Yixing

[Bok]

I have foind a teapot I like from Yinchen Studio. I have two pots from them already, which I am quite happy with, but this pot is made of a zhuni that I am unfamiliar with. The site makes claims that I want to look into. It is an 80ml Huanglong zhuni with coarsely sifted clay, maybe #26-#30 screen, that they claim to be aged 40 years. There are light colored flecks of duanni mixed in as it is "roughly mined," according the site. My question is for those of you who have more knowledge than I do about different types of zhuni and for those of you who have more information about Yinchen Studio as it is hard to find much online. What kind of reputation does Yinchen have regarding quality of clay? Are the claims made about this pot plausible and worth trusting? I'm including a link to the pot I'm asking about.

https://yinchenstudio.com/collections/z ... eapot-80ml

Not sure what is the story they claim, but sounds either questionable or unverifiable:
1 - Clay was aged for 40 years, i.e. processed 40 years ago and aged since in order to improve plasticity etc.: It sounds unlikely that the state company used stone mills in early to 80s to artisanally process the clay, plus the clay is nothing like the clays used in early 80s from what i can say.
2 - Ore was mined and left weathered by the elements for 40 years: I don't think zhuni is usually left weathered.
3 - Ore was mined 40 years ago but left unprocessed until recently: I'm guessing that this is what their claim is. Would it be any different than "freshly" mined ore? Were there piles of zhuni ore mined in the early 80's left unprocessed? Why?
What does @youzi think about it?

Agreed. Sounds like a marketing thing, rather than based on facts. I can not think for a good reason as to why 40y they would leave roughly processed clay lying around, when that was not something in demand at the time?

Secondly, roughly blended with coarser bits will behave quite differently to a more regular Zhuni. At least if I compare my pearskin Zhuni with the smooth ones there is a notable difference.

[steanze]

I have foind a teapot I like from Yinchen Studio. I have two pots from them already, which I am quite happy with, but this pot is made of a zhuni that I am unfamiliar with. The site makes claims that I want to look into. It is an 80ml Huanglong zhuni with coarsely sifted clay, maybe #26-#30 screen, that they claim to be aged 40 years. There are light colored flecks of duanni mixed in as it is "roughly mined," according the site. My question is for those of you who have more knowledge than I do about different types of zhuni and for those of you who have more information about Yinchen Studio as it is hard to find much online. What kind of reputation does Yinchen have regarding quality of clay? Are the claims made about this pot plausible and worth trusting? I'm including a link to the pot I'm asking about.

https://yinchenstudio.com/collections/z ... eapot-80ml

People here seem to have had ok experiences with Yinchen. But don't buy the pot for the 40 year aged claim, it is unlikely to be true, and even if it were true it does not really matter... a few years' resting is sufficient. As @Bok mentioned, it's likely to perform differently from a purer zhuni pot with finer mesh. This could be good or bad depending on what you want from the pot.

[Vjt]

I have foind a teapot I like from Yinchen Studio. I have two pots from them already, which I am quite happy with, but this pot is made of a zhuni that I am unfamiliar with. The site makes claims that I want to look into. It is an 80ml Huanglong zhuni with coarsely sifted clay, maybe #26-#30 screen, that they claim to be aged 40 years. There are light colored flecks of duanni mixed in as it is "roughly mined," according the site. My question is for those of you who have more knowledge than I do about different types of zhuni and for those of you who have more information about Yinchen Studio as it is hard to find much online. What kind of reputation does Yinchen have regarding quality of clay? Are the claims made about this pot plausible and worth trusting? I'm including a link to the pot I'm asking about.

https://yinchenstudio.com/collections/z ... eapot-80ml

Not sure what is the story they claim, but sounds either questionable or unverifiable:
1 - Clay was aged for 40 years, i.e. processed 40 years ago and aged since in order to improve plasticity etc.: It sounds unlikely that the state company used stone mills in early to 80s to artisanally process the clay, plus the clay is nothing like the clays used in early 80s from what i can say.
2 - Ore was mined and left weathered by the elements for 40 years: I don't think zhuni is usually left weathered.
3 - Ore was mined 40 years ago but left unprocessed until recently: I'm guessing that this is what their claim is. Would it be any different than "freshly" mined ore? Were there piles of zhuni ore mined in the early 80's left unprocessed? Why?
What does @youzi think about it?

Agreed. Sounds like a marketing thing, rather than based on facts. I can not think for a good reason as to why 40y they would leave roughly processed clay lying around, when that was not something in demand at the time?

Secondly, roughly blended with coarser bits will behave quite differently to a more regular Zhuni. At least if I compare my pearskin Zhuni with the smooth ones there is a notable difference.

I assumed that there would be a muting effect with the courser, mixed clay. I intend to find a pot that I can use as an alternative to my Duanni and hongni pots for my various sheng. I figured something like dcq would be an option and then I ran across this pot. I already have a ZMY zhuni that I use for yancha and charcoal roasted dancong. I like the idea of the mineral content of zhuni with the muting effects from a touch of duanni for some semi aged, Taiwan and Malaysian stored puerh when duanni would mute too much and hongni not as much. Any thoughts on these musings?

