Mydnight > wrote:
>Ok. I'm sure this problem has vexed many a tea drinker, so I figured
>I'd throw the question for the public's scrutiny. How do you KNOW that
>what you have is real or the quality that's been promised? I am
>referring to the yixing pots, mostly, but this question can also stem
>to pu'er or whatever else teas you can consider as easy to cheat with.

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.

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

3. 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.

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

>I'm really curious about your take on the yixing, though. Let's hear
>it!

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

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."