wave_code wrote: ↑Thu Jan 14, 2021 4:41 am
I still actually don't have any purple clay pots and have been keeping an eye out on and off for ones I like for years now since I always heard it was the best choice for shu and liu bao. I'm happy to see recent quality modern pots from EoT and Mud and Leaves so I think its time to finally pick one up soon, but I'm wondering how it compares to nixing and if it might be redundant for me. Anyone with experience with both notice a big difference? Also are there any significant differences between Tian Qing Ni and DCQ?
I picked up a DCQ pot (from the 90s "Malaysian private order" that EoT has some pots from) and a nixing pot last year, and have used both extensively since then. It is hard for me to pinpoint exactly why I prefer one over the other for any given tea. It seems to me that there is not only the question of which of the clays are more muting in general, but rather what notes each highlights.
It seems like I generally prefer the DCQ for liubao and nixing for shu puer (caveat: I'm not a big fan of shu, and my go-to pot for it would be a zini). For fuzhuan teas it's probably a draw; for heizhuans the DCQ comes out on top of the two (but would take second place to some of my hongni or zini pots).
Small sample size, differing pot sizes, and a dash of YMMV suggests all of the above should be regarded as fairly uncertain. But for the general question - is there a big difference between nixing and DQC - I'd say yes, I think the difference will be pretty clear to most drinkers out there.
(Slightly off topic, but I've been very surprised to see how well my nixing pot pairs with some hongcha and even roasted Taiwanese oolongs.)
wave_code wrote: ↑Thu Jan 14, 2021 4:41 am
I don't know if maybe I just know more now than when I first started, but it seems like in the last couple years its been getting much better for finding modern pots with more reliable sourcing and material quality control which is great. if I had vintage or antique pots I'm sure I wouldn't be mad at them, but for those of us who can't afford them or just don't want to take the gamble because of lack of knowledge its great to see other reliable options. same goes for things like reproduction cups I feel like I'm seeing more of, like EoT specifically working with an ex-forger to create something to their specification. I love the look of a lot of antique cups, but I'm always worried about things like lead leeching and toxic glazes, maybe overly so - but I'm happy to take a reproduction instead that I know is made to high spec and won't poison me.
Agreed. Although as far as the quality (and purity) of the material is concerned, you still have to take the vendor's claims at face value. But at least you're one step closer to the source (the pots were commissioned by the vendor himself), and provided that (1) the vendor is truthful and (2) the vendor hasn't been duped, you probably get what was advertised.
If I was in the market for a new yixing pot I wouldn't hesitate to pick up one of the new EoT offerings or the qingshuini pot from TWL.