I'm new to this newsgroup and to the world of fine teas in general and have a few questions. A couple of days ago when I was shopping in my local Asian supermarket, I stopped by the housewares section and saw two teapots that looked like they were yixing teapots. They were hidden behind some Japanese iron teapots but these were clay ones and had Chinese chops on the bottom. There was a plain one for about $25 and one with a dragon theme design for $35.
My question is, what are the chances that these are made from real yixing clay? Are lower quality yixing teapots common enough that they might show up in an Asian supermarket? If they are made from some other type of clay, would they retain the tea flavor and become seasoned like a yixing one? I can't really ask anyone there about them since a) my Chinese isn't good enough to ask the right questions and b) if you've ever been in an Asian supermarket, you know customer service isn't their strong suit. Is it worth it for a beginner to take a chance and try one out?
In general you'll never be sure if it is Yixing. You'll always have to take somebody's word for it. I'd look for the signature purple pots with chop marks even though other colors are okay. In fact any display of Yixing should have more than one color. Factory Yixing isn't expensive while artizan pieces are let the buyer beware. Learn the Chinese characters for Yixing. In the stores the display items will come in original shipping box. Yixing is the clay and the pot almost any style. An excellent source for Yixing is Museum shops. Upscale trendy department stores sell Yixing and talk to the buyer. I personally like teapots that say make tea and not one that says look where I came from. I'd spend the money to buy a Yixing Brown Betty. You can expect to get a cheap Yixing pot for the prices you mentioned.
I've got a couple of authentic yixings from museum shop sales, several cheaper versions (not "fakes"; just molded, thin-wall porous stoneware from whatever factory) from malls and Chinese kitchen shops, several gorgeous paper-thin pots from Japan, and the usual selection of German porcelain, English stoneware, American schlock. (Still looking for a Fiestaware I can afford in a colour I like.) Not to mention the single-cup gadgets. Needless to say, I'm in complete control of this apparent addiction.
IMO, there's a vast difference in finish and artistry with the top-drawer merchandise, but nil difference in performance. The big split is glazed (which will season, if you like a UK-style interior crust of polymerized tannins) vs. porous (seasoning critical, ongoing, affects taste). There's also a huge effect of thermal mass; clunky pots require a good preheat (for black teas) where thin walls take little from the brew.
Yixing and any other fine clay high-fired to a nice ringing chime are all about the same, IMO - but few outside of China make anything like that. Cheaper clays, with more "grog" and less well prepared before casting or pressing, are much more porous, duller in tone when rapped, and take longer to season. -Just takes more gunk to clog those pores.
Beyond that, to me, it's aesthetics rather than eyes-shut brewing performance. I must say that I do admire a really nice slip-glazed or hand-buffed finish, but I can't usually justify the $50 or more to get it. I've never bought one of those real artworks, partly because I like to use all my teapots without too much worry.
I used to make my own ceramics, and made some dandy yixing-style cups with walls less than 2 mm thick. With a high fire, not even too fragile. But I'd never try to make a pot! On the clay front, anyone who's done a but of wheel-throwing will tell you that slip-casting and mold pressing rarely give the same properties in the finished product achieved naturally (but slowly) with wheel-throwing and hand-building. Again, though, that's a detail. Seasoned properly, any ol' clay pot will work fine.
To technique: magic is fun, and personal ritual is important. Me, I take an ounce of cheap, strong but neutral tea (say a supermarket keemun), boil it up with the virgin pot in a small saucepan, let cool overnight, rinse clean and use. Then it takes only a couple of brews to get some kind of consistency.
Flea Market Finds with the Kovells did a Fiestaware teapot segment recently. Prices sky high. I remember a 50's yellow pot for $300 about the size of three cups. My goal this year buy some Russian teapots.
Aagh - $300 for a teapot! Bit rich for my blood. I see Fiestaware copies in the discount stores, but only in grotty colours.
On a side note, a friend's mother was going to get rid of some nice orange pieces from her collection because she'd been warned that the glaze was made with uranium. I said that this was silly; there's uranium glass everywhere, and it's not that "hot" anyway. I brought over a geiger counter, and by golly, it buzzed like mad! I said that that was still nothing on a radium-dial watch, so she kept them. Too bad - she might have given them to me for safe disposal.
I want to say one more thing about this type of post. Only someone who has been drinking tea a long time could let the thoughts and ideas flow from fingers to keyboard. I recognize the style because it is akin to mine where talking about tea is effortless and derived more from experience than research. There are only a few other people in this ng with this kind of acumen. It's not even important who I think they are because you can find out for yourself. You'll notice their discussions about tea are generalities which is more interesting than any specifics like where they buy it or many posts in this ng where it a hodgepodge of copy and paste from any previous threads on the subject by some wannabee. All I can say is look at the information in this post which should be a lot more helpfull than somebody telling you where to buy it. I don't have any trouble with specifics if it is helpfull for the generality. You'll learn alot more about tea by doing it yourself than taking my word for it. This high speed internet has got me working overtime. I can't sleep.
