Yixing

[Youzi]

Are you saying there's no green zhuni either?
https://taiwanoolongs.com/collections/a ... i-chu-fang

Definitely there's no green zhuni.

Zhuni is reddish, orangy of brownish. Or black when reduction fired.

Unless there is green iron oxide existing

I’ve seen a modern reduction fired Zhuni which was a very dark blue ish black. Some could call it dark blue

Apparently that was done in limited amounts but abandoned due to the high failure rate.

I've seen many of those too, but they are only bluish black under certain light conditions and black, black grey under others.

When I talk about blue and green I mean blue and green, which everyone would consider blue and green. Not ...-ish colors

[Youzi]

Teapot two! Which was actually the first one I bought, in person at a small shop in Suzhou. I didn't even know there were differences between the types of clay at the time, but I've since tentatively decided this must be duanni if anything.

I'm pretty sure it's got to be at least partly handmade, since the spout is crooked.

Do let me know if you need another picture because these ones aren't enough/are out of focus. And thank you everyone for your help so far.

How old is that pot? When did you buy it?

[BriarOcelot]

I like the look of pot number 2 more than the first one , but I don't have anything great to add.

Oh, and there isn't naturally blue or green clay in yixing, never existed. Those are made with added cobalt or chromium oxide.

Are you saying there's no green zhuni either?
https://taiwanoolongs.com/collections/a ... i-chu-fang

Definitely there's no green zhuni.

Zhuni is reddish, orangy of brownish. Or black when reduction fired.

Unless there is green iron oxide existing

Lots of interesting information in this thread. I've been looking through and doing some virtual pot window-shopping myself. I've seen quite a few claiming to be 'Qing hui ni' (原矿青灰泥) which is odd as those should be grey/brown as far as I understand and I'm depending on where you look some people state the ore is extinct. So what's being output under those names (in Yixing) are just blends of clay?

I saw this pot and thought it looked nice. It looks like a mixed clay.

AFAIK the 'tuition' pots I've purchased are new(ish) pots that are mostly a Duan'ni (段泥) mix. When I get my camera/phone working I'll put some pics up of some pots along with their stamps etc.

I also have some light brown / sesame pots I picked up which described as 'Qing Shui Ni' (but I guess also are just a blend of duan'ni and other ore). No certificates or anything. They only cost between 300 and 900 NTD (about $10 - 30 USD), so I'm not expecting star quality. But they don't smell bad and I bought them from a nice old dude's tea-shop outside of Taipei.

So far I just have one dodgy pot that smells obviously bad...

In terms of 'green clay' I see pots on various western vendor sites i.e; Yunnan Sourcing, Nannuoshan, Mud & Leaves etc. (see example) going for under $100USD. Makes me scratch my head a bit.

[Bok]

@BriarOcelot no chance in hell that this one from Yunnan sourcing is Qinghuini... if anything it reminds me of reduction fired Duanni.

As you said real Qinghuini should be greyish brown or sometimes light grey. I have only seen and handled antique QHN, so no idea what the modern version of it is supposed to look like.

[steanze]

Teapot two! Which was actually the first one I bought, in person at a small shop in Suzhou. I didn't even know there were differences between the types of clay at the time, but I've since tentatively decided this must be duanni if anything.

Yes, this looks like a modern duanni pot, probably post 2000s. I'd prefer this over the first pot, but it looks like it will be very muting, so it might work best with aged sheng that went through some humid storage. I would not use it for teas that have subtle flavor nuances as they might be lost.

[steanze]

Lots of interesting information in this thread. I've been looking through and doing some virtual pot window-shopping myself. I've seen quite a few claiming to be 'Qing hui ni' (原矿青灰泥) which is odd as those should be grey/brown as far as I understand and I'm depending on where you look some people state the ore is extinct. So what's being output under those names (in Yixing) are just blends of clay?

I saw this pot and thought it looked nice. It looks like a mixed clay.

AFAIK the 'tuition' pots I've purchased are new(ish) pots that are mostly a Duan'ni (段泥) mix. When I get my camera/phone working I'll put some pics up of some pots along with their stamps etc.

I also have some light brown / sesame pots I picked up which described as 'Qing Shui Ni' (but I guess also are just a blend of duan'ni and other ore). No certificates or anything. They only cost between 300 and 900 NTD (about $10 - 30 USD), so I'm not expecting star quality. But they don't smell bad and I bought them from a nice old dude's tea-shop outside of Taipei.

So far I just have one dodgy pot that smells obviously bad...

In terms of 'green clay' I see pots on various western vendor sites i.e; Yunnan Sourcing, Nannuoshan, Mud & Leaves etc. (see example) going for under $100USD. Makes me scratch my head a bit.

