Thanks for all the replies. Since I first started this thread, I ended up
buying the teapot from the Asian market with the dragon theme. Although it
may not be a 'true' Yixing teapot, I think it will function the same and I
really liked the design. I tried some of your tests and the pot has a high
ringing tone and some shiny flecks (almost all of which washed out when I
first bought it). It also has the shallow toolmarks without any gouges, so
it appears to be a decent quality pot. So far I've been using it for Pu'erh
tea and the teapot has a very slight tea smell, but when I did a taste test
compared to tea prepared in a regular glass pot, the tea made in the clay
pot definitely tasted stronger. Maybe because it held the heat in better?

I've also purchased two other pots since I first posted. One was a small
slate grey teapot purchased at a local Ten Ren tea shop. When I took it
home I noticed a small Ten Ren symbol on the bottom, so I definitely know
its not a true Yixing pot. I'm guessing that it will perform the same
anyways. It has a nice Yin-Yang design to it that I liked, which somehow
adds to my enjoyment of preparing the tea. The second pot is a small brown
clay pot I got from Silk Road Trade that I plan to use for oolongs. On
close inspection that one appears to be a lower level of finish than the one
I bought in the market.

Like Michael said, I am learning a lot. I have my eye on a teapot offered
by mandjs.com, even though I don't know what kind of tea I would brew in it
yet. If some of the inexpensive pots they offer are still true Yixing pots,
then maybe I can find out what the difference between higher and lower
quality teapots are.

"Cameron Lewis" wrote in message
m...
"abl" wrote in message
thlink.net...
Hello,

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?

Alan

There are a few simple tests that tend to distinguish real yixing from
fakes. Pick up the pot and place the base in the palm of your hand
without touching the pot with your fingers. Remove the lid and
*gently* scrape the scrape the rim of the pot with the inner flange of
the lid. The scraping should produce a fairly high, almost metallic,
ringing tone (a higher tone generally means better clay). Next, look
at the inside of the pot under bright and direct light; you should see
little reflective diamond-like flecks in the clay if it is zisha.

There are many different types of clay used in yixing-ware items and
these clays are often mixed together. The two simple tests above work
for all genuine yixing pots that I have encountered thus far, but may
not work for all clays.

I have never seen a good yixing pot in Chinatown, though your's may be
better than mine. My source of choice nowadays is mandjs.com. I
bought a set of two Zhou Jian Hua pots (around $50) and one by Zhang
Quan Lin (also $50). All three are excellent and quite reasonably
priced. After using the ZQL pot less than a dozen times (and avoiding
any of my more esoteric seasoning methods) it has already acquired a
pronounced tea fragrance. I haven't bought one of his cheap pots yet,
but some look quite good.

Cheers,

Cameron