Weird question.

Either:

1. You become an expert and learn to distinguish between different grades of things yourself. This is expensive and will probably require buying a lot of bad products to find out what is bad about them, and may require an apprenticeship from an expert.

1. You ask a recognized expert, and put your trust in him that he knows what is real and what is not.

2. You buy from a recognized dealer, who is known in the general community to know what they are talking about and to be honest and have good products.

1. You stop worrying about it, and you decide that if you cannot tell the difference that it is not a critical difference.

I don't know Yixing pottery at all, but I know audio equipment, and I have used all four of the methods above in the past 30 years buying audio gear.

--scott

I agree totally about using your experience as the guide, but then, how do you know that you haven't been rooked for 30 years? I recently talked with a friend about some of his "excellent" tea, but after trying, I had to tell him that he was cheated.

The answer is that "you don't know". Unless you have the experience to know mediocre from great you will never know if you have been cheated or not. Unfortunately it is a lesson that is often learned the hard way if ever learned at all. Until you have actually had "great" tea you have no idea what it really is. Those who are fortunate enough to have someone knowledgeable guiding them will be exposed to great tea, others have to learn the hard way.

Since this business is so full of opportunistic middlemen and merchants, and there is so much mysticism surrounding Eastern tea, and there is such a lack of any real international standards, it all but makes it impossible for a layman to do much better.

It is my understanding that there is work underway between some high level Chinese and American businessmen to come up with some true standards. Somehow I doubt that it will mount to much though as even native Chinese customers get taken in the Chinese markets, why should we think exports would be any better.

Mike

[mydnght] [Mike] [Michael] Mike, very interesting indeed. I have someone quite knowledgeable to guide me, and I've drunk some great teas. Curiously, some of these great teas have not been to my liking. Conversely, some quite common teas have knocked my socks off. The cost-benefit is hard to factor. Nonetheless, experience and guidance will at least lead you to received wisdom. [Mike] [Michael] Yup. And some of these opportunisitc middlemen are not unknown to us, eh? [Mike] [Michael] The last in the world I want to see are international standards, especially involving American businessmen. The standards will be developed from market models that can only lead to mediocrity and higher prices for it. No, I go with your original contention that a guide and experience combined will see you through. Beware hapless traveler, the evil guru.

Michael

Depends on what you are going in for. Are you going to make a great tasting tea, or making tea in a good yixing pot? Real original clay is difficult to obtain nowadays and most of what are available in the market - as we are informed - are adulterated (in clay) pieces.

I go for making a good tasting tea first, and then go for a pot that will carry out that purpose best. And that has to fall on one's experience with playing around with pots. Try using different pots on the same tea, and after a while you'll get the 'instinct' honed.

As for telling teas apart, it has much also to fall on experience and personal preference. Pu'er is another tea that has seen many fakes in the market, and some fakes I have tried actually tasted better than the original production. So where do we go from there? To buy the original which is an inferior tea to the fake, or the fake?

Experience and personal preference I guess play an important role in the decision.

Danny