In addition to having wisdom and knowledge of tea he has also never demonstrated intolerance, conceit, or antagonism. Nor has he ever resorted to theatrical name calling, flaming, or bashing. He has always shared his knowledge and opinions without coming across as "high and mighty".
Maybe your style is not as akin to his as you would like to think!
Oh you're just pissed because you can't buy anything from me and go slobbering around in the ng giving personal testimonials about how knowledgeable I am. Anyway I'm in a Celtic store this weekend and came across a Brooke Bond label called Scottish Blend ($5/250g). It says it was specifically formulated for the soft Scottish water and only sold in Scotland (You know someone has connections where everything is shipped in a trunk). It had a hinged cardboard lid which exposed a slot to remove the teabags. The lid made a good seal when closed. I wished more commercial tea was this way maybe even a slot for loose tea. I thought it made a good enough brew with the hardwater from the well so this will be my Scottish breakfast tea for a while.
When someone attacks me on a personal level it does tend to piss me off, and you made it personal by resorting to ridicule, name calling, and personal insults etc.
All I did was respond with my honest opinion to some other poster who specifically asked about a particular vendor, read the thread if you dont remember. Just because I had experience with vendor XYZ does not mean I am working for him in some sort of clandestine promotional scheme. Many of us here have shared our experiences about various sources. If you read the archives you will also see where I shared bad experiences as well. Sharing our experience is part of what the Usenet is all about. If you disagree with my opinion then I welcome yours. I can accept a difference of opinion, but my opinion IS just as valid as yours.
You have a lot of good stuff to offer, I have seen it in some of your other posts However, there is no need to be so judgmental and intolerant, and there is definitely no need to resort to juvenile tactics like name calling etc.
What should piss you off is the embedded businessman and bookseller. I appointed myself the group's Curmudgeon years ago. If you read my posts carefully if need be I let go specially crafted barbs to fit the tone of the thread but I never badmouth your mama or talk about your personal hygiene. If all you can offer is personal testimonials or the line item details of your last WWW tea invoice then you have nothing to say and would be better off in a Starbuck's group where the communal expertise is directly proportional to the price of the coffee and whether the barista knows your first name.
Hmm, "self appointed Curmudgeon ", interesting choice of titles, I wont argue.
Look Jim, I think you have taken 1 or 2 posts out of context with disregard for my other posts over the last couple of years. If you think that all I have ever contributed is what you stated below then I sincerely doubt you have read many of my other posts.
In any event I may not be a wise old tea master but I am here to stay so I guess we are going to have learn to live with each other. If you will look past my occasional ignorance I will look past your occasional grumpiness. If you are ever in southside Virginia look me up and we can share a pot of silver needle puerh..... I suspect you might enjoy it.
Speaking of tea, lets start a new thread, what's your take on Lapsang Souchong? Elixer or mouthwash? From what I understand the Chinese never touch the stuff. I find it to be quite relaxing at times, kicked back with a good book on the weekend etc.
Most of the lapsangs I've tried have been a very lightly fermented base and a lot of smoke - don't work well for me. I wondered how a smoked strong Assam might taste, and added a little lapsang to a pot. Wonderful! I do it all the time now, and if I could figure out how to maintain an even mix with such different leaf shapes, I'd make a stock of the blen.
I have tasted a lot of very fine Russian Caravan blends that also contain Lapsabg as a component.
I am curious how a truly good Lapsang is judged? The smoke tends to be so powerful that it covers up the subtleties of the base tea. Are there different base teas available?
Sorry about that cold, Mike. A hot cup of mint tea might clear that congested nose ;)
I never thought about it before, but I have the same reaction to malt whiskies. (Anyone else here enjoy a drop o'the true?) Lagavulin, Laphroaig and Talisker seem to me to balance smoke and body. very lightly peated whiskies are fine, too. But really smoky ones without the body just don't work for me. In fact, I find that I drink the smoky ones with less than 50% added water, which makes them pretty burny on the tongue, to keep sweetness and body in balance with smoke.
Subconsciously I was waiting to jump on the first person to give a glowing personal testimonial for the embedded businessman. Wait till somebody gives a book review from you know who. Frankly even if I remembered your previous efforts it wouldn't have made any difference in this case. LS turned up in my thermos on Monday when shoveling six inches of snow the weatherman didn't forecast.
I'm certainly no expert on whisky (in fact, I haven't tried the ones you named), but I find myself not returning to the smoky ones (e.g. Oban) and preferring those that are relatively smoke-free (e.g. Dalmore, Macallan Cask Strength.) As for dilution, for me adding water changes the taste so much that I prefer to drink it straight in tiny sips. I love the way the vapor fills my mouth and nose. This works for me even at 68% alcohol (Macallan CS.)
DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.