[Youzi]

I have foind a teapot I like from Yinchen Studio. I have two pots from them already, which I am quite happy with, but this pot is made of a zhuni that I am unfamiliar with. The site makes claims that I want to look into. It is an 80ml Huanglong zhuni with coarsely sifted clay, maybe #26-#30 screen, that they claim to be aged 40 years. There are light colored flecks of duanni mixed in as it is "roughly mined," according the site. My question is for those of you who have more knowledge than I do about different types of zhuni and for those of you who have more information about Yinchen Studio as it is hard to find much online. What kind of reputation does Yinchen have regarding quality of clay? Are the claims made about this pot plausible and worth trusting? I'm including a link to the pot I'm asking about.

https://yinchenstudio.com/collections/z ... eapot-80ml

40 years cannot really be verified. It might as well be 5 years, it makes no difference.
Aging only affects the forming / shaping of the teapots and the firing.

Maybe the others can chime in regarding the history, but it was somewhere in the 80s (end of) when private productions started, besides F1?

A few people had teapots from that kind of clay, and they said it's more muting. Similar to zini in general, than zhuni. Which is probably due to the mesh size and the lots of particles, besides the zhuni (eg. Duanni).

[Bok]

One important question is also: why would they make impure Zhuni if they could get much more money for refined Zhuni? Doesn’t really add up.

[Youzi]

One important question is also: why would they make impure Zhuni if they could get much more money for refined Zhuni? Doesn’t really add up.

Cuz it's actually not zhuni, but Tuanni(zhuni). Basically Tuanni from the intersection of the Lüni / Zhuni stratas.
Usually artificially mixed stuff looks more "clean".

Could explain why the material wasn't used. As it's "ugly" in the general eyes of the Chinese public.

But this just my theory. I'm still not sure for the validity of the 40 or 30yo age. Not that it matters.

[.m.]

One important question is also: why would they make impure Zhuni if they could get much more money for refined Zhuni? Doesn’t really add up.

Cuz it's actually not zhuni, but Tuanni(zhuni). Basically Tuanni from the intersection of the Lüni / Zhuni stratas.
Usually artificially mixed stuff looks more "clean".

Could explain why the material wasn't used. As it's "ugly" in the general eyes of the Chinese public.

But this just my theory. I'm still not sure for the validity of the 40 or 30yo age. Not that it matters.

That totally makes sense.

[Bok]

@Youzi Thanks, that clears it up!

[Theekje]

Hi

Last week I bought this pot through a Dutch classifieds platform. The vendor didn't know anything about it. Said it was from an inventory where it had been in a display cabinet. It wasn't that expensive and looked decent enough, so I decided to take a chance on it.

I asked on the Discord CommuniTea server and someone suggested that if it was f1 it might be green label Qing Shui Ni, but they weren't sure wether it was f1 at all.

I am really only a yixing newbie, so I'm not sure what to make of the pot. Would you be able to help me identify the age / type of clay used?
What is most important to me is that it will make tasty tea and that it is safe to use. I would be grateful for any info or recommendations at all.

- Size of pot in ml or oz = 90 ml
- Clay type = ?
- Firing temperature: ?
- If the pot is thin-walled, medium, or thick-walled = ?
- How long is the pour? = 11 seconds
- What year/decade the pot was made? = ?
- If known, the craftsman or factory = ?
- What type of tea you make with it? = Open for recommendations
- What is the effect of the pot on tea? Why do you like to brew a certain tea in it, and what does it do for that tea? = Can't tell yet

[Bok]

@Theekje superficially, it looks like Qingshuini clay from the green label period.

But the lid knob looks very atypically large, so it might be something else.

[PuErh_person]

Hi, this is my first post on this Forum!

I found really well loved (and large approx 720mL) Yixing teapot at a thrift store in Canada for $7!!!!! Anyhow, the clay is what I believe to be zini. I reached out to a renowned owner of a chinese tea shop in Vancouver and he said pot is from the 1960s or 70s. What are your thoughts on it? I am relatively new to the tea scene so I’d appreciate some feedback on this find!

[Bok]

owner of a chinese tea shop in Vancouver and he said pot is from the 1960s or 70s.

You meant “The” Chinese Tea shop, haha.
Could be what Mr Lui, says, @OCTO will know… ?

[Chadrinkincat]

Theekje superficially, it looks like Qingshuini clay from the green label period.

But the lid knob looks very atypically large, so it might be something else.

The lid shape looks oddly puffy. It sorta reminds me of the lids on early-mid 80’s guava pots. The base looks odd too right?

[Bok]

Theekje superficially, it looks like Qingshuini clay from the green label period.

But the lid knob looks very atypically large, so it might be something else.

The lid shape looks oddly puffy. It sorta reminds me of the lids on early-mid 80’s guava pots. The base looks odd too right?

Base looks alright to me for green label, as to more specifics that not really my expertise, I’ll leave that for others.

I stopped caring about the intricacies for anything after the early 70s.

[steanze]

Hi

Last week I bought this pot through a Dutch classifieds platform. The vendor didn't know anything about it. Said it was from an inventory where it had been in a display cabinet. It wasn't that expensive and looked decent enough, so I decided to take a chance on it.

I asked on the Discord CommuniTea server and someone suggested that if it was f1 it might be green label Qing Shui Ni, but they weren't sure wether it was f1 at all.

I am really only a yixing newbie, so I'm not sure what to make of the pot. Would you be able to help me identify the age / type of clay used?
What is most important to me is that it will make tasty tea and that it is safe to use. I would be grateful for any info or recommendations at all.

It looks like a replica made with fairly good clay. The lid and base are not consistent with F1. I think it should make good tea though.