Yixing

[BriarOcelot]

Haha Kolleh, that's quite the clunk (I guess you were gripping the pot, which dampens the sound a bit).

It helps if you sit the pot down (don't hold it - or you can just grip the handle between your fingers I guess) and tap the ball on the top of the lid into the belly of the pot lightly, like you would strike a bell - you're listening for resonance and pitch. This gives an idea of the firing of the clay, so a metalic kind of a 'shing' noise when you scrape and a kind of a ringing 'ping!' when you strike. It also lets you know that there are no hairline cracks or imperfections. The pitch will vary with different thicknesses and clays.

I'm not sure what the official etiquette is for Yixing 'raising' either. I just pour my wash over it occasionally and wipe the thing down afterwards. I think some people try to avoid tea-stains on duan'ni pots.

[Kolleh]

Haha Kolleh, that's quite the clunk (I guess you were gripping the pot, which dampens the sound a bit).

It helps if you sit the pot down (don't hold it) and tap the ball on the top of the lid into the belly of the pot lightly, like you would strike a bell - you're listening for resonance and pitch. This gives an idea of the firing of the clay, so a metalic kind of a 'shing' noise when you scrape and a kind of a ringing 'ping!' when you strike. It also lets you know that there are no hairline cracks or imperfections. The pitch will vary with different thicknesses and clays.

I'm not sure what the etiquette is for Yixing 'raising' either. I just pour my wash over it occasionally and wipe the thing down afterwards. I think some people try to avoid tea-stains on duan'ni pots.

Oops. Thanks for the pointers! I'm off to bed soon, but I can try to record a better video another time.

You specified people try to avoid stains on duanni—does that mean other kinds of clay are "supposed" to get stained?

Here are pics of another (supposed) duanni pot I picked up. The shape and size mean it pours at a slow little trickle, but it's very cute. I bought it here, for a price that's not particularly promising now that I know how much these are meant to cost: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1 ... sqpttd4435

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[BriarOcelot]

No problem lol. Sleep well and merry Christmas for tomorrow. It's indeed a cute pot, and it looks like some kind of mix with Duan'ni at a guess. Did any of these come with papers?

In terms of 'raising' your pot, there's a lot written about it. It's usually the much lighter coloured pots that I've heard where people try to avoid stains. But others actively try to build up the tea laquer and get more of a 'shine' to the pots over time (they polish their pots with a dry cloth and wait for a 'seasoning' to build up.

I have some duan'ni pots that have turned almost a copper colour as I use them exclusively for brewing up shu puer. But I'm not really sure if some people would think they are just filthy

I'm sure the seasoned pro's will weigh in.

[Youzi]

I bought it this year, and I assumed (the shopkeeper didn't say otherwise) that it had been made recently.

Interesting, it looks like early locomotive production to me, so 2010 or before. Is that dirt on the outside or Tuhei? How do you use the pot? Do you shower it with tea on the outside or something similar, so that the outside can stain? How's the pitch of the teapot, when you lightly tap it or move the lid against the body?

Oh, that is interesting! That's older than I would have thought.

I'm not certain what Tuhei is, but there isn't any dirt on the pot. I don't go out of my way to pour tea on the outside, but when I mess up a steeping (which happens every so often if I'm experimenting, get distracted and let it sit too long, or pour the tea too soon), I usually pour that batch over the outside of the teapot before I boil more water. I'm not sure if that's proper Yixing etiquette, though.

I wasn't sure how to describe the sound, so I recorded a quick video so you could hear for yourself. There doesn't seem to be an option for attaching video files, so I've dropped it here: https://we.tl/t-GRI4qai1Se

Hope that's helpful!

Hmm, can't really tell much about the video, because holding the teapot dampens the sound. It's just an attribute that can help you gets things with regards to the firing of the teapot and if there are micro cracks etc.

Tuhei is what mostly affects Lüni and Tuanni, because they need higher firing temp to get to the proper sintering degree, so if they aren't, they get irregular black dots on the outer surface, which can look patchy and appear in clusters. Looking at the photos you provided I'd lean more to the Tuhei side, but not 100% confident based on such a few things. But I'd keep my earlier guess, for the teapot to be an early, 1st generation locomotive production teapot (机车壶)。

[Youzi]

Haha Kolleh, that's quite the clunk (I guess you were gripping the pot, which dampens the sound a bit).

It helps if you sit the pot down (don't hold it) and tap the ball on the top of the lid into the belly of the pot lightly, like you would strike a bell - you're listening for resonance and pitch. This gives an idea of the firing of the clay, so a metalic kind of a 'shing' noise when you scrape and a kind of a ringing 'ping!' when you strike. It also lets you know that there are no hairline cracks or imperfections. The pitch will vary with different thicknesses and clays.

