36 pm
Gyokuro and boiled teas are different. Gyokuro should be fit to size and boiled teas are just an entirely different class.
Does brewing gyokuro in a too large pot have negative effects on the outcome, or is it more about tradition?
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Bok
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Tue Nov 05, 2019 7:23 am

@Youzi +1 !
faj
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Tue Nov 05, 2019 10:45 am

Youzi wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 7:13 am
So you can have guesses based on certain attributes, but at the end of the day what'll decide if a tea is good with a teapot is when you try it out yourself for said pot.
This is entirely true. However, given there is no way anyone can try every tea with every pot to achieve the perfect tea/teapot/personal taste match, there is a natural tendency to develop generalizations, rules of thumb. They are not perfect, in some cases they can be outright counterproductive, but the hope is that, on average, they will bring people closer to something decent faster than blindly trying every potential combination.

By partly relying on consensus opinion within groups of people, you lose something unachievable (perfect choices based on complete first-hand information), but you gain something often useful (less time required to identify decent, if imperfect, options).
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Baisao
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Tue Nov 05, 2019 11:30 am

absence wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 7:15 am
Baisao wrote:
Mon Oct 21, 2019 2:36 pm
Gyokuro and boiled teas are different. Gyokuro should be fit to size and boiled teas are just an entirely different class.
Does brewing gyokuro in a too large pot have negative effects on the outcome, or is it more about tradition?
@absence, mostly because if the vessel is too big and the water might not cover all the leaves. This is rarely the case when making sencha, which uses more water per leaf.
swordofmytriumph
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Tue Nov 05, 2019 1:06 pm

My teapot from Mud and Leaves has arrived!
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swordofmytriumph
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Tue Nov 05, 2019 1:17 pm

I did the water test, pouring hot water over the top, and it performed admirably. The water formed nice droplet/trails over the surface, and it absorbed the water left on it fairly quickly.

Smells good for a new teapot, sharp hot clay smell.

The walls seem nice and thin, I don’t have a way of measuring though.

Feels really nice in the hand and balanced.

I’m really happy with it so far. Haven’t made any tea in it yet. As much as I want to, my nose is somewhat off today, so gonna wait to test it otherwise the results would be skewed.

My experience with yixing is very little, what is the line on the lid? It seems really smooth on the bottom edges and rough closer to the top. How is this effect created?
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swordofmytriumph
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Tue Nov 05, 2019 1:21 pm

Here are three more close ups of the clay.
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.m.
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Tue Nov 05, 2019 1:37 pm

swordofmytriumph wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 1:17 pm
My experience with yixing is very little, what is the line on the lid? It seems really smooth on the bottom edges and rough closer to the top. How is this effect created?
It looks as if the skirt of the lid was grinded at the rough part after a bisque firing to improve the lid fit.
faj
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Tue Nov 05, 2019 2:15 pm

swordofmytriumph wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 1:21 pm
Here are three more close ups of the clay.
Thanks for the pictures. I am curious to see comments by others, as my total absence of experience makes me unable to form any meaningful thought.

How is the pour? Any impression regarding the size? Lid fit and workmanship?
swordofmytriumph
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Tue Nov 05, 2019 3:06 pm

.m. wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 1:37 pm
swordofmytriumph wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 1:17 pm
My experience with yixing is very little, what is the line on the lid? It seems really smooth on the bottom edges and rough closer to the top. How is this effect created?
It looks as if the skirt of the lid was grinded at the rough part after a bisque firing to improve the lid fit.
Thanks!
swordofmytriumph
Posts: 429
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Tue Nov 05, 2019 3:10 pm

faj wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 2:15 pm
How is the pour? Any impression regarding the size? Lid fit and workmanship?
I knew I had forgotten something important! The pour is 10 seconds and it is 140 ml in size. It doesn’t dribble at all. The lid fits absolutely perfectly. Out of all my pots, this lid fits the best. It barely budges once you put it on. Workmanship is really nice. Overall, I can’t find anything wrong with it.
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Baisao
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Tue Nov 05, 2019 3:44 pm

.m. wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 1:37 pm
swordofmytriumph wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 1:17 pm
My experience with yixing is very little, what is the line on the lid? It seems really smooth on the bottom edges and rough closer to the top. How is this effect created?
It looks as if the skirt of the lid was grinded at the rough part after a bisque firing to improve the lid fit.
+1

They can also be ground after firing to make a better fit if the skirt is too wide or the seat isn't square. This is according to some info from the 80s. This does look to be after bisque firing though.
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Youzi
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Tue Nov 05, 2019 4:43 pm

faj wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 10:45 am
Youzi wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 7:13 am
So you can have guesses based on certain attributes, but at the end of the day what'll decide if a tea is good with a teapot is when you try it out yourself for said pot.
This is entirely true. However, given there is no way anyone can try every tea with every pot to achieve the perfect tea/teapot/personal taste match, there is a natural tendency to develop generalizations, rules of thumb. They are not perfect, in some cases they can be outright counterproductive, but the hope is that, on average, they will bring people closer to something decent faster than blindly trying every potential combination.

By partly relying on consensus opinion within groups of people, you lose something unachievable (perfect choices based on complete first-hand information), but you gain something often useful (less time required to identify decent, if imperfect, options).
I think it's enough to try it with the kinds of tea you drink, no need to try it with teas you won't drink. 😁

After 3-5 different teas you can get a really good idea about the pot.
faj
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Tue Nov 05, 2019 4:54 pm

Youzi wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 4:43 pm
I think it's enough to try it with the kinds of tea you drink, no need to try it with teas you won't drink. 😁
After 3-5 different teas you can get a really good idea about the pot.
You are right. Still, buying every pot is a tall and expensive order... So you need to narrow down the list of what to buy... Or increase your cupboard space and earning power! :D

For a beginner, it is difficult to know what to start with. As some contributors have mentioned, experimenting with water and getting new/better teas might very well be a quicker path to a better overall experience. It is difficult to figure out if you should actually purchase any pot at all to start with. So many variables, so little time (and money)...
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Youzi
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Tue Nov 05, 2019 5:05 pm

swordofmytriumph wrote:
Tue Nov 05, 2019 1:17 pm
My experience with yixing is very little, what is the line on the lid? It seems really smooth on the bottom edges and rough closer to the top. How is this effect created?
The smooth part is the "surface" the rough part is "under the surface". All pots with a good fit are like that.

This is how they do it:
https://youtu.be/GKrOZccp6mY

@Baisao
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