Teapot comparison set from Lin's

[Bok]

Just saw this interesting set from Lin's ceramics:
https://www.taurlia.com/w03t62100.html

Identical teapots in: Red clay, Purion and Porcelain

Now that is a brilliant idea for the experimental and curious tea drinker! Side by side comparison made easy. Just a bit too many variables on the clay quality of the red clay I guess, otherwise some smart concept.

[OldWaysTea]

It is an interesting concept. What's the set name? Unfortunately when I click the link I get forwarded to a different domain, probably since I'm in the US.

[Bok]

Name is pretty generic, says 水平壺 ‧ 茶三品, so Shuiping pot, not sure what the proper translation for the rest is, literally says three tea products.

Weird, I get to the right link destination!?

[Bok]

Pretty cheap as well at 3000 NT, not sure how much that will be once exported as I am not aware that they do overseas sales. Probably at least double.

[pedant]

yes, it's because of your IP address. it wasn't working for me either until i tried from a tw IP.
you can also maybe get it from google web cache

pretty neat set at a reasonable price (100usd)
tbh pretty attractive, especially for someone that doesn't have many pots



it looks like it also includes some samples and suggested pairings?

purion: tw black tea
hongni: dongding
porcelain: tw green tea

there are some spider charts for those samples as well that give some flavor stats lol
i was curious about them, so i went through the trouble of google translating them (slightly annoying because they're images of text).
the spider chart axes are (clockwise, starting from the top):

回韻
Huí yùn / Rhyme

甘甜
Gāntián / Sweet

花香
Huāxiāng / Floral

果香
Guǒ xiāng / Fruity

火香
Huǒ xiāng / Fire incense

醇厚
Chúnhòu / Mellow

[steanze]

They look like they pour fast, which is a good thing. I do think that it would be quite clear how the pots affect tea differently. But purion and taiwanese red clay would not really be among my top picks to brew tea. That might be also in part due to my relative ignorance of taiwanese clays, I do imagine there are some that brew well some types of teas.

[Bok]

They look like they pour fast, which is a good thing. I do think that it would be quite clear how the pots affect tea differently. But purion and taiwanese red clay would not really be among my top picks to brew tea. That might be also in part due to my relative ignorance of taiwanese clays, I do imagine there are some that brew well some types of teas.

I am pretty sure the red clay is from China, Lin’s stuff is mass produced and the only place you can get that done cheaply is China. At least for clay. So who knows what exact that red clay is...

Me neither, I have never found a good match for Purion. It seems to me the whole special clay talk of them is just really an industrialised version of a wood fired clay pot. Somehow though without the benefits that I have found with artisan made wood fired pots.

For studying purposes still an interesting set, I can imagine it is easy to extend it with some proper clays in that pot shape and size for further exploration!

[steanze]

For studying purposes still an interesting set, I can imagine it is easy to extend it with some proper clays in that pot shape and size for further exploration!

Yes. Another approach I use is to try multiple different shapes for each clay. One can try 3/4 pots of different shapes in hongni, and 3/4 pots in different shapes in zini. If you find some effect in common to all the zinis, that differs from all the hongnis, there is a good chance that it's not about the shape.

[tealifehk]

They look like they pour fast, which is a good thing. I do think that it would be quite clear how the pots affect tea differently. But purion and taiwanese red clay would not really be among my top picks to brew tea. That might be also in part due to my relative ignorance of taiwanese clays, I do imagine there are some that brew well some types of teas.

I am pretty sure the red clay is from China, Lin’s stuff is mass produced and the only place you can get that done cheaply is China. At least for clay. So who knows what exact that red clay is...

Me neither, I have never found a good match for Purion. It seems to me the whole special clay talk of them is just really an industrialised version of a wood fired clay pot. Somehow though without the benefits that I have found with artisan made wood fired pots.

For studying purposes still an interesting set, I can imagine it is easy to extend it with some proper clays in that pot shape and size for further exploration!

Bok, I've found Purion to sing with anything that doesn't need muting: high mountain oolong and black teas, as well as good young sheng, absolutely sing in Purion! The clay contains iron, so you get the effect of iron on the tea liquor (reduced astringency and bitterness). I'm pretty sure the red and porcelain pots are from China. The red clay would be modern hongni and would also contain iron, but in the oxide form. Purion pots on the other hand seem to contain iron dust or filings, since they get progressively redder with use!

[steanze]

Bok, I've found Purion to sing with anything that doesn't need muting: high mountain oolong and black teas, as well as good young sheng, absolutely sing in Purion!

My experience with gaoshan in purion was a disaster

[Bok]

Bok, I've found Purion to sing with anything that doesn't need muting: high mountain oolong and black teas, as well as good young sheng, absolutely sing in Purion!

My experience with gaoshan in purion was a disaster

Gotta second Steanze on this, no tea(Taiwanese) ever turned out well in those.

What I find a conspicuous is that they rarely ever use porcelain or red clay in their regular line ups, why not include their normal glazed pots?
I also never saw anyone I know being a serious tea drinker in Taiwan use Purion. Most people who are into tea, will either use Yixing or the local wood-fired or simple glazed pots.

Lin's stuff seems to be mostly face giving presents to clients and similar, or shelf decoration

[tealifehk]

Bok, I've found Purion to sing with anything that doesn't need muting: high mountain oolong and black teas, as well as good young sheng, absolutely sing in Purion!

My experience with gaoshan in purion was a disaster

Gotta second Steanze on this, no tea(Taiwanese) ever turned out well in those.

What I find a conspicuous is that they rarely ever use porcelain or red clay in their regular line ups, why not include their normal glazed pots?
I also never saw anyone I know being a serious tea drinker in Taiwan use Purion. Most people who are into tea, will either use Yixing or the local wood-fired or simple glazed pots.

Lin's stuff seems to be mostly face giving presents to clients and similar, or shelf decoration

Interesting, I actually really like Purion clay! I know they are very touristy in Taiwan, but I've seen the Purion pots perform really well for me, but only with tea that needs absolutely no muting!

[tealifehk]

So I actually stock these sets now, and with the promotion I'm running, they're around US$156 including shipping to most Western countries. I had five sets last week, and four sets sold within the space of seven hours or so on Instagram.

Lin's was started by a university pottery instructor who made pots and sold them by the roadside back in the 80s. Purion came much later, and is a blend of mineral-rich rock ore and pottery clay. It was meant to compete with Yixing clay. There's definitely some iron in the ore since I've seen the pots change color over time!

As for the red clay pot, they are made in-house at Lin's in Taiwan with Taiwanese clay (not in China as we assumed)!

https://www.tealifehk.com/products/lins ... arison-set