青灰泥 is not very common, it is an ore in between the zini and duanni strata. Things sold as 青灰泥 could also be duanni doped with a bit of manganese oxide.
Qing shui ni is not a type of duanni, it is a type of zini. However, it might be that they told you that something is qingshuini but it is actually duanni. $10-30 though is a bit suspicious for Yixing, it seems too cheap even for Taiwan...

[Kolleh]

How old is that pot? When did you buy it?

I bought it this year, and I assumed (the shopkeeper didn't say otherwise) that it had been made recently.

[Kolleh]

Teapot two! Which was actually the first one I bought, in person at a small shop in Suzhou. I didn't even know there were differences between the types of clay at the time, but I've since tentatively decided this must be duanni if anything.

Yes, this looks like a modern duanni pot, probably post 2000s. I'd prefer this over the first pot, but it looks like it will be very muting, so it might work best with aged sheng that went through some humid storage. I would not use it for teas that have subtle flavor nuances as they might be lost.

Thank you! I'd been drinking lightly roasted oolong in it, since I'd heard duanni often pairs nicely with them, but I'll keep the puerh tip in mind. I suppose it isn't too late to switch over.

[Chadrinkincat]

Oh, and there isn't naturally blue or green clay in yixing, never existed. Those are made with added cobalt or chromium oxide.

Are you saying there's no green zhuni either?
https://taiwanoolongs.com/collections/a ... i-chu-fang

This is why most vendors that specialize in tea shouldn’t sell yixing.

[steanze]

Thank you! I'd been drinking lightly roasted oolong in it, since I'd heard duanni often pairs nicely with them, but I'll keep the puerh tip in mind. I suppose it isn't too late to switch over.

Yes, I wouldn't make lightly roasted oolong with that pot, the lightly roasted oolongs will be better in a thin porcelain gaiwan imo. It's not too late to switch over. But also, experiment and see what you like

[steanze]

Are you saying there's no green zhuni either?
https://taiwanoolongs.com/collections/a ... i-chu-fang

This is why most vendors that specialize in tea shouldn’t sell yixing.

Oh god that is scary. And that price

[Youzi]

I like the look of pot number 2 more than the first one , but I don't have anything great to add.

Are you saying there's no green zhuni either?
https://taiwanoolongs.com/collections/a ... i-chu-fang

Definitely there's no green zhuni.

Zhuni is reddish, orangy of brownish. Or black when reduction fired.

Unless there is green iron oxide existing

Lots of interesting information in this thread. I've been looking through and doing some virtual pot window-shopping myself. I've seen quite a few claiming to be 'Qing hui ni' (原矿青灰泥) which is odd as those should be grey/brown as far as I understand and I'm depending on where you look some people state the ore is extinct. So what's being output under those names (in Yixing) are just blends of clay?

Qinghuini comes from Da Shui Tan mine, which got flooded in the early 1900s. However it's possible, that in HLS there is some QHN, at the parts which are close to DST. However most modern QHN pots I see online doesn't look like QHN.

Qing Hui Ni and Qing Duan Ni is different, the first is Zini and the second is a Duanni. Totally different things.

[Youzi]

How old is that pot? When did you buy it?

I bought it this year, and I assumed (the shopkeeper didn't say otherwise) that it had been made recently.

Interesting, it looks like early locomotive production to me, so 2010 or before. Is that dirt on the outside or Tuhei? How do you use the pot? Do you shower it with tea on the outside or something similar, so that the outside can stain? How's the pitch of the teapot, when you lightly tap it or move the lid against the body?

[TeaTotaling]

This pot is made from Min Guo Lüni, and has a similar blueish appearance to Kolleh’s.

TeaTotaling soooooo you’re the lucky one who snatched this pot!

Surprisingly, no, it wasn't me! I have been exercising some self control, recently. Really enjoying my current lineup. This is a gorgeous pot though, I really love this shape. I'm sure whoever received it will be extremely satisfied. Have you acquired any new gems from YZG?? I have my eye on a couple.

[Kolleh]

How old is that pot? When did you buy it?

I bought it this year, and I assumed (the shopkeeper didn't say otherwise) that it had been made recently.

Interesting, it looks like early locomotive production to me, so 2010 or before. Is that dirt on the outside or Tuhei? How do you use the pot? Do you shower it with tea on the outside or something similar, so that the outside can stain? How's the pitch of the teapot, when you lightly tap it or move the lid against the body?

Oh, that is interesting! That's older than I would have thought.

I'm not certain what Tuhei is, but there isn't any dirt on the pot. I don't go out of my way to pour tea on the outside, but when I mess up a steeping (which happens every so often if I'm experimenting, get distracted and let it sit too long, or pour the tea too soon), I usually pour that batch over the outside of the teapot before I boil more water. I'm not sure if that's proper Yixing etiquette, though.

I wasn't sure how to describe the sound, so I recorded a quick video so you could hear for yourself. There doesn't seem to be an option for attaching video files, so I've dropped it here: https://we.tl/t-GRI4qai1Se

Hope that's helpful!