From everything I've read, CZ clay is highly variable in its appearance and it's hard to say if anything is "original older CZ clay", even the older pots. The cost of clay in the cost of a pot is generally the smallest part of the cost - so an 80ml to 160ml change really may not drastically impact the cost due to the clay alone. It's the potter's skill and time you're paying for.wave_code wrote: ↑Tue May 04, 2021 1:01 pmalso factor in shipping (which can be kinda all over the place depending on the vendor/platform) and also that once the thing shows up it isn't broken and/or that you actually got what you ordered or that the particular piece you get isn't totally messed up I can understand having a pretty healthy mark-up, but this does still seem high to me. but I don't know what standard mark-ups here are. I am guessing like any other area though mark-up margins on cheaper produced products are high while those on more artisan and specialty products are low to sometimes almost non-existent and one has to compensate the other.
if you find the two totally identical though thats one thing. although at least from what I can tell from images a lot of other vendors are having around the same mark-up on other CZ pots. how do you find their actual effect on tea? Maybe its not necessarily bad clay even if it isn't the same as original older CZ zhuni or doesn't have a drastic/positive effect on the tea, as long as it isn't harmful or isn't making it worse. can you see throwing marks on the inside of both of them, or are they maybe some sort of slipcast?
looking around there seems to be the $10-20ish pots, then the more $80-120ish range which look much better in terms of both clay/craftsmanship and at least to me, aesthetically, then beyond that it can keep going but at some point maybe you are overpaying. I don't know if its the same artist or not so I don't want to say anything definitive, but I was for example quoted a price that was almost double that of a very similar looking CZ pot on Taobao from a different vendor... though when using a good or rare clay I can see this scaling prices very fast - the amount of clay used to make a 80ml pot vs 160ml pot is going to add up quickly I imagine.
I've found that both my CZ pots that I ordered from both Tea Habitat and Taobao and look identical perform well with dancongs. I am still seeking out a higher quality, perhaps older, CZ pot to compare.
In my experience, the pots make tea. There is a slight change comparing to a porcelain gaiwan, with some muting and rounding of the taste, but hard to say how much. It's still good tea.