Imperfect Teapots

Hi Danica,

You mentioned about selecting teapots by the color of clay. That's probably a good place to continue.

Since we can't completely rely on the sound, we must also use our eyes. What we see begins with color. Zisha is directly translated as purple sand. The "purple" part comes from the fact it is the most common raw material color that is harvested. The raw purple color will typically turn to shades of brown after firing. In addition to purple, the other common colors are red (zhuni), green (luni), yellow (duanni), and turquoise (qingni).

There are many common conceptions passed around about the character of each of the colors-and then there is more. Let's begin with some common ideas.

Red clay: Red is an auspicious color in Chinese culture and therefore many artworks and products are made in red-including teapots. Since tea is the national drink of China, the market for teapots has always been huge. However, not everyone is sophisticated enough or willing to pay for zisha teapots; nor can Yixing meet the demands of the entire country. So, teapots have been manufactured in many provinces of China, with many regional types of clay.

What has this got to do with the red color? Well, every province will make a lot of teapots in red color, because red is popular with the people. However, many red teapots will not be made of porous zisha clay. These non-porous teapots will maximize the aroma and brightness of tea, but will over emphasize the astringency and bitterness as well. Therefore, the idea about red colored teapots being suitable only for particular tea styles developed and became a generalization.

This concept about red clay was compounded by the fact that from the early 1980's iron was frequently blended in zisha clays to create a rich and attractive red color. The extra iron made the zisha very dense, and was mostly suitable for light aromatic teas.

The truth about red clay: Red clays of pure zisha are suitable for many tea styles. The natural red color of zisha ranges between burnt sienna or red ocher, and displays tones of orange and brown. Red clays can be either dense or porous, without significant correlation to its color. Naturally vivid red teapots of cinnabar and scarlet--though highly demanded--are very rare. These clays were mainly harvested during the Qing dynasty and are very scarce today. If you see a bright scarlet red teapot, it is either a rare find, or it has been created artificially. (I have only ever seen one example, and it was a broken--but treasured--antique).

Yellow Clay: Zisha translates to purple sand-meaning it is sandy and granular. Yellow clays typically have the most large and coarse granules amongst the different clay colors. This has led many to believe that all yellow clays are hard and not very porous-good mainly for gentle aromatic teas, or mellow teas like cooked pu'er.

This is not entirely false. The majority of yellow clays on the market is very dense, and will lead people to believe that this logic is true. However, fine quality yellow clays will enhance the aroma, while pleasantly lighten a teas weight, smooth its body, and concentrate its flavor. It sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? Even though yellow clays are often composed of very coarse granules, the granules themselves can be very porous. So, yellow clays can infact be used for many different tea styles. Watch out for yellow clays that are not fired at adequate temperatures. Yellow clays are most prone to developing black spots and stains from use when they are produced from low temperatures.

Purple, Green, Turquoise and other colors: There are fewer generalizations about the effects of other clay colors. Interestingly, because purple is common, and because other colors are rare. Purple is the original and most common color of zisha, so people do not need to replicate its color, and automatically consider it to possess the standard qualities of zisha--even without testing. Green and turquoise are not as common, but there is little demand for these colors to be replicated, and equally little attention paid to them. When rare colors such as black clay (heini), are artificially replicated, they are made in such small quantities that they cannot create any generalizations in the market.

So, sound testing is not reliable. Colors do not provide a good guideline. What are we supposed to look for? What kinds of teapots are suitable for which teas?

Before we get to that, let us consider why these generalizations are so popular. Many Chinese tea enthusiasts will have heard of at least one or two of the generalizations that I have mentioned in the last couple of posts. These ideas are prevalent not because tea lovers popularize them, but because they are easy to explain--and sell--by the vendors. Just look at how much I have written to dispel only a few popular concepts-and I still haven't told you how to look for a good teapot. Isn't it so much easier to say "A+B=C. Will that be cash or charge?"

