Yixing

Andrew S
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Tue May 02, 2023 7:47 pm

Mine's a rather more dainty 40mL or thereabouts, but the flat shape helps. So long as it can fit some roasted yancha inside, it's not too small for me. I've been getting into the 80 to 120mL range for other kinds of tea, but I've been sticking to the 40mL to 70mL range for yancha.

I'm constantly impressed that people saw fit to make such small pots with so much care and skill all those years ago. I wonder how many teas have passed through this little pot...

Andrew
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Tue May 02, 2023 7:48 pm

@Andrew S @Bok Exquisite pots! 😍
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Bok
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Tue May 02, 2023 8:07 pm

Andrew S wrote:
Tue May 02, 2023 7:47 pm
I'm constantly impressed that people saw fit to make such small pots with so much care and skill all those years ago. I wonder how many teas have passed through this little pot...
a rough 100-200years... so possibly a lot! Tea was always a luxury item which was consumed carefully, small size helps with the proper appreciation and mindset – and saves money!
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steanze
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Tue May 02, 2023 9:20 pm

Andrew S wrote:
Tue May 02, 2023 6:20 pm
I'll be playing with a new little friend today.

(whenever big pots get mentioned around here, the small-pot-clan has to respond...)

Andrew
Image
Nice pot, the workmanship is very good especially considering the size!
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steanze
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Tue May 02, 2023 10:10 pm

When I make oolong I tend to prefer small teapots. For liubao and puerh it depends, but I rarely go below 80ml: sometimes I opt for 80-120ml, other times for 180+ml. A large pot of old tea, at lower ratio and with longer steeping time, extracts a kind of depth that is difficult to obtain with smaller teapots. I have had some really good sessions like that, at night when everything outside is quiet and the tea fills up the space.
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ferg
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Thu May 04, 2023 4:31 pm

First post in Yixing thread, maybe ever. Thought I’d start off with a set of pots that arrived today. Got for a good price. Curious to hear input anyone may have.

Trio of pots
Trio of pots
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One
One
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Two
Two
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Attachments
Three
Three
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steanze
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Thu May 04, 2023 5:14 pm

ferg wrote:
Thu May 04, 2023 4:31 pm
First post in Yixing thread, maybe ever. Thought I’d start off with a set of pots that arrived today. Got for a good price. Curious to hear input anyone may have.


Image


Image


Image
Image
mmm... those lid knobs don't look right. These pots might be slip cast. Pics of the interior or the underside of the lid would shed further light.
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ferg
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Thu May 04, 2023 5:38 pm

@steanze Sure thing! I was just waiting for someone to ask. :lol: Is slip cast a bad thing?

Pot 1 filter
Pot 1 filter
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Clearly looks unused, quite dirty.

Inside pot 1
Inside pot 1
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Body
Body
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Bottom
Bottom
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Seal
Seal
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steanze
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Thu May 04, 2023 6:29 pm

ferg wrote:
Thu May 04, 2023 5:38 pm
steanze Sure thing! I was just waiting for someone to ask. :lol: Is slip cast a bad thing?

Image
Yes, sorry... Yixing clay normally can't be slip-cast, unless it is altered in some way. I would not consider these as Yixing teapots. But it's a start! The next ones will be better.
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Baiyun
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Thu May 04, 2023 6:45 pm

@ferg I'll be the one to say I wouldn't drink out of such unglazed slip cast pots of unknown origin because there is no way of knowing what went into the clay sludge and it is reasonable to assume that quality and food safety were likely not high on the list of motivations. But they probably perform well as succulent pots!
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ferg
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Thu May 04, 2023 6:49 pm

No worries @steanze. I wasn’t expecting much given the price, but they were labeled as Yixing. Couldn’t they still be even if clay altered? Curious what are main giveaways - line up middle, rough seal, or clay itself?

Here are some more pics of other two, posting up for educational purposes, and because I’ve already taken the photos. :roll:

Line definitely evident here.

Pot 2
Pot 2
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Bottom
Bottom
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Filter
Filter
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Lid shot
Lid shot
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ferg
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Thu May 04, 2023 6:58 pm

Thanks @Baiyun. Is it reasonable to assume clay sludge used is not safe for tea consumption? Pity if only destined to be decorations. I don’t mind sloppy look, as long as ok for use.

Teapot 3..

Pot 3
Pot 3
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Filter 3
Filter 3
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Bottom
Bottom
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Bok
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Thu May 04, 2023 7:08 pm

Definitely slip cast, weirdly, they also look coated in some spots(or just really sloppy slip cast). In all likelihood, once you try them with tea, they will quickly make an exit... been there, done that. The clay on these is usually beyond terrible and it shows in the cup. These ones do not even look fired properly on top of all the nice craftsmanship.

Let them be flower pots : )
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steanze
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Thu May 04, 2023 7:21 pm

ferg wrote:
Thu May 04, 2023 6:49 pm
No worries steanze. I wasn’t expecting much given the price, but they were labeled as Yixing. Couldn’t they still be even if clay altered? Curious what are main giveaways - line up middle, rough seal, or clay itself?
They could be, but it is very unlikely. Factory 1 did do experiments with slip casting in the late 1950s, in an attempt to lower costs, so a few slip cast Yixing teapots do exist. However, they quickly realize that these teapots are very susceptible to thermal shock, so they crack really easily. In recent times, since Yixing clay is expensive, slip cast pot are usually made with cheaper clay from other places. The probability that they would use Yixing clay for these is low, and even if they did, after such alteration its effect would be unrecognizable. I concur with @Baiyun and @Bok, I would not use these. I cannot imagine any situation in which they'd do better than a porcelain gaiwan.

All the things you said are giveaways. Line up middle will not happen in real Yixing pots (you could see a vertical line in the interior on the body in some cases, but only on one side, and not running across the lid). The seal is a bit of a giveaway, but not in a straightforward way. You can see rough seals on Yixing teapots too. But this one looks like it was stamped in clay that was still wet, and that does not happen in real Yixing pots. The clay itself is off, the texture isn't right for Yixing. The first thing that tipped me off in the initial pictures was the shapes of the lid knobs and the holes on them. Those also looked like they were far too liquid when they took shape to be Yixing clay. Another obvious sign is the underside of the lid: the funnel shape it makes at the location of the air hole again shows that this was shaped from slurry clay. The filter holes in the spout are also unlike any I've seen in Yixing teapots. I've seen a single round hole, 2 holes, 3 holes, 4 holes arranged in a diamond shape (in mid-Qing pots of all places), various numbers of smaller holes (up to 18 in the F1 gezui shuipings), square holes, double square holes, a spiral-shaped hole... all sorts of stuff, but not this.
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ferg
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Thu May 04, 2023 7:21 pm

Thanks @Bok. Who is to really say the clay on other yixing is safe, how do we really know? I may give them a go, these have taken on a nice cinnamon smell, possibly where they were stored. I got these from a vendor based out of San Fran, possibly the most Lib place on Earth. Difficult to believe they would sell clay of questionable or even dangerous quality.

I saved the best pot for last, the Big Boy. This thing is practically as big as my Brown Betty. :shock: as I unboxed it...

Aerial horizontal
Aerial horizontal
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Vertical
Vertical
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Next to my 63ml NZWH..

NZWH v BB
NZWH v BB
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Lid underside
Lid underside
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Big dimples inside pot..

Inside
Inside
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Filter
Filter
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Big bottom
Big bottom
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