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Silver teapots?
Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2017 6:25 pm
by Kupuntu
What are your opinions on silver teapots? I briefly considered one for puerh (mostly sheng) but I heard mixed opinions and any silver teapot would cost a lot of money. There are also silver cups but I don't know if those are a better idea or not.
Do you use/own one and if you do, what do you think about it?
Re: Silver teapots?
Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2017 7:15 pm
by Bok
Kupuntu wrote: ↑Mon Dec 25, 2017 6:25 pm
What are your opinions on silver teapots? I briefly considered one for puerh (mostly sheng) but I heard mixed opinions and any silver teapot would cost a lot of money. There are also silver cups but I don't know if those are a better idea or not.
Do you use/own one and if you do, what do you think about it?
Not sure if it is a good idea for Puerh.
Silver brings out everything that is in the tea.
That means if the tea is very very good, you can taste that – but if it has faults, those will come out very strong and unpleasant. Only recomend silver for top grade, clean tea. For example premium high mountain like Dayuling, Lishan, Fushou shan etc.
Even using a silver kettle already has that effect, which I tested once.
For cups I am not sure either, you will slightly taste the silver and mix it with the tea flavours. Try licking a silver cup/spoon and you know what I mean.
I think porcelain is best for cups, as apart from being neutral, it lets you appreciate the fragrance of the tea lingering in it!
Re: Silver teapots?
Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2017 7:25 pm
by Brent D
Been thinking of getting one myself.
One of my concerns has been upkeep. How do you keep it from tarnishing?
Haven’t found too many vendors either.
Re: Silver teapots?
Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2017 7:45 pm
by Bok
Brent D wrote: ↑Mon Dec 25, 2017 7:25 pm
Been thinking of getting one myself.
One of my concerns has been upkeep. How do you keep it from tarnishing?
Haven’t found too many vendors either.
I think the developing patina is actually quite pretty, cleaned up silver looks a bit too shiny for my taste. If you see antique Japanese teapots for example, they are often in a nice greyish, silver.
Otherwise you will be busy as my grandma used to be every few months or so – polishing the goods! Lots of products out there to clean silverware.
There is a lot of this on offer in China and Japan, but not so much in Western facing shops. Price-wise very expensive, add import taxes and foreigner-price on top and it becomes unaffordable. Browsing Western fleamarkets or ebay might be a better option, although small pots are rare.
Re: Silver teapots?
Posted: Mon Dec 25, 2017 7:46 pm
by Bok
High-end taobao shops have very nice silver pots, but as I said, priced accordingly…
Re: Silver teapots?
Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2017 1:33 am
by Chi-Lin Lu
The pure silver should be soft, so they have to mix with other kinds of metal. So the quality of silver is very important. The design and material of handle of silver pot is very important too, because silver handle is too hot to hold.
Re: Silver teapots?
Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2017 5:01 am
by Kupuntu
Bok wrote: ↑Mon Dec 25, 2017 7:15 pm
Kupuntu wrote: ↑Mon Dec 25, 2017 6:25 pm
What are your opinions on silver teapots? I briefly considered one for puerh (mostly sheng) but I heard mixed opinions and any silver teapot would cost a lot of money. There are also silver cups but I don't know if those are a better idea or not.
Do you use/own one and if you do, what do you think about it?
Not sure if it is a good idea for Puerh.
Silver brings out everything that is in the tea.
That means if the tea is very very good, you can taste that – but if it has faults, those will come out very strong and unpleasant. Only recomend silver for top grade, clean tea. For example premium high mountain like Dayuling, Lishan, Fushou shan etc.
Even using a silver kettle already has that effect, which I tested once.
For cups I am not sure either, you will slightly taste the silver and mix it with the tea flavours. Try licking a silver cup/spoon and you know what I mean.
I think porcelain is best for cups, as apart from being neutral, it lets you appreciate the fragrance of the tea lingering in it!