I am not trying to knock the vendors. Running a business is a difficult challenge. Everyone needs to find a way to pay the rent and put food on the table. However, vendors have a higher level of responsibility than the well-intentioned tea enthusiast who is trying to share his passion. Customers rely on vendors and professionals for accurate information and quality products. By sharing information on forums like this, I hope we can encourage the industry to raise the bar. Customers should be given a chance to select higher quality products with more professional service.

Most vendors feel that the demand for high quality teas is small, and that customers can't tell the difference. There is little incentive to carry expensive products when few people are willing to buy them. But if vendors don't educate more consumers (and themselves), and never offer them more choice, the tea industry will never improve and be taken seriously. Tea will always be a coffee alternative. Wine will always be more alluring. The true art of tea will never be understood.

Oops. I am getting off topic. Maybe I should go calm down. Be back later.

Bill Lee

Hi Bill,

Ok you have hooked me. I am dying to hear how to choose a good teapot. I just went on your website and saw that you have a very nice selection and you recommend teas to teapots. This is exactly the style that I favor (there are a few other vendors whom I respect for exactly the same reason). So how DO you choose a good teapot?

And how many teapots do you need to start out with !!! ?? !!!

Danica

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

[Bill] Since we can't completely rely on the sound, we must also use our eyes.

[Jing] Allow me to add some comment about choosing teapots if I may. Eyes are important but so is the nose. I will develop the idea of nose a bit later although I am sure that a lot of readers know about it already.

[Bill] What we see begins with color. Zisha is directly translated as purple sand. The "purple" part comes from the fact it is the most common raw material color that is harvested. The raw purple color will typically turn to shades of brown after firing. In addition to purple, the other common colors are red (zhuni), green (luni), yellow (duanni), and turquoise (qingni). [Jing] Zi Sha is the general name of the high quality clay from Yixing, which contains a big part of quartz inside. That is part of the reason why the Yixing Zi sha is more porous than other type of clay/earth. Zi sha is also called “Wu Se Tu” (five color clay) because it includes purple (zi ni), red (hong ni), green (lu ni), yellow (duan ni), and black (hei ni) five colors. [Bill] Red clay: What has this got to do with the red color? Well, every province will make a lot of teapots in red color, because red is popular with the people. However, many red teapots will not be made of porous zisha clay. These non-porous teapots will maximize the aroma and brightness of tea, but will over emphasize the astringency and bitterness as well.

[Jing] I have to say, not all type of non-porous teapot would over emphasize the astringency and bitterness. The best example would be the local red clay/earth from Chao Zhou, a very native and rough type of red clay. It is used wildly to make teapots but also traditional oven or even tiles. Amazingly, this red clay won’t over emphasize the astringency and bitterness of teas but make it purer. (We could provide picture of this type of teapot for people who are interested in it.)

On the other hand, a well-porous Yixing red clay teapot that was over fired at high temperature won’t brew any good tea , the liquor will be harsh.

[Bill] Therefore, the idea about red colored teapots being suitable only for particular tea styles developed and became a generalization. This concept about red clay was compounded by the fact that from the early 1980's iron was frequently blended in zisha clays to create a rich and attractive red color. The extra iron made the zisha very dense, and was mostly suitable for light aromatic teas.

The truth about red clay: Red clays of pure zisha are suitable for many tea styles. The natural red color of zisha ranges between burnt sienna or red ocher, and displays tones of orange and brown.