I'm not sure what the etiquette is for Yixing 'raising' either. I just pour my wash over it occasionally and wipe the thing down afterwards. I think some people try to avoid tea-stains on duan'ni pots.

Oops. Thanks for the pointers! I'm off to bed soon, but I can try to record a better video another time.

You specified people try to avoid stains on duanni—does that mean other kinds of clay are "supposed" to get stained?

Here are pics of another (supposed) duanni pot I picked up. The shape and size mean it pours at a slow little trickle, but it's very cute. I bought it here, for a price that's not particularly promising now that I know how much these are meant to cost: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1 ... sqpttd4435

This one seems to be the best pot so far. Judging by the pictures it seems to be either half hand made of 3rd/4th gen. Locomotive teapot, which is impossible to distinguish from each other.

However checking the taobao page, they say it's fully hand made, which is a lie, although they faked the inner seal quite well, however if you can reach the seal easily with your fingers, then they can easily place the seal with a plastic "sticker" (don't know the word for that).

The price is also not right for fully hand made teapots. Full-hand prices are closer to 1000 rmb. Plus they claim to use Benshan Duanni, but that also adds extra costs, so the 650 rmb price doesn't add up based on their claims.

So I'd say all in all, that it's a nice modern locomotive pot, so far the best you posted, should be fine to use and also probably high fired, with good lid fit etc. However for that, I'm not sure 650 is the right price..

[TeaTotaling]

@Youzi I have a Duanni from the 80's that suffers from tuhei. Is this more of an aesthetic issue, or does it in fact affect tea brewing?

[Bok]

Youzi I have a Duanni from the 80's that suffers from tuhei. Is this more of an aesthetic issue, or does it in fact affect tea brewing?

Well tuhei happens as the Duanni is underfired and the inside tea leaks through to the outside, I’ll let you figure out what that means...

[Youzi]

Youzi I have a Duanni from the 80's that suffers from tuhei. Is this more of an aesthetic issue, or does it in fact affect tea brewing?

Well tuhei happens as the Duanni is underfired and the inside tea leaks through to the outside, I’ll let you figure out what that means...

+1

[DailyTX]

Youzi I have a Duanni from the 80's that suffers from tuhei. Is this more of an aesthetic issue, or does it in fact affect tea brewing?

Well tuhei happens as the Duanni is underfired and the inside tea leaks through to the outside, I’ll let you figure out what that means...

+1

@Youzi & @Bok
Tuhei seems more obvious in duan ni and lu ni than other clays. Since zisha has porosity, I thought tuhei is a matter of time and effort to maintain. High fire duan ni is easier to prevent tuhei with proper maintenance after tea session. Is that right or is there actual duan ni that will not tuhei?

[Bok]

Is that right or is there actual duan ni that will not tuhei?

From my experience many, if not most antique Duanni have some sort of tuhei or another. You are right, that with use it evens out a bit. Depending on tea of course. Some love Duanni for Shou PE, which turns out...

[DailyTX]

Is that right or is there actual duan ni that will not tuhei?

From my experience many, if not most antique Duanni have some sort of tuhei or another. You are right, that with use it evens out a bit. Depending on tea of course. Some love Duanni for Shou PE, which turns out...

@Bok
Duanni + shu or hei Cha will make a perfect unique Jianshui pot?

[BriarOcelot]

Is that right or is there actual duan ni that will not tuhei?

From my experience many, if not most antique Duanni have some sort of tuhei or another. You are right, that with use it evens out a bit. Depending on tea of course. Some love Duanni for Shou PE, which turns out...

What would you drink out of Duanni? I use mine for Shou PE, Roasted Oolong and I use one pot for middle-aged (<10yo) sheng (different pots). Is there some percieved issue with brewing Shou PE in it that I'm not aware of?

[DailyTX]

@BriarOcelot
Aside from the aesthetic look, duanni fits puerh very well. Most people don’t brew shu puerh is mainly due to the look of your pot. If you have a “collectible” duanni pot or an antique, you can try aged white tea, age Sheng would be okay with good maintenance, or oolong. For Oolong, you will noticed the pot takes a lot of fragrance initially, and lessen over time. On the other hand, it’s your pot and your tea, you can brew anything, even use it for Chinese medicine if you want

[Bok]

I am the heretic who drinks Gaoshan from my Duanni. Same reasons why I equally love to use my Kobiwako for these teas. Body, give me body! Aroma is superficial

[BriarOcelot]

I am the heretic who drinks Gaoshan from my Duanni. Same reasons why I equally love to use my Kobiwako for these teas. Body, give me body! Aroma is superficial

For a while I was using a stone ladle duanni pot to brew Ming Xian Oolong, so I'm with you there . I did shift toward using a little 'alladin's lamp' nixing pot for that though which does a great job.

@DailyTX - I see, so more of an aesthetic thing with the collectible pots, that's what I thought. I was just a bit confused as I'd always been told it was great for Shou PE.