Yixing

[mudandleaves]

Two new Yixing pots for us to employ at our stand at tea festivals where we always brew gong fu style. The one on the left is Fanggu style and on the right, Gaopan. Next stop is the Northwest Tea Festival in Seattle on September 28 & 29. Be sure to stop by if you are in the Seattle area, Thank you Patrick from mudandleaves for your help in selecting these.

IMG_20190830_161958112.jpg

Cheers David!
Sounds like they'll get plenty of use; should develop a patina in no time.

[DailyTX]

Looks like a lot of Yixing Zisha fan/collectors are here. Anyone has recommendation on where to go to learn and shop for Yixing zisha in Hong Kong?

Look and learn in the Flagstaff Teaware museum: https://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Arts/ ... -ware.html

Shopping might prove more difficult, HK is small and a lot of people collect and probably scooped up what was available in terms of antiques, maybe vintage pots are still available. I'd just browse some of the old tea shops and the antique shops around Hollywood road. Don't expect good deals though... Keep an eye open you never know!

Lok cha Tea house has some collection if I am not mistaken.

In terms of new teaware it might be a better idea to just take the train or ferry to Guangzhou, most of the stuff comes from there anyways. If you have time that is... Count on a two-day trip to account for traveling time and troubles on the road. But probably you will still find cheaper Yixing in HK than in the West.

@Bok
Thank you for the recommendation, it was an educational experience visiting the Flagstaff Teaware Museum. Here is the souvenir I brought back from the shop inside the museum

Thick wall zini pot, it has some tool marks inside, and it has a tight lid. I am planning to test it out with shu pu erh

[Youzi]

One of my Favorite Yixing teapots.

I wanted to use it for Shu, but it made Chocolatey Red tea so much better, that I didn't have another choice

I bought it as a set of 1 Pot 2 Cups, and kept one cup unused to compare the patina and clay development of the teapot.

What do you guys think?

(picture taken with natural, not direct light)

[steanze]

One of my Favorite Yixing teapots.

I wanted to use it for Shu, but it made Chocolatey Red tea so much better, that I didn't have another choice

I bought it as a set of 1 Pot 2 Cups, and kept one cup unused to compare the patina and clay development of the teapot.

What do you guys think?

(picture taken with natural, not direct light)

Nice patina!

[tjkdubya]

The popular IG vendor Yinchen has a website now, and has posted some detailed info about each of the clay they use, including mine, pic of original ore, firing temperature range, shrinkage rate, and photos of test tiles fired at different temperatures.

http://yinchenteapot.com/Blog.html

I'm not in a position to speak to the veracity of all this info, but it's interesting to see this level of detail presented on a retail site.

I have never purchased anything from them, btw.

[Bok]

Interesting. I would have thought them to be more expensive by the looks of the imagery.

[Youzi]

The popular IG vendor Yinchen has a website now, and has posted some detailed info about each of the clay they use, including mine, pic of original ore, firing temperature range, shrinkage rate, and photos of test tiles fired at different temperatures.

http://yinchenteapot.com/Blog.html

I'm not in a position to speak to the veracity of all this info, but it's interesting to see this level of detail presented on a retail site.

I have never purchased anything from them, btw.

I had quite a few conversations with Gao from Yinchenteapot, he gets the info from the book "Yixing Zisha Mineral" written by Zhu Zewei (宜兴紫砂矿料 by 朱泽伟) which is Standard used by Yixing potters for looking up information about certain clays, and their attributes. I cannot recommend enough this book to anyone who is interested in Yixing teapots, as it'll clear up many misconceptions which are common among the western audience. I plan to translate the book to the best of my knowledge for the western audience, however I lack the necessary knowledge in geology and material science, to not make mistakes during translation.
This is also the same book Charlie recommended from the old days, on Teachat.

I haven't purchased anything yet from Yinchenteapot, however I plan to commission a bespoke teapot, and will get back with the results.

[Baisao]

I purchased a small teapot from Gao at yinchenteapot. It was fully handmade and the quality exceeded my expectations. His mother has been making teapots in Yixing for around 40 years and the teapot I purchased was made by one of her students.

Given the shape and that it is modern clay, I expected it to be a shelf bunny but the teapot is significantly better than I expected it to be.

[Bok]

Nice one, how is the handling? Looks a bit bottom heavy.

[Baisao]

Nice one, how is the handling? Looks a bit bottom heavy.

It handles just fine. Even the square spout pours better than it should. Of course, it cannot help but be bottom heavy but for the form it works exceptionally well. The clay is neutral and while not eggshell thin, it’s thin enough. I don’t think I would hesitate to purchase from this vendor again.

[tjkdubya]

The popular IG vendor Yinchen has a website now, and has posted some detailed info about each of the clay they use, including mine, pic of original ore, firing temperature range, shrinkage rate, and photos of test tiles fired at different temperatures.

http://yinchenteapot.com/Blog.html

I'm not in a position to speak to the veracity of all this info, but it's interesting to see this level of detail presented on a retail site.

I have never purchased anything from them, btw.

I had quite a few conversations with Gao from Yinchenteapot, he gets the info from the book "Yixing Zisha Mineral" written by Zhu Zewei (宜兴紫砂矿料 by 朱泽伟) which is Standard used by Yixing potters for looking up information about certain clays, and their attributes. I cannot recommend enough this book to anyone who is interested in Yixing teapots, as it'll clear up many misconceptions which are common among the western audience. I plan to translate the book to the best of my knowledge for the western audience, however I lack the necessary knowledge in geology and material science, to not make mistakes during translation.
This is also the same book Charlie recommended from the old days, on Teachat.

I haven't purchased anything yet from Yinchenteapot, however I plan to commission a bespoke teapot, and will get back with the results.

Great! Thank you for the info about the book. And looking forward to hearing about your bespoke teapot. I spoke to Gao very briefly about whether they would be willing to do wood-fired zhuni but protected with saggar to avoid any ash deposit while getting some reduction effect. The response was positive.

[Youzi]

Took a long time to source it, but...

Fully Hand made Benshan Lüni

- Size of pot:
150 ml
- Clay type:
Benshan Lüni
- Firing temperature:
1210-1250
- If the pot is thin-walled, medium, or thick-walled.
~3mm
- How long is the pour?
15s
- What year/decade the pot was made?
2019
- What type of tea you make with it?
"Bad tea" mostly young Sheng
- What is the effect of the pot on tea? Why do you like to brew a certain tea in it, and what does it do for that tea?
It Removes all bitterness and astringency, makes my worst teas taste good, however it destroys good nuanced teas

[rdl]

I happily received this teapot, and as Yixing is beyond my knowledge, would someone be kind enough to share any information based on these photographs?
My appreciation and thanks.

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[Chadrinkincat]

I happily received this teapot, and as Yixing is beyond my knowledge, would someone be kind enough to share any information based on these photographs?
My appreciation and thanks.

Looks like it could be F1 late 70-80’s peach pot. Or it could be 80’s F2. Around 300-350ml? https://www.facebook.com/groups/twteapo ... 44?sfns=mo

[rdl]

Chadrinkincat,
Thank you! I haven't used it as I have a simple smaller pot, but I estimated 280-300ml. I wouldn't know which tea is best suited for it.
I just saw your Facebook link, and the pot looks identical.