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@Baisao, the links only seem to work on mobile for me, regrettably the site won't let me download any pictures. Let me know if viewing on mobile still doesn't work for you and I'll figure something out. https://www.yinchenteapot.com/productde ... 63049.html

Here's what info I can give:
Shape: Jing Xiang 110ml
zhuni

I'm also interested in a teapot of the same shape and size made of Qinghuini. https://www.yinchenteapot.com/productde ... 63389.html

I'm looking to use the pot with aged sheng puer.

I'm tempted to say screw it and get a white label f1, but they all feel very lifeless to me.

karma wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 4:24 pm

Baisao, the links only seem to work on mobile for me, regrettably the site won't let me download any pictures. Let me know if viewing on mobile still doesn't work for you and I'll figure something out. https://www.yinchenteapot.com/productde ... 63049.html

Here's what info I can give:
Shape: Jing Xiang 110ml
zhuni

I'm also interested in a teapot of the same shape and size made of Qinghuini. https://www.yinchenteapot.com/productde ... 63389.html

I'm looking to use the pot with aged sheng puer.

I'm tempted to say screw it and get a white label f1, but they all feel very lifeless to me.

Don't get white label ( is white label the black rectangle sticker?) or teapots made after 1980.

Youzi wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 5:20 pm

karma wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 4:24 pm

I'm tempted to say screw it and get a white label f1, but they all feel very lifeless to me.

Don't get white label ( is white label the black rectangle sticker?) or teapots made after 1980.

Easy to say, hard to justify spending several hundred more on what a lot consider to be a subtle difference. This is for a first real yixing, mind you.

And do you mean no later F1s or do you include modern pots as well? People seem to talk highly of Gao at Yinchen and the guys at Mud and Leaves.

karma wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 6:48 pm

Youzi wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 5:20 pm

karma wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 4:24 pm

I'm tempted to say screw it and get a white label f1, but they all feel very lifeless to me.

Don't get white label ( is white label the black rectangle sticker?) or teapots made after 1980.

Easy to say, hard to justify spending several hundred more on what a lot consider to be a subtle difference. This is for a first real yixing, mind you.

And do you mean no later F1s or do you include modern pots as well? People seem to talk highly of Gao at Yinchen and the guys at Mud and Leaves.

Skip the late 80’s pots unless your only looking to spend $100 max for a vintage shui ping. You can easily get an early 80’s zini pot with much better clay for $50-100 more.

The huge price increase only happens once you start considering pre-77 pots.

Baisao wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 15, 2020 8:53 pm

karma, my apologies for replying late. I’ve been busy networking and capturing the moment, as you may imagine.

The link you posted times out so I cannot see the pot. I would still purchase from Gao. I am still pleased with the teapot I purchased from him. It’s entirely hand made and the clay is nice. For years I was concerned with the poor quality of modern Yixing available to us in the West, but the teapot I got from him changed my mind.

Perhaps you can post a photo of the teapot and some details about it and others can comment if if will be a good match for the puerh you enjoy.

The pots available when I first start drinking tea in 2009 totally sucked. Im happy to see that the situation is finally improving.

Chadrinkincat wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 9:08 pm

karma wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 6:48 pm

Youzi wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 5:20 pm

Don't get white label ( is white label the black rectangle sticker?) or teapots made after 1980.

Easy to say, hard to justify spending several hundred more on what a lot consider to be a subtle difference. This is for a first real yixing, mind you.

And do you mean no later F1s or do you include modern pots as well? People seem to talk highly of Gao at Yinchen and the guys at Mud and Leaves.

Skip the late 80’s pots unless your only looking to spend $100 max for a vintage shui ping. You can easily get an early 80’s zini pot with much better clay for $50-100 more.

The huge price increase only happens once you start considering pre-77 pots.

what are your thoughts on this pot? https://moodyguy.biz/usd/70s-120cc-hqsn-qing-yin.html

@karma, the modern zhuni pot looks nice. I’d suggest a more spherical teapot as your first teapot. This sounds strange, I know, but rounder pots seem to cradle aromas better than teapots with angular shapes. Ideally, you wouldn’t want a shape that is too tall or too short. This is why xishi, junde, shuiping, and pear-shaped pots are perineal favorites.

There are modern teapots that are fine, like the one’s out of Gao’s shop. Like others have suggested, I would skip factory pots from the 80s. We start to see improvements in Yixing in the 2000’s, though I have some nice ones from the late 90’s

karma wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 9:34 pm

what are your thoughts on this pot? https://moodyguy.biz/usd/70s-120cc-hqsn-qing-yin.html

Run away!
Avoid HQSN pots

karma wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 9:34 pm

what are your thoughts on this pot? https://moodyguy.biz/usd/70s-120cc-hqsn-qing-yin.html

I would caution that this pot looks pretty low fired, so it might end up sucking a lot of flavours out of your tea... might be good for some teas, but probably more so for lower quality teas only.

@karma
Wouldn’t be my first choice. Mismatch lid is a deal breaker for me. Also looks like a very porous pot.

@karma

This pot is probably a a good choice for aged puerh. Clay looks decent and the price seems fair. You can also PM him about any of the other designs from IG.
https://www.yinchenteapot.com/productde ... 70669.html

Also this might be a good choice for very clean good quality aged sheng. Likely has a fast pour. https://www.mudandleaves.com/store/p491 ... eapot.html

For F1
Emmett’s selection seems pretty quiet lately but you could reach out to him to see if he can get you a green label zini pot. https://emmettsteas.weebly.com/

I also have a couple for sale from this era but only 70ml.

I have been doing reading on ornamented yixing from each decade and trying to see if I can find clues to identify the age this pot. As most of the readings were written in Chinese, the description sounds very similar . This pot is made of zini, and what seems to be hongni ball filter. What era do you think this pot is from?

a few more photos

@DailyTX workmanship seems decent, clay makes me guess-timate 80s onwards? Others are more knowledgeable on these kind of ornamented teapots...

karma wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 6:48 pm

Youzi wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 5:20 pm

karma wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 17, 2020 4:24 pm

I'm tempted to say screw it and get a white label f1, but they all feel very lifeless to me.

Don't get white label ( is white label the black rectangle sticker?) or teapots made after 1980.

Easy to say, hard to justify spending several hundred more on what a lot consider to be a subtle difference. This is for a first real yixing, mind you.

And do you mean no later F1s or do you include modern pots as well? People seem to talk highly of Gao at Yinchen and the guys at Mud and Leaves.

I mean no later F1 and F2 and stuff like that. There's evidence showing that F1 started to dope their clay with various stuff from 79. At the beginning they added small amounts, but during black square sticker it was crazy, especially the red pots.

I'd say avoid things between 1980-2015, there could be exceptions, but in the early days most clays were bought from F1, so that era mostly uses the same or similar chemical formula. Unless someone processed their own clay, from rock to mud, but that's rare.

At least nowadays the potters and the clay processors know more, and most of them try to recover from the huge 2010 loss of face, yixing pots received.