Yixing

[Bok]

Here is the article in Chinese
https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/368810129

Nice one, thanks!

[steanze]

steanze
Here is the article in Chinese
https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/368810129

Thank you, very interesting! I have seen green label pots made of heixingtu (one of the most famous ones is the square one with a plant motif), but the ones I have seen are always the models produced in the 80s, not in the 70s... I also noticed that the article uses the term 甲子泥 to refer to heixingtu, sometimes there is a bit of confusion between jiazini/qiezini and heixingtu, they are both dark types of zini, but jiaizini is used until early-mid 70s and does not have added manganese, while heixingtu is used later and has the manganese. One possibility is that there was a bit of confusion and jiazini and heixingtu got lumped together as one type of clay. This could explain the claim that this clay was used also in the 1970s, because jiazini was indeed used in the 1970s (and even in the 1960s). Alternatively, it is possible that there really are some 1970s F1 heixingtu pots out there, but I have not seen them before.

[DailyTX]

steanze
Here is the article in Chinese
https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/368810129

Thank you, very interesting! I have seen green label pots made of heixingtu (one of the most famous ones is the square one with a plant motif), but the ones I have seen are always the models produced in the 80s, not in the 70s... I also noticed that the article uses the term 甲子泥 to refer to heixingtu, sometimes there is a bit of confusion between jiazini/qiezini and heixingtu, they are both dark types of zini, but jiaizini is used until early-mid 70s and does not have added manganese, while heixingtu is used later and has the manganese. One possibility is that there was a bit of confusion and jiazini and heixingtu got lumped together as one type of clay. This could explain the claim that this clay was used also in the 1970s, because jiazini was indeed used in the 1970s (and even in the 1960s). Alternatively, it is possible that there really are some 1970s F1 heixingtu pots out there, but I have not seen them before.

@steanze
I also haven't seen any heixingtu pot from 70s, I have a few heixingtu pots that are from the 80s onward as the base chop have artist's name. The photos in the article only captured the clay texture and color yet we don't know if the actual item is from 70s. Maybe someday someone posted a pot with 70s style, 70s chop, and heixingtu clay, this mystery can be solved.

[Chadrinkincat]

@DailyTX

This clay is definitely one of my favorite zini blends in terms of look. I just wish I could find a shuiping in this clay but I don’t think that exist either.

[DailyTX]

DailyTX

This clay is definitely one of my favorite zini blends in terms of look. I just wish I could find a shuiping in this clay but I don’t think that exist either.

@Chadrinkincat
The lighter red color tone + duanni specks looks quite nice. I am not a shui ping person, maybe a guava shape would be awesome haha.

[Chadrinkincat]

DailyTX

This clay is definitely one of my favorite zini blends in terms of look. I just wish I could find a shuiping in this clay but I don’t think that exist either.

Chadrinkincat
The lighter red color tone + duanni specks looks quite nice. I am not a shui ping person, maybe a guava shape would be awesome haha.

I’d have no problem settling for a guava

[oolongfan]

My 1970s hong ni shui ping from Bok continues to be a revelation. It has elevated several teas in my collection from being neglected to being new favorites. All of these teas despite being quite nice had some trait that was too dominant (to my palate). Moving to a modern zini or duanni tamed the dominant trait but also muted everything else.

My favorite example is the Essence of Tea 2004 Smokey Spring Buds puerh. This sheng has a lovely complex core of sweetness but for me, the smoke was still too dominant. Using modern Zini tamed the smoke a little but unfortunately simplified those sweet flavors. Modern duanni rendered the tea to simplistic honey sweetness. My solution was toforget about this tea and let it age another few years, in the hopes that the smoke would dissipate but sweet flavors would remain relatively intact. Since my storage experience and set up is pretty basic, I could well end up with a still somewhat Smokey tea but with less complexity for example - smoky honey water

Bok’s hong ni teapot has transformed this tea into one of my favorites. It balances the smoke just enough to let those sweet spring buds really shine through. It feels like being able to taste every nuance of the sweet flavors with the smoke now playing a wonderful contrasting role as opposed to an obscuring one.

This tea has gone from barely touched to over half gone in two months – and I only drink tea two days per week. If I could drink tea daily, this cake would be gone! It is wonderful to finally be able to enjoy these sweet rich flavors. Before it was an exercise in frustration because I knew they were there but the smoke kept getting in the way.

Essence of Tea's 2017 Spring Nancai has been a favorite of mine and I thought that I knew it well – ha! I have always picked up haunting gooseberry - blueberry like sweetness in the dry leaves that has eluded me in the cup. If anything this tea has a fairly herbal profile which develops a real kick in after the few cups or so. The sweetness is there but underneath and more honey roasted winter squash than fruit per se. So while the dry leaf aroma promises some fruit, the palate is more of sweet vegetal roasted squash type. Basically I have always considered the Nancai to be a rather herbal creature with some honey sweetness underneath.

