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Re: Yixing
Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 11:21 am
by DailyTX
Bok wrote: ↑Wed Jul 03, 2019 9:30 pm
DailyTX I think your a preliminary analysis is not bad, probably not far off the mark. It looks like a decent pot and also like it will become nice with usage.
@Bok
Thank you for your feedback. I wonder if you have any idea on what might cause the spicy note/tingling reaction?
Re: Yixing
Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 7:06 pm
by Bok
@DailyTX that I wouldn’t dare to guess without knowing the tea in particular.
Although I never had anything in a tea that I would describe as tingling! Mhh... only with that tea or with others as well?
If the pot is mostly new and unused, I think it wouldn’t hurt to let a bit of tea sit in it overnight with water. Just to get rid of any storage or other smells.
Re: Yixing
Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 10:27 pm
by DailyTX
Bok wrote: ↑Tue Jul 09, 2019 7:06 pm
DailyTX that I wouldn’t dare to guess without knowing the tea in particular.
Although I never had anything in a tea that I would describe as tingling! Mhh... only with that tea or with others as well?
If the pot is mostly new and unused, I think it wouldn’t hurt to let a bit of tea sit in it overnight with water. Just to get rid of any storage or other smells.
@Bok
The tingling sensation was just with drinking the hot water from the pot without tea. It's a good idea to let the pot season a little longer with tea for over night, and see what the tea taste like the follow morning. I am not complete sure if the pot was new, since the carving still had a coat of white stuff, I assumed it's not been use, and since I brewed Shu Pu erh, the carving turned to the pot color. It's nice to have someone to talk it out, innovative ideas are formed
Re: Yixing
Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 10:55 pm
by Bok
DailyTX wrote: ↑Tue Jul 09, 2019 10:27 pm
I am not complete sure if the pot was new, since the carving still had a coat of white stuff, I assumed it's not been use, and since I brewed Shu Pu erh, the carving turned to the pot color. It's nice to have someone to talk it out, innovative ideas are formed
White stuff could be a coat of wax, which was done sometimes in the past. in that case I would suggest to slow-boil the whole pot a bit in water to get it off. Wrapped in cloth, lid separate to avoid damage.
Re: Yixing
Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2019 12:12 am
by Baisao
DailyTX wrote: ↑Tue Jul 09, 2019 11:21 am
I wonder if you have any idea on what might cause the spicy note/tingling reaction?
If you’re used to puerh then I am sure you could tell if the sensation was from camphor, since it is so common. If it’s not camphor then I have an alternative theory.
If someone used the pot for herbal medicine it’s possible they included Zanthoxylum
piperitum, aka Sichuan pepper. It has a tingling/vibrating sensation that’s used in Chinese and Japanese cooking as well as Chinese herbal medicine. All parts of the plant have the chemical, sanshool, responsible for this sensation.
(I’m a fan of this plant and have native, Chinese, and Japanese Xanthoxylum
spp.)
The flavor is lemony but the vibrating sensation is most notable.
I would consider soaking the pot in Everclear or Mohawk (ethyl alcohol used for drinking) to get the sanshool into solution.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroxy_alpha_sanshool
It’s just an idea so take this idea with a jigger of salt.
Re: Yixing
Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2019 10:20 pm
by DailyTX
Bok wrote: ↑Tue Jul 09, 2019 10:55 pm
DailyTX wrote: ↑Tue Jul 09, 2019 10:27 pm
I am not complete sure if the pot was new, since the carving still had a coat of white stuff, I assumed it's not been use, and since I brewed Shu Pu erh, the carving turned to the pot color. It's nice to have someone to talk it out, innovative ideas are formed
White stuff could be a coat of wax, which was done sometimes in the past. in that case I would suggest to slow-boil the whole pot a bit in water to get it off. Wrapped in cloth, lid separate to avoid damage.
@Bok
The pot has boiled for hours. The tingling sensation has decrease somewhat, I am speculating that it may not be such good pot in terms of clay but well crafted for sure. The only concern I have is it may involve chemical in the process of making. I guess I'll add it to my ceramic collection until I know what I am dealing with.
Thank you for your input Bok
Re: Yixing
Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2019 10:23 pm
by DailyTX
Baisao wrote: ↑Wed Jul 10, 2019 12:12 am
DailyTX wrote: ↑Tue Jul 09, 2019 11:21 am
I wonder if you have any idea on what might cause the spicy note/tingling reaction?
If you’re used to puerh then I am sure you could tell if the sensation was from camphor, since it is so common. If it’s not camphor then I have an alternative theory.
If someone used the pot for herbal medicine it’s possible they included Zanthoxylum
piperitum, aka Sichuan pepper. It has a tingling/vibrating sensation that’s used in Chinese and Japanese cooking as well as Chinese herbal medicine. All parts of the plant have the chemical, sanshool, responsible for this sensation.
(I’m a fan of this plant and have native, Chinese, and Japanese Xanthoxylum
spp.)
The flavor is lemony but the vibrating sensation is most notable.
I would consider soaking the pot in Everclear or Mohawk (ethyl alcohol used for drinking) to get the sanshool into solution.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroxy_alpha_sanshool
It’s just an idea so take this idea with a jigger of salt.