[Jing] Originally, why red clay appears in red color is because it contains bigger amount of iron, and that is why generally red clay is naturally denser (and carry a higher ring tone) than other type of Zi Sha. Also, due to the bigger amount of iron, red clay naturally has thinner pores than other types. That is why it is considered as best type of clay to brew high fragrance tea as it can keep the aroma inside better. [Bill] Red clays can be either dense or porous, without significant correlation to its color. Naturally vivid red teapots of cinnabar and scarlet--though highly demanded--are very rare. These clays were mainly harvested during the Qing dynasty and are very scarce today. If you see a bright scarlet red teapot, it is either a rare find, or it has been created artificially. (I have only ever seen one example, and it was a broken--but treasured--antique). [Jing] Color is one thing important to real treasure – aged - antique red clay teapot, Other more important things that can be faked easily are the weight and the texture. Although the color of real red clay teapot won’t appear vivid red anymore but deeper with a more profound brownish-red or reddish-orangish-brown color due to its long term using or even naturally aging. [Bill] Yellow Clay: Zisha translates to purple sand-meaning it is sandy and granular. Yellow clays typically have the most large and coarse granules amongst the different clay colors. This has led many to believe that all yellow clays are hard and not very porous-good mainly for gentle aromatic teas, or mellow teas like cooked pu'er. This is not entirely false. The majority of yellow clays on the market is very dense, and will lead people to believe that this logic is true. However, fine quality yellow clays will enhance the aroma, while pleasantly lighten a teas weight, smooth its body, and concentrate its flavor. It sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? Even though yellow clays are often composed of very coarse granules, the granules themselves can be very porous. So, yellow clays can in fact be used for many different tea styles. [Jing] Yellow clay contains the softest texture among the five color clays. And, it is the most porous one that is also required the lowest firing temperature among the five types. Because of its natural characteristic, yellow clay is considered as the best type of clay for high (temperature vs. time) roasted teas and puerh teas, which we say it is a clay that can “Cun Qi Liu Xiang” (accumulating the Qi and retaining the fragrance). The most common way of using yellow clay nowadays is to mix it with other type of Zi Sha to increase their sandy texture due to the reason that Bill has mentioned above “Yellow clays typically have the most large and coarse granules”. [Bill] Watch out for yellow clays that are not fired at adequate temperatures. Yellow clays are most prone to developing black spots and stains from use when they are produced from low temperatures. [Jing] Yes, and it appears super quickly, only a couple of times of using, the black stains would totally show out and there is no way to retrieval! [Bill] Purple, Green, Turquoise and other colors: There are fewer generalizations about the effects of other clay colors. Interestingly, because purple is common, and because other colors are rare. Purple is the original and most common color of zisha, so people do not need to replicate its color, and automatically consider it to possess the standard qualities of zisha--even without testing. [Jing] However, the purple is the most common one, but there is still very few teapots are made by using only one type of pure Zi Ni. Because the finishing color of pure Zi Ni teapot is very hard to master, the color range could be totally different even if the teapots come out from the same firing. That is the reason why most of the purple (Zi Ni) teapots are in fact made with Pin Zi Ni (mixed purple clay – several types of different Zi Ni mixed together to get a more consistent finishing color). [Bill] Green and turquoise are not as common, but there is little demand for these colors to be replicated, and equally little attention paid to them. When rare colors such as black clay (heini), are artificially replicated, they are made in such small quantities that they cannot create any generalizations in the market. [Jing] Pure or even purer green and black clay are really rare to get. They are either way a Tiao Sha one (mixed with yellow clay in most of the case) or artificially replicated. Personally, I tend to prefer the first choice. Anyway, if one would like to choose a green or black teapot might want to go with some that carry more natural color tone ones. The more vivid the color is the more added color/ chemistry element is could be. One more experience on the black clay, to choose a better quality black clay teapot, one can go with the teapot that appears the black color is more on the reddish-brownish tone. In most of the case, they are mixed by more natural element and usually fired at adequate temperature and time.

