Goose wrote: ↑Thu May 06, 2021 12:57 pm
Hi everyone, sorry to barge in...
I'm new here and I hope to learn a few things about clay. I've been drinking good quality tea for about 12 years now and most of the time I use gaiwans (procelain mostly). I do have a few clay teapots, which I started using more frequently. They are all recently made. One is I think machine made or slipcast and I believe the other three are half handmade. They were all in the 50 to 90 euro price range (the last three i bought in the last 5 years or so). The cheapest one, the one I think is machine made, was part of a set that included six cups and a gong dao bei, which I don't use. The cups get too hot and I prefer a glass pitcher.
I of course asked some questions when I bought them, but to be honest, I can't really remember much other than that they are not fully handmade and that the first three would probably work with shu, sheng and a lot of oolongs and that I should try it out and see what works for me. For the last one I said I wanted one for dan congs but wasn't sure yet and that I might use it for wuyi yancha and based on that I was given a few options.
I use one for gaoshan oolong, one for shu and one for sheng pu erh and the newest one I've been using for dan congs. At the moment I'm quite satisfied, except for the cheapest one which I use for gaoshan oolong because it pours too slowly... I can work with it, but a faster pour would be more convenient. This is something that I've paid attention to when buying the others, which all pour much faster. I've did a few experiments to see if I can taste any difference. Generally the tea's a bit softer, less astringent but not too much.
Now I've become a bit more interested in them, and I'd like to know more. I know I didn't buy anything special and I will return with my questions to the vendor as well. But she's a tea expert, not a clay teapot expert. She does have a nice collection of vintage yixing teapots (family heirlooms so to speak), which she does not use very often and a few handmade modern ones from respected modern masters or their apprentices (but these prices are way beyond what I can afford, the cheapest one being $950). Anyway, her advice to me has always been to stick with gaiwans and these cheaper clay pots, or if I do want to spend more to get educated about clay before making any big purchases or to buy from potters with a long standing reputation.
Now, my questions are the following:
- would anyone here be able and willing to identify what I bought based on pictures alone (of the pots, stamp or seal at the bottom or in the lid, and I think I might have some sort of documentation in Chinese)?
- would it be worth it to figure out or maybe it doesn't really matter in that price range?
- if they are identified, would anyone be able to give advice about which teas they are most suited for (because I've been using them that often and that long I believe I can still dedicate them to other types of tea)
Can't hurt to ask right. Thanks.