@Baisao
I love the sichuan pepper, I have sichuan food at least once a month. I don't think the pot was use at all, although it's from an ebay antique seller. Thank you for your feedback Baisao. It's one of those mysteries that I'll revisit later in life
Re: Yixing
Posted: Fri Jul 12, 2019 10:41 pm
by Bok
@DailyTX you can almost be sure that there are additives in it. Looks like it’s 90s onwards pot. Clay has rarely been pure since the 80s.
Re: Yixing
Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2019 4:34 am
by lopin
Bok wrote: ↑Fri May 17, 2019 11:43 am
lopin what matters is the thickness of the walls, even the spout is medium thick in my book.
150 is way to big for Yancha, unless you are a big spender haha! Also with the thickness in mind, even less suitable.
Don’t know about the pour speed, but anything slower than 6 seconds is not ideal for Yancha.
Just try a variety of teas and see what works for you(more than once per tea to account for other parameters).
I played around with this pot a lot and it renders lapsang and other red teas beautifully. Also shu was nicely pronounced.
Re: Yixing
Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 11:49 am
by jessepat84
Here’s an interesting pot... sold to me as Benshan Lv Ni, although I take such claims with a healthy dose of scepticism. While I have a couple of Duan Ni pots, this one is rather different in appearance and feel (the clay has more of an obvious yellow colour and feels more delicate). What do people think, could it be the real deal or something else? It does an excellent job with Chinese greens but somehow manages to have a strongly muting effect on many other teas. I’ve added a couple of photos with different lighting, one in evening sunlight and the other in shade.
Re: Yixing
Posted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 6:59 pm
by steanze
jessepat84 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 11:49 am
Here’s an interesting pot... sold to me as Benshan Lv Ni, although I take such claims with a healthy dose of scepticism. While I have a couple of Duan Ni pots, this one is rather different in appearance and feel (the clay has more of an obvious yellow colour and feels more delicate). What do people think, could it be the real deal or something else? It does an excellent job with Chinese greens but somehow manages to have a strongly muting effect on many other teas. I’ve added a couple of photos with different lighting, one in evening sunlight and the other in shade.
It is not the real deal, but it looks nice. It has been made to resemble the real deal. It could brew good tea.
The real deal is quite rare. There's a benshanlvni pot made by factory 1 in the 1960s (usually runs between $1000 and $2000 on auctions), and a few master pots in late Qing and the republican period (ROC).
This is an example of ROC benshanlvni:
- P1110784.JPG (332.54 KiB) Viewed 6114 times
- P1110824.JPG (69.7 KiB) Viewed 6113 times
Re: Yixing
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 12:41 am
by jessepat84
steanze wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 6:59 pm
It is not the real deal, but it looks nice. It has been made to resemble the real deal. It could brew good tea.
Thanks! Yes, would’ve been surprised otherwise. It does make good tea and seems to be developing a shine quite quickly. Variations of this pot are currently sold by some well-known vendors (there are some Zhuni versions, I have a suspicion those will also be modern interpretations despite the “Lao Zhuni” tag...). The ROC pot looks really quite special!
Re: Yixing
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 12:51 am
by Bok
jessepat84 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 22, 2019 12:41 am
Thanks! Yes, would’ve been surprised otherwise. It does make good tea and seems to be developing a shine quite quickly. Variations of this pot are currently sold by some well-known vendors (there are some Zhuni versions, I have a suspicion those will also be modern interpretations despite the “Lao Zhuni” tag...). The ROC pot looks really quite special!
I have seen some vendors advertising clay as aged because it had rested for year or longer – which is ridiculous, as any clay after processing the raw materials usually rests for some time, can hardly call that aging clay... decades yes, but not a few years.
Re: Yixing
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 10:40 am
by steanze
jessepat84 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 22, 2019 12:41 am
steanze wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 6:59 pm
It is not the real deal, but it looks nice. It has been made to resemble the real deal. It could brew good tea.
Thanks! Yes, would’ve been surprised otherwise. It does make good tea and seems to be developing a shine quite quickly. Variations of this pot are currently sold by some well-known vendors (there are some Zhuni versions, I have a suspicion those will also be modern interpretations despite the “Lao Zhuni” tag...). The ROC pot looks really quite special!
yes "lao zhuni" is funny for anything produced after ROC. Lao zhuni is not only about the raw material, but also about the processing and firing, techniques that have not been used since the ROC.
Re: Yixing
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2019 12:43 pm
by Chadrinkincat
steanze wrote: ↑Mon Jul 22, 2019 10:40 am
jessepat84 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 22, 2019 12:41 am
steanze wrote: ↑Sun Jul 21, 2019 6:59 pm
It is not the real deal, but it looks nice. It has been made to resemble the real deal. It could brew good tea.
Thanks! Yes, would’ve been surprised otherwise. It does make good tea and seems to be developing a shine quite quickly. Variations of this pot are currently sold by some well-known vendors (there are some Zhuni versions, I have a suspicion those will also be modern interpretations despite the “Lao Zhuni” tag...). The ROC pot looks really quite special!
yes "lao zhuni" is funny for anything produced after ROC. Lao zhuni is not only about the raw material, but also about the processing and firing, techniques that have not been used since the ROC.
I always just assume lao X clay is just marketing speak for mystery clay with lots of additives to make it look pretty.