Bok’s teapot reveals loads of gooseberry. blueberry , and even some white grape sweetness lurking under the herbs and honey roasted squash. Not just a little but loads of it. The herbal kick is retained but balanced with the sweet fruits notes, never becoming too much. Finally those sweet fruit notes in the dry leaf aroma have been revealed in the cup.

My curiosity has been whetted. Never did I imagine that older clay might have such an obvious effect. To be honest I had previously assumed at best, the effect of older teapot might be only a matter of subtle nuances requiring careful attention to discern. Nothing prepared me for it to be so obvious that I would be hard pressed to miss it. Yes, there is another older teapot in my future. I have a feeling that I am standing on the edge of a rather deep rabbit hole that leads to a warren of endless complexity.

[.m.]

My meager contribution to the heixingtu topic. Mid 80's i think. Lovely clay indeed and a good craftsmanship.

[steanze]

DailyTX

This clay is definitely one of my favorite zini blends in terms of look. I just wish I could find a shuiping in this clay but I don’t think that exist either.

Yes, it looks very nice, the texture is beautiful and it picks up a very good patina.

[steanze]

My meager contribution to the heixingtu topic. Mid 80's i think. Lovely clay indeed and a good craftsmanship.

nice pot! I like this kind of geometrical shapes.

[Bok]

My curiosity has been whetted. Never did I imagine that older clay might have such an obvious effect. To be honest I had previously assumed at best, the effect of older teapot might be only a matter of subtle nuances requiring careful attention to discern. Nothing prepared me for it to be so obvious that I would be hard pressed to miss it. Yes, there is another older teapot in my future. I have a feeling that I am standing on the edge of a rather deep rabbit hole that leads to a warren of endless complexity.

To be honest, when you first described all this to me, I was very happy about it, but at the same time stupefied as to how obvious of a difference it has been for you! I think you might be more sensitive than me in that regard. I do agree that there is a marked difference, but it took paying a lot of attention and side by side to see it clearly – at least for me. Looking forward to hear how your experience evolves over time.

It might be that some of what you like now, becomes less over time due to use, then you can think about resetting it to get back to its original properties. Or it might get better with use, my Hongni have often performed less good in the beginning and only started to shine after a few weeks of intense use.

To be continued...

[Chadrinkincat]

My meager contribution to the heixingtu topic. Mid 80's i think. Lovely clay indeed and a good craftsmanship.

Nice pot! This is a nice shape for this type of clay. It’ll prob take on a polished stone look after a bit of use.

[Vjt]

I have foind a teapot I like from Yinchen Studio. I have two pots from them already, which I am quite happy with, but this pot is made of a zhuni that I am unfamiliar with. The site makes claims that I want to look into. It is an 80ml Huanglong zhuni with coarsely sifted clay, maybe #26-#30 screen, that they claim to be aged 40 years. There are light colored flecks of duanni mixed in as it is "roughly mined," according the site. My question is for those of you who have more knowledge than I do about different types of zhuni and for those of you who have more information about Yinchen Studio as it is hard to find much online. What kind of reputation does Yinchen have regarding quality of clay? Are the claims made about this pot plausible and worth trusting? I'm including a link to the pot I'm asking about.

https://yinchenstudio.com/collections/z ... eapot-80ml

[.m.]

I have foind a teapot I like from Yinchen Studio. I have two pots from them already, which I am quite happy with, but this pot is made of a zhuni that I am unfamiliar with. The site makes claims that I want to look into. It is an 80ml Huanglong zhuni with coarsely sifted clay, maybe #26-#30 screen, that they claim to be aged 40 years. There are light colored flecks of duanni mixed in as it is "roughly mined," according the site. My question is for those of you who have more knowledge than I do about different types of zhuni and for those of you who have more information about Yinchen Studio as it is hard to find much online. What kind of reputation does Yinchen have regarding quality of clay? Are the claims made about this pot plausible and worth trusting? I'm including a link to the pot I'm asking about.

https://yinchenstudio.com/collections/z ... eapot-80ml

Not sure what is the story they claim, but sounds either questionable or unverifiable:
1 - Clay was aged for 40 years, i.e. processed 40 years ago and aged since in order to improve plasticity etc.: It sounds unlikely that the state company used stone mills in early to 80s to artisanally process the clay, plus the clay is nothing like the clays used in early 80s from what i can say.
2 - Ore was mined and left weathered by the elements for 40 years: I don't think zhuni is usually left weathered.
3 - Ore was mined 40 years ago but left unprocessed until recently: I'm guessing that this is what their claim is. Would it be any different than "freshly" mined ore? Were there piles of zhuni ore mined in the early 80's left unprocessed? Why?
What does @youzi think about it?

[.m.]

nice pot! I like this kind of geometrical shapes.

Thanks.

Nice pot! This is a nice shape for this type of clay. It’ll prob take on a polished stone look after a bit of use.

Thanks. Yes, it does have a very smooth stone-like feeling.