This is what I was thinking. I might still get a silver teacup for fun to see how it is (those are expensive but not terribly so) but a silver teapot is probably too expensive to experiment with. It
is quite pretty on the shelf too, though...
Thanks for your input, I appreciate it.
Re: Silver teapots?
Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2017 7:36 am
by Brent D
Bok wrote: ↑Mon Dec 25, 2017 7:45 pm
Brent D wrote: ↑Mon Dec 25, 2017 7:25 pm
Been thinking of getting one myself.
One of my concerns has been upkeep. How do you keep it from tarnishing?
Haven’t found too many vendors either.
I think the developing patina is actually quite pretty, cleaned up silver looks a bit too shiny for my taste. If you see antique Japanese teapots for example, they are often in a nice greyish, silver.
Otherwise you will be busy as my grandma used to be every few months or so – polishing the goods! Lots of products out there to clean silverware.
There is a lot of this on offer in China and Japan, but not so much in Western facing shops. Price-wise very expensive, add import taxes and foreigner-price on top and it becomes unaffordable. Browsing Western fleamarkets or ebay might be a better option, although small pots are rare.
I was referring to the inside. Wouldn’t take long for it to turn black I’d think.
Yunnan sourcing has them at a reasonable price. How much are they going for in the east?
Re: Silver teapots?
Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 3:16 pm
by Brent D
Went looking for vendors again (this thread got me thinking about them again) ys and crimson lotus are the only vendors I can find. Anyone ever purchased a silver pot from one of them?
Re: Silver teapots?
Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 3:46 pm
by Ethan Kurland
Brent D wrote: ↑Wed Dec 27, 2017 3:16 pm
Went looking for vendors again (this thread got me thinking about them again) ys and crimson lotus are the only vendors I can find. Anyone ever purchased a silver pot from one of them?
You might consider yard sales, estate sales etc. for used silver. There are silver teasets that were used hardly at all, if ever in so many homes. Of course, some are only silver plated. I have used a polishing cloth and lemon oil to remove tarnish to good effect on a tray from a yard sale that looked dirty and stained but now looks okay.
Re: Silver teapots?
Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2017 10:45 am
by OldWaysTea
There is a shop in Wuyishan with a large silver teapot and kettle selection. Here is a photo of some of their larger kettles. They also have smaller teapots both yixing inspired and side handled. I asked about prices on the smaller pieces, similar to YS and CL, they seem to be generally in line. Depending on workmanship and size / weight the larger ones can be quite pricey. If I remember correctly in the $700-2000 range.
- xIwtGbD.jpg (280.53 KiB) Viewed 11535 times
Re: Silver teapots?
Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2017 4:15 pm
by Kupuntu
OldWaysTea wrote: ↑Thu Dec 28, 2017 10:45 am
There is a shop in Wuyishan with a large silver teapot and kettle selection. Here is a photo of some of their larger kettles. They also have smaller teapots both yixing inspired and side handled. I asked about prices on the smaller pieces, similar to YS and CL, they seem to be generally in line. Depending on workmanship and size / weight the larger ones can be quite pricey. If I remember correctly in the $700-2000 range.
xIwtGbD.jpg
Those pots look very nice. I'm still considering getting one... Glad I don't have that kind of cash right now so I'm not that tempted, hehe.
Re: Silver teapots?
Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2017 11:17 am
by Brent D
I caved.
Got one on the way from ys.
Expect a full report
Re: Silver teapots?
Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2018 1:46 pm
by Kupuntu
Brent D wrote: ↑Fri Dec 29, 2017 11:17 am
I caved.
Got one on the way from ys.
Expect a full report
Oh yeah, I'll make sure to read so I know if it's worth it or not.
Re: Silver teapots?
Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 3:00 pm
by lUKAV28
Brent D wrote: ↑Fri Dec 29, 2017 11:17 am
I caved.
Got one on the way from ys.
Expect a full report
So how do you like the silver pot? Do you still use it? For what kind of tea it performs best in your opinion?