Identifying modern Zhu Ni

[Chadrinkincat]

does modern hungni have similar tea-related qualities to modern Zhuni? such as low porosity and density?
A vendor told me yersteray that he thinks that it’s the fact that modern Zhuni is so hard to get that explains its price and that it performs just a little bit better than modern high fired hongni. Does this alignes with your experience?

Yes. Though we'd have to see if what we call modern zhuni is the same thing. I have never seen a Western facing vendor carrying what I'd call modern zhuni.
There are many kinds of modern hongni, some of them can be quite good. For example, the one in the hongni shuiping in this set is pretty good: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1 ... 9765063715

others instead are just soso. In that case a gaiwan is better

https://songtea.com/products/lantern?va ... 5107786117

Would you call this modern zhuni?

No! Pearl zhuni is even more rare. Specially trained Tea Masters feed chuncks of zhuni clay to pearl oysters. It takes years for them to produce a single teapot from it.

[steanze]

https://songtea.com/products/lantern?va ... 5107786117

Would you call this modern zhuni?

No, hongni. Many sellers would call it zhuni to make it sound fancier though

[steanze]

No! Pearl zhuni is even more rare. Specially trained Tea Masters feed chuncks of zhuni clay to pearl oysters. It takes years for them to produce a single teapot from it.

[steanze]

For reference, what's funny is that on the song tea website they confused the character for pearl (zhu: 珠) with the character zhu in zhuni, which is 朱: vermillion. So they call zhu ni "pearl clay" while it actually means vermillion/cinnabar clay.

[d.manuk]

For reference, what's funny is that on the song tea website they confused the character for pearl (zhu: 珠) with the character zhu in zhuni, which is 朱: vermillion. So they call zhu ni "pearl clay" while it actually means vermillion/cinnabar clay.

That’s funny, I thought the owner of the company was Chinese.


I have that pot and I like it for high mountain oolongs. & It’s a nice shape!

[steanze]

Yes, the shape is nice, and hongni can also be very good. Sometimes there is a bit too much obsession with zhuni I mean, lao zhuni is very good clay, but good quality hongni can also be very nice.

[TeaTotaling]

Yes, the shape is nice, and hongni can also be very good. Sometimes there is a bit too much obsession with zhuni I mean, lao zhuni is very good clay, but good quality hongni can also be very nice.

@steanze Do you have personal experience with Lao Zhuni, or Zhuni from the Late Qing/Early Republic Era? This thread is the closest I have come across to really discussing the mysterious Zhuni, and you seem quite knowledgable. I was considering one of these for high quality Cliff Tea. Initially I had considered both Modern Hongni & Zini, but it seems like antique Zhuni might be the better option. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[steanze]

Yes, the shape is nice, and hongni can also be very good. Sometimes there is a bit too much obsession with zhuni I mean, lao zhuni is very good clay, but good quality hongni can also be very nice.

steanze Do you have personal experience with Lao Zhuni, or Zhuni from the Late Qing/Early Republic Era? This thread is the closest I have come across to really discussing the mysterious Zhuni, and you seem quite knowledgable. I was considering one of these for high quality Cliff Tea. Initially I had considered both Modern Hongni & Zini, but it seems like antique Zhuni might be the better option. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Yes I have a few late Qing and ROC zhuni pots. Those you linked look good, they won't be cheap. Do you have experience with more affordable pots? I think it would be good to practice with something less expensive before making a big handling/use mistake. You wouldn't want to spend $2k for a Qing zhuni and then crack it in the first week because you forgot to prewarm it.

[TeaTotaling]

@steanze Thank you for the prompt reply, that's awesome! I do have experience with less expensive Yixing. I am also very careful in my handling and tea preparation process. These one's are a bit pricier than you mentioned, but I have not found any reputable Western Facing Antique Vendors selling Zhuni. These are from ZAG. Do you own any antiques from them?

Also, in comparison, which do you find the superior clay, LQER Hongni or Zhuni?

[Victoria]

... then crack it in the first week because you forgot to prewarm it.

Do you always preheat from the outside first, then inside, to prevent zhuni from cracking?

[Youzi]

... then crack it in the first week because you forgot to prewarm it.

Do you always preheat from the outside first, then inside, to prevent zhuni from cracking?

I think an easier and safer way to preheat is to fill the pot till 40% with hot tap water, then add boiling water till it's full. Leave like that for a couple of minutes, then done. If the pot haven't been used in a long time, then I'd fill completely with hot tap water, and then reduce the tap water and top with boiling, until you add 100% boiling. But this thing I'd only do once, and after that just use the first method.

[TeaTotaling]

... then crack it in the first week because you forgot to prewarm it.

Do you always preheat from the outside first, then inside, to prevent zhuni from cracking?

I think an easier and safer way to preheat is to fill the pot till 40% with hot tap water, then add boiling water till it's full. Leave like that for a couple of minutes, then done. If the pot haven't been used in a long time, then I'd fill completely with hot tap water, and then reduce the tap water and top with boiling, until you add 100% boiling. But this thing I'd only do once, and after that just use the first method.

Great recommendation. This is precisely what I do, even for Zini, and even for all of my teaware in fact. I always make sure to gradually warm the pot with running water first. I prefer to err on the side of caution.

[steanze]

... then crack it in the first week because you forgot to prewarm it.

Do you always preheat from the outside first, then inside, to prevent zhuni from cracking?

I always preheat zhuni. I use different methods depending on the temperature of the room. If it's cold, I do something more like what Youzi said, if the room is already warm, sometimes I preheat from outside, it's a bit faster.

[steanze]

steanze Thank you for the prompt reply, that's awesome! I do have experience with less expensive Yixing. I am also very careful in my handling and tea preparation process. These one's are a bit pricier than you mentioned, but I have not found any reputable Western Facing Antique Vendors selling Zhuni. These are from ZAG. Do you own any antiques from them?

No, I don't have any pots from ZAG.

Also, in comparison, which do you find the superior clay, LQER Hongni or Zhuni?

Hard to tell which clay is "superior" - they are different. It also depends on the quality of the zhuni and of the hongni, there is quite a bit of variation.

[TeaTotaling]

@steanze Thanks for the help. I guess the only way to find out for sure would be to experience it for myself. Only a waiting game at this point.