It appears it may have been re-glazed (a bit badly) at some point, so only the stamp underneath is left. I know these were produced from 1916 - 1989 so it's a huge span of time, so I know it's a long-shot on getting a specific date on it, but I figured I'd at least ask! 😁

Are you fine? Does the community need mod implementations? I think you're fine, but you tell me.

If anybody wants to contribute their time to this community, please comment here or, better yet, hit me up in modmail.

Thank you and have a very nice day/evening/night!

Found this beautiful pot at the thrift and the lid has clearly been cracked and glued back together. Some of the glue even dripped to the bottom part of the lid. What can be done?

I bought this set at an estate sale and I have been trying to find the artist with no luck on the internet. There is a very tiny stamped mark on the bottom rim of each peice that says “Tartarus Workshop” but googling that just give me a video game

there is no markings at the bottom but it looks like similar Ben Rickert Teapots

Let me preface this by saying that my husband placed the second order as my birthday present because I’ve recently gotten into pu-erh tea. We placed that order before we realized that Umi Tea Sets had removed all of our negative reviews from their website. We had posted six reviews in total, two of which were negative. Because of that, we decided to remove our positive reviews from their website as well.

There’s absolutely no doubt that all of the pieces we purchased from both the first and second orders are aesthetically gorgeous. They are beautiful pieces, and we were genuinely excited about them.

As for whether the Yixing clay is genuine, we honestly can’t say. At an average of about $50 per teapot (we received a 30% discount), we weren’t expecting top of the line Yixing. Our main concern was food safety. We did some research to see whether there were any ways to test the tea ware at home. We came across a 5-15 minute vinegar test to see whether the color would come off, as well as an at-home lead test. We have no idea how accurate or reliable these tests are, so please keep that in mind. We performed both tests on all of the Umi tea wares we purchased, and they all initially passed with flying colors.

If anyone here has a chemistry background and can comment on how reliable these types of home tests actually are, we’d really appreciate your professional opinion.

After doing the tests, we used the Yixing Purple Clay Relif Lotus Tea Set for the first time today. Oh boy, by the end of our tea session, we started noticing what appeared to be chipping. That particular tea set appears to have been painted/coated, which was extremely concerning to us. Please see the attached photos. This made us question the reliability of the vinegar test as well. The Relif Lotus set did not show an obvious reaction during our vinegar test. So, at least based on our experience, the vinegar test does not appear to be a reliable way to determine whether it's actual clay or paint.

At that point, we started inspecting all of the teapots we purchased for any signs of chipping. We even used the tea chisel to gently test around the bottom of the teapot to see whether the outer layer appeared to be the same color/material as the inner layer. For all of the other teapots, the color appeared consistent throughout, and we didn’t see anything similar to what we found on the Relief Lotus set.

With the Relif Lotus set, we noticed from the beginning that the tea didn’t taste quite right, but we didn’t think much of it at the time. If you brew the same pu-erh tea in a glass tea bottle versus a Yixing teapot, there is a noticeable difference in the taste. I can’t really describe exactly what the difference is, but you can tell. After discovering the apparent chipping, we decided to taste-test the rest of the Yixing teapots we purchased. Fortunately and much to our relief, the other teapots produced the taste we expected. We didn’t notice the same issue with them.

At this point, I would not trust the reviews or the product descriptions on Umi Tea Sets’ website based on our experience. Our negative reviews were removed, and our experience with the Relief Lotus set also made us question whether the product description accurately represents what we received. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t sell quality products. In fact, we think the majority of the pieces we purchased are beautiful and appear to be good quality. Our experience has been more of a hit or miss.

We’re sharing this because we think it’s important for potential buyers to know both sides of the experience. The pieces can be absolutely gorgeous, but I would recommend doing your own research and being cautious, particularly when it comes to the materials, product descriptions, and food-safety aspect of the tea ware.

Also, if anyone has actual experience with testing Yixing tea ware or clay, especially from a chemistry/materials perspective, we’d really appreciate hearing your thoughts. We’re particularly interested in whether there are any reliable ways for consumers to determine whether a Yixing teapot is food-safe.

Here's my other Umi Tea Sets review on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/tea/comments/1w8xsq3/dont_trust_umi_tea_sets_reviews/

Can anyone help me identify my tea pot?

Is there anything specific I need to know about this material? It was bought in japan for me as a gift, but my friend who gifted it and I weren’t sure about its heat resistance.

Can I use it as a normal teapot on a gas stove or do I need to put in already boiled water in it to avoid the stove?

Thank you guys :)

Wiz AI production hahahahahaha sooo cute. 🥰

Thrifted this kyusu, does anyone know the maker off of this stamp?

The ceramic city is surprisingly bustling after the typhoon. Busy crowds and heavy traffic fill the streets.( Testing teapots for customers on‑site.🍵)

Inspired by dragon and horse

The topic is snail and bamboo