FS: 90s private order Di Cao Qing Pao Zhun(?) 100 mL

[polezaivsani]

Short bio: According to EoT, this has been part of private order by Malaysian collector with F1 potters in the 90s, fired at the dragon kiln. Same source claimed this to be a nice DCQ clay. It's been near the northern coast of Baltic sea for a while, hosted by another TF fellow member and some half a year back ended up in the hands of of absolute Yixing novice at the southern coast of the same sea. As a reckless apprentice i envisioned to brew sheng puers in it, and all the while i had an apprehension (not to mention direct calls by more experienced folks ) that that's not what it is made for. Now i've needed just 3 sessions of seemingly decent Liu An with it to recognize the extent of my ignorance.

With shengs i've always had a lingering thought that something is missing in the soup, while with hei cha - it's as magic of a match i've seen to date (not that's a lot ). It took away almost alcoholic tint of a fermented tea and turned the soup into... hell, enough of that, i won't do it a good job anyway.

Yet i can't seem to fill it more than halfway with dark teas (shengs where easier in that regard) and have some some qualms regarding the overall shape now, so It's time to pass it on to somebody who'd give it more use.

Some more details: lid sports nice fit (can bleed when brim full and clogged), firing seem medium-ish (as in not high).

Blemishes (all visible on the photos): i scuffed a small bit off of the lid's skirt (the extra bit has been preserved in case you want it); the interior has some sort of discoloration along groves left by seemingly later tool application; and a tiny fissure on the inner side of the bottom, at 7'o clock.

Asking €120 + shipping, would consider trading for tea .

[Balthazar]

Looks nice.

A shot showing (or information about) the filter type would be useful. Single hole?

[OCTO]

Yes indeed that’s a nice pot. For that size, I would use it for YanCha. To add some verification to EOT’s claim , yes it is part of a private order customized to a few Malaysian collectors. These pots were specifically ordered to ride with the LiuBao wave during the 90s and early Y2K. Many of these pots have seen a significant increase in price. I have recently been offered pots from the same batch before the price leaped 100%.

@polezaivsani , a handful of these DCQ pots work with sheng too, but you have to be more patient to season them well. All new DCQ will tend to mute a lot more. I personally prefer them with aged sheng, LiuBao and aged shou.

Cheers!!

[polezaivsani]

Looks nice.

A shot showing (or information about) the filter type would be useful. Single hole?

Yep, it's a single hole filter - the usual practice applies. For big leaf shengs it worked really smooth and with little care you won't ever get it clogged (though i have a long stem for a de clogging device close by). Smaller leaf liu an warranted some more care, but not overwhelmingly so. But i very much love such simple designs that need some care in exchange for robust performance.

[Balthazar]

I personally prefer single hole over other styles. Toothpicks are cheap!

Sent you a PM, btw

[polezaivsani]

@OCTO, thanks for vetting it - before that it seemed like an abstract story you'd expect to hear from a seller and i'm happy to hear it rooted with more evidence.

Regarding teas, i was pretty stubborn in my recklessness - was pushing it with shengs for most of the half year time i had it to myself. Maybe it's my cakes that weren't good enough, but i still didn't get any magic out of it. I gave it a thorough cleaning and right from the first session with liu an it felt at home. After 3 (or 4) sessions the pot has a devlopped an earthy-leathery smell to it, feels like synergy of all the aspects - tea, clay, flavor, texture and color all playing nice together.

[polezaivsani]

The teapot is as good as gone. Stewards, please, get this thread dealt with.