Cameron 7/19/04


> Both their ebay store and their website came up fine for me. I just
> received a new pot from them a few weeks ago.
>
> Regards,
>
> Cameron


Talk to us, Cameron. Which pot did you get?

Michael

Cameron wrote:
> The speckles are a sign of very coarse mixed clay, which has high
> porousity and acquires tea fragrance well. I'm not sure that I'll
> even bother with smooth clay from now on. It's more a matter of
> function than aesthetics for me. I wanted a black-dragon pot for my
> wulong.

The speckles are certainly a sign of coarser admixture, whether fired and
crushed clay "grog" or sand or something else. Rather less certain is their
effect, probably just another tea-myth propagated as advertising hype. I
would bet that there aren't a thousand people in China - if any! - who could
taste a difference due to such grains in otherwise similar pots. The
porosity difference from a 1~2% addition of material that doesn't even
bridge the wall thickness is not going to affect either retention of flavor
materials in the pot or "breathing" to any great degree. So I'd go for
aesthetics.

-DM
YMMV ( Your Mouthfeel May Vary)

Cameron wrote:
> The speckles are a sign of very coarse mixed clay, which has high
> porousity and acquires tea fragrance well. I'm not sure that I'll
> even bother with smooth clay from now on. It's more a matter of
> function than aesthetics for me. I wanted a black-dragon pot for my
> wulong.

The speckles are certainly a sign of coarser admixture, whether fired and
crushed clay "grog" or sand or something else. Rather less certain is their
effect, probably just another tea-myth propagated as advertising hype. I
would bet that there aren't a thousand people in China - if any! - who could
taste a difference due to such grains in otherwise similar pots. The
porosity difference from a 1~2% addition of material that doesn't even
bridge the wall thickness is not going to affect either retention of flavor
materials in the pot or "breathing" to any great degree. So I'd go for
aesthetics.

-DM
YMMV ( Your Mouthfeel May Vary)

>Well, actually the difference is very noticeable. My coarser mixed
>clay pots keep a lingering tea fragrance that is obvious even after
>rinsing with boiling water. With one pot which I wanted to
>re-dedicate to a different tea, the identifiable aroma of dancong
>remained after boiling several hours in distilled water. It took long
>and rigorous boiling to get it completely empty of smell again. With
>my smooth clay pots it has been very easy to remove the lingering
>traces of a given tea. The black dragon pot is not quite as good as
>my Zhang Quan Lin pot, but it's coming along.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Cameron
>

Hmm, that's interesting. I have one smooth, thin-walled yixing pot that I had
dedicated to light oolongs but crazily used once for a dancong. The scent of
the dancong is noticeable in the (dry) pot months later, though that pot has
gone back to use for light oolongs (it doesn't make any difference to the tea's
flavor though).

Joe Kubera

>Well, actually the difference is very noticeable. My coarser mixed
>clay pots keep a lingering tea fragrance that is obvious even after
>rinsing with boiling water. With one pot which I wanted to
>re-dedicate to a different tea, the identifiable aroma of dancong
>remained after boiling several hours in distilled water. It took long
>and rigorous boiling to get it completely empty of smell again. With
>my smooth clay pots it has been very easy to remove the lingering
>traces of a given tea. The black dragon pot is not quite as good as
>my Zhang Quan Lin pot, but it's coming along.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Cameron
>

Hmm, that's interesting. I have one smooth, thin-walled yixing pot that I had
dedicated to light oolongs but crazily used once for a dancong. The scent of
the dancong is noticeable in the (dry) pot months later, though that pot has
gone back to use for light oolongs (it doesn't make any difference to the tea's
flavor though).

Joe Kubera

Joseph Kubera and Cameron Lewis wrote:
> >Well, actually the difference is very noticeable. My coarser mixed
> >clay pots keep a lingering tea fragrance that is obvious even after
> >rinsing with boiling water. With one pot which I wanted to
> >re-dedicate to a different tea, the identifiable aroma of dancong
> >remained after boiling several hours in distilled water. It took long
> >and rigorous boiling to get it completely empty of smell again. With
> >my smooth clay pots it has been very easy to remove the lingering
> >traces of a given tea. The black dragon pot is not quite as good as
> >my Zhang Quan Lin pot, but it's coming along.
>
> Hmm, that's interesting. I have one smooth, thin-walled yixing pot that I
had
> dedicated to light oolongs but crazily used once for a dancong. The scent
of
> the dancong is noticeable in the (dry) pot months later, though that pot
has
> gone back to use for light oolongs (it doesn't make any difference to the
tea's
> flavor though).

I don't want to start a micturition melee here, and am also aware that many
on this list have far more sensitive palates than I. So I would never
challenge someone's direct experience.

Causality, though, can be a bit more subtle and objective. Having spent much
of the past few decades working with functional liquid-solid interfaces, I
find this effect a little implausible - but reality does not depend on my
opinions! I questioned the difference a small volume of speckles would make
in "otherwise similar pots." So I'll ask he has anyone experienced such
dramatic differences between two pots the same shape, size and thickness,
and (critically) made from the same base clay fired the same way, differing
only in the addition of 1~2% of coarse grog or sand?

I only have a few of the "speckled" pots, hence can't claim general
knowledge. But all of mine have a rather different base mix from my other
Yixings, and (probably much more important) were clearly fired under
conditions that leave them more porous. So seasoning/carry-over are very
different, but (I think) not from a little grit.

Not impossible, just not the simplest explanation. I anticipate further
education from you experts.

-DM

Joseph Kubera and Cameron Lewis wrote:
> >Well, actually the difference is very noticeable. My coarser mixed
> >clay pots keep a lingering tea fragrance that is obvious even after
> >rinsing with boiling water. With one pot which I wanted to
> >re-dedicate to a different tea, the identifiable aroma of dancong
> >remained after boiling several hours in distilled water. It took long
> >and rigorous boiling to get it completely empty of smell again. With
> >my smooth clay pots it has been very easy to remove the lingering
> >traces of a given tea. The black dragon pot is not quite as good as
> >my Zhang Quan Lin pot, but it's coming along.
>
> Hmm, that's interesting. I have one smooth, thin-walled yixing pot that I
had
> dedicated to light oolongs but crazily used once for a dancong. The scent
of
> the dancong is noticeable in the (dry) pot months later, though that pot
has
> gone back to use for light oolongs (it doesn't make any difference to the
tea's
> flavor though).

I don't want to start a micturition melee here, and am also aware that many
on this list have far more sensitive palates than I. So I would never
challenge someone's direct experience.

Causality, though, can be a bit more subtle and objective. Having spent much
of the past few decades working with functional liquid-solid interfaces, I
find this effect a little implausible - but reality does not depend on my
opinions! I questioned the difference a small volume of speckles would make
in "otherwise similar pots." So I'll ask he has anyone experienced such
dramatic differences between two pots the same shape, size and thickness,
and (critically) made from the same base clay fired the same way, differing
only in the addition of 1~2% of coarse grog or sand?

I only have a few of the "speckled" pots, hence can't claim general
knowledge. But all of mine have a rather different base mix from my other
Yixings, and (probably much more important) were clearly fired under
conditions that leave them more porous. So seasoning/carry-over are very
different, but (I think) not from a little grit.

Not impossible, just not the simplest explanation. I anticipate further
education from you experts.

-DM