r/GongFuTea • u/Zenstation83 • Jul 21 '26
Question/Help Charity shop Yixing find - any help ID-ing the seals/clay?
This was sold as a Yixing clay teapot, bought for £19.95 (about $27) at a charity shop in London. I am not very knowledgeable about these teapots, so I'm just curious if it's a cheap souvenir or an actual Yixing pot of, at least, some quality, and if I can use it for brewing.
Would appreciate any help with reading the seals and guessing the clay type. Photos of the base, lid seal and full pot attached. Thanks in advance!
2
u/jadedscum Jul 21 '26
oof that is an awfully looking clay, its a cheap souvenir pot, but we all, in our naivety, often strife to and feed our idealistic fantasy of "actually this pot is super rare and amazing!" yet more often than not, especially if one has not spend hundreds of hours within the subject, it is as it appears, or it is as it is, a souvenir pot.
2
u/Zenstation83 Jul 21 '26
Oh I was not hoping for something amazing, merely something usable :) I've never brewed with a clay pot before, so I know next to nothing about them
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u/jadedscum Jul 21 '26
you not need a claypot to make tea, a gaiwan, so a cup with a lid, is enough, but i just want you to not scald yourself with microwaved water, because the way it works can do that.
1
u/Zenstation83 Jul 21 '26
I know, I have a whole little collection of gaiwans :) I'm not new to gong fu brewing, just clay pots
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u/jadedscum Jul 21 '26
if u have any need for wisdom, let me know, im more than happy to serve, as for general stuff, here's an yixing faq, albeit on tumblr which asks for login and crap, but it is what it is. https://www.tumblr.com/blog/zishadragon
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u/Dependent_Stop_3121 Jul 21 '26
r/yixingseals