Silver teapots?
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?
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.Kupuntu wrote: ↑Mon Dec 25, 2017 6:25 pmWhat 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?
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!
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.
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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.
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...Bok wrote: ↑Mon Dec 25, 2017 7:15 pmNot sure if it is a good idea for Puerh.Kupuntu wrote: ↑Mon Dec 25, 2017 6:25 pmWhat 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?
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!
Thanks for your input, I appreciate it.
I was referring to the inside. Wouldn’t take long for it to turn black I’d think.Bok wrote: ↑Mon Dec 25, 2017 7:45 pmI 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.
Yunnan sourcing has them at a reasonable price. How much are they going for in the east?
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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.
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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.
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.OldWaysTea wrote: ↑Thu Dec 28, 2017 10:45 amThere 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.
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