Year End Offerings

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.

I am getting rid of a few teapots that don't get much use and some tea, so I want to offer them here.

I just need to clean up my collection as I have too much tea and pots. 

If anyone is interested send an email, check my profile.

Shipping should be around $5 to $10 for most items. 

I will calculate when you want to purchase.

 Any questions just ask.

 Most of the puerh cakes have a chunk out of them around 10 to 20 grams missing.

I am selling most items well under the original prices as I just want to get them cleared out.

I will also combine shipping and make a deal if you want a few items. 

Paypal only.

Trade offers also accepted.

Price reduced on these teas not sold yet.
Get these all for $50 plus shipping
2004 unknown. $20
 ? Yunnian brand,$10
 2002 Yiwu fake but decent tea. $10
 2002 Jingmai, pretty sure fake but its decent tea. $15
 2008 Cnnp $5
 2011 MGH Mansa $15.

 Above are all raw

From top left:

2004 unknown. $20

1998 Cnnp ? A bit wet storage but pretty good after a few infusions. $30-Sold

? Yunnian brand,$10

2002 Wild Tree $35-Sold

2002 Yiwu fake but decent tea. $10

Bottom right sold

From top left

2002 Jingmai, pretty sure fake but its decent tea. $15

Fake Purple Dayi sold

2008 Cnnp $5

2006 7542 $20-Sold

early 2000's brick $10-Sold

2011 MGH Mansa $15

Remember all these cakes are not complete most are missing 10 to 20 grams.

Small Duanni teapot with writing all around.

About 100ml  unused but well cleaned.

$20-Price reduced to $15=Sold

 Very good quality Zhuni Shipiao.

Approx. 110ml.

Used only with Dancong oolong.

$100-Sold

Update

5 year aged roasted Dong Ding 1.5oz $5-Sold

3 year aged roasted Dong Ding 2oz $5-Sold

3 year aged roasted Taikuanyin 1.5oz $5-Sold

3 year aged Oriental Beauty 1oz $5

2001 High Mountain Wild

 2001 High Mountain Wild Tree Purple Lincang $70
From Yunnan Sourcing.
Has a chunk out of it aprox. 325 grams now.

Regular quality small dragon teapot 165ml $20--Price reduced to $15

Large Dragon teapot with overlay design. 200ml $25--Sold

Fish teapot 250ml $20---Price reduced to--$15

Ornamental cheap teapot I would not use, only for dispay. $5

With all items I will include various samples of teas.

I will be adding more items the next few days.

Snow Flakes

Today we got our first snow of the season and I had to get a few pics of the bonsai.

Enjoying the cold day with a few infusions of 2003 Xiaguan 8653 from finepuer.com.

I really enjoy this tea, it is much smoother and aged tasting than other xiaguan from the same year.

Which pot shall I use?

Well I have been drinking lots of tea and retesting my pots to see what tea works best with what pot.
I think as I find the way of tea my taste preferences change or become better tuned.
So i notice differences in flavor from one pot to another really are very distinguishable.

My #1 sheng pot still has to be the xi shi that I have mostly been using. I think it is a combination of the clay, shape, and now the many infusions it has made. The only one thing that I could say negative about it is it is a little slower pour than some of my other pots, but thats really not a problem. 

Another good sheng pot that I have started to use when I want a bit more volume is a pot I got from Peter at pu-erh.sk. It is about 140ml and since I have been drinking more young sheng the couple months it has began to give a good flavor. The shape and size of the lid are what I most like about it. Also the detailed engraving around the lid are really nice. Very fast pour also. I think it will look really good with a few seasons of use.

This next pot is a favorite for its look and color. It also has a beautiful dragon swirling inside the pot. 

It is the pot I have had the longest, of the ones I use. I originally used this pot for shu, but now I also use it for wetter stored sheng also as it really smooths the flavors out. So that is what it usually gets now as I dont drink shu too often.

The purion pot I have been testing with different teas. It is said to be good for aged pu and roasted oolongs. I found it to not do very well with the puerh, as the yixing is much better. But for the oolongs it does really bring out the flavors. So it is now designated to mostly roasted wuyi and taiwan oolongs.

I have been sampling a few around  6-10 year aged sheng and have been trying  to really narrow it down as to what my next purchases will be. Waiting for some more samples to try and then will be stocking up on few really good teas.

I have a few tea notes to post but just haven't had the time to get them on the blog.
I will be posting more soon.
I also am going to be getting rid of a few pots and teas for sale or trade at low price as I will be moving soon, if anyone is interested let me know and I can send you a list.
I will make a post of what I am going to offer, as soon as I get everything in order.

IS IT SUMMER YET?

It has been a very weird spring and summer this year hear in the midwest. With cold weather hanging on, and all kinds of storms and tornados nearby these past few weeks.

 It looks like its finally starting to warm up and stabilize a bit.

I wanted to post a few pics of a bonsai that I have recently worked on. 

This one is a common garden juniper that was originally from a nursery.

It was actually given to me about six years ago by the bonsai curator at the Chicago Botanic Gardens. 

It was one of the ugly trees that were not going to be good.

After a few years of trying to style it I think I finally got it to start to look like something nice.

It still need to be wired and the foliage refined. Should be another two or three years to be show quality.

The last picture is from 2010 after a styling session.

It is in the literati or bunjin style.

2010

 The next pics are of a norway maple which I had posted without leaves last year and someone asked about how it would look in the summer.

And a few accent plants.

I also would like to share,

 One of the Masters that I trained with some years back, passed away a few weeks ago.

 Master Kenny Tsai. 

He was the eldest son of Grandmaster John Tsai.

His great kung fu skill will forever inspire all those whom he trained with.

Iron Palm was his specialty.

I remember after class at his school we would drink oolong tea and eat wasabi coated peanuts. 

 

Purion Teapot

So after a few years of thinking about buying the purion 100ml I finally got one.

I had mixed thoughts about straying from the my loved yixing pottery.

 First impressions are good as I remove it from its small box.
Wow, it is better than I expected.

Its a beautiful little teapot and has a very grainy, sandy texture.

I think this is what I like best about it, the texture of the clay.

Below you can see it next to my Xishi.

Almost the same size. The Purion is 100ml.

It holds water very well and is very porous.
We will see how it infuses in the next few days.
Purion is supposed to be very well suited for aged puerh and dark roasted oolongs.
I will be trying it out with the older shengs I have.

Here is a japanese garden juniper which I have been working on for a few years.
I completely wired and gave it a windswept style this last year.
It has been growing well, but I still am contemplating removing the low cascading branch.
A work in progress.

 Spring is finally here!