At this point, to choose a good quality teapot, it is important to use our eyes and our nose. They are both as sensitive as each other. By using our nose, we can always smell the clay by pouring boiling water into the teapots. After cleaning the teapot, fill the teapot with boiling water and also pouring the boiling water all over the surface. And now smell. A high quality Yixing Zi Sha teapot should carry hot sandy like smell, which we called it “Sha Xiang” (Sand fragrance). If one smell earthy/muddy then the clay is probably mixed with none Yixing clay or not fired at adequate temperature. If one teapot smells paint or chemical would most been mixed with any of those to increase their color or texture. Another case, one teapot doesn’t carry any smell, well, it won’t be worse than any that is mixed with paint or chemistry element. It is safe to use 

If I may go further, there are some exceptional cases of smelling. The most obvious case would be the aged clay from the Yixing Teapot Factory

1. Because of their special way of clay fermenting/aging, the clays always carry an unpleasant smell when they are fresh out from the firing - but it is a really typical smell. Once you have smelled it you won’t forget it. However, after 1 week of using/raising this typical smell will be totally gone and the teapot starts to release a light sandy smell. When it would have reached this point, believe or not, the teapot starts to do its job and brew you a really good cup of tea.

Hope this helps,

Jing

Thanks for adding your insight Jing.

You are right about the Chao Zhou teapots. Interestingly, they don't make heavy roasted oolongs overly bitter, even though the clay is not porous. I have a small collection for historical and cultural value, but I prefer zisha teapots. Chao Zhou teapots just don't have the same capacity to improve texture and flavor as zisha.

The nose is definitely a good instrument. I remember the first time I smelled a bad teapot. I will never forget the biting and pungent aroma that rushed up. It almost knocked me off my chair. It was fascinating and cheap so I bought them anyway. I use those teapots as teaching tools in classes now.

I find the sha xiang (sand fragrance) mainly in older teapots. I haven't come across any new productions that emit this pleasant smell. My antique zhuni's have the most pleasing aroma. As the age of my teapots become younger, the smell becomes less tender. I think it has to do with the change in fuels (from wood charcoal, to coal, to electric kilns) rather than just the clays themselves. Any thoughts?

As for new teapots, the smell test definitely weeds out the bad from the safe.

We've covered, sound, sight, and smell. Let's move on to touch next. Anyone want to share?

Bill

snip snip snip of Bill's cogent remarks about the smell of old and new pots

On what makes a good potfeel technically, I won't say, but after a tea session I usually "polish" up my pot with a soft cloth, and while I'm doing that I appreciate the feel of the pot especially. Also, the balance of the pot is so important, perhaps especially during the pour, and that is a feeling thing. Like a knife, you want the pot to lean into the pour without fighting you or gravity in any way. This is complementary to the visual effect of spout and handle and lid elements, and very much related. I am bothered by a pot that *looks* to be lighter or heavier than my hand experiences it. That is an important kind of balance, the balance between the weight and feel you expect based on what you see with how it feels in the hand.

So, you first feel the pot with your eyes. I am also bothered by the intensely granular look and feel of some pot skins. While these granules might contribute to the porocity of the pot and therefore improve the tea, I think they are aesthetically unpleasing. Form follows function, but in this case....

A pot might feel unbalanced to the eye, even to the point that it looks as though it might fall over, but in fact it's quite secure because there is an overly heavy layer of clay near the base. This is ugly.

The most important element of all that I can think of in this regard is the foot of the pot. Try running your hands under the pot without lookiing, and feel the surface lines of the foot (bottom). What a nice experience. When it comes to teabowls, always examine the foot first, first with your hands, then with your eye. You will see the foot with your fingers. It's interesting how some pot feet are nearly non-existent, being no more than a round depression, while other feet have pronounced rings, sometimes running a little way up the side as design features. All this is fine, but ought to complement the rest of the pot, perhaps especially the lid.

Enough from me. I speak solely and merely from my own tastes, and others who find this wacky should by all means ignore me.

Michael

My teochew I bought for $4 in 75. I still have a couple of extra. This is an Internet picture so I assume this form hasn't changed much. I used it in a corporate envirnoment for 20 years. I could rap the infuser on a napkin to dump the leaves and it never cracked. It was impervious to a microwave nuclear meltdown. The clay is hard and smooth which oddly resisted patina buildup. The interior surface just got dark but never something that would rub off with a finger. I used two sizes. I used the smaller 250ml for work and the larger 500ml for home. I haven't seen any since.

Jim

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

excellent!