Capacity: 135ml
Each teapot features this hand-carved pattern. Pattern/carving may vary slightly from photos as each is handmade and unique.
The carving is based on the shipiao that made by Yang Pengnian and carved by Zai Ziye during the late Qing Dynasty. The original teapot can be found in the Shanghai Museum.
This is an yixing teapot made from benshan lüni 本山绿泥, a rarer kind of Yixing clay (zisha) with a pale yellow tone. This clay is favoured for rounding out the harsher notes of some teas. It is very porous compared to other zisha and is better at retaining heat.
You can read more about benshan lüni clay, and other varieties of duanni clay, in our blog entry here.
This pot is known as "half-handmade" as the sculptor shapes the main body by hand using a moulding tool. The handle, spout, holes, and the finishing touches are done by hand. In fact, no machine was used in it's shaping as the use of the tool is entirely manual.
You can read more about half handmade teapots in our blog entry here.
This teapot was made by Lin Hanpeng and Chen Chunhong Studio.
Preparation Before Use
Yixing Teapots should be prepared before using the first time. This is called "opening the pot". It removes the dust from firing the teapot.
We recommend rinsing the teapot under warm water two or three times, then filling the teapot with boiling water and emptying it out two to three times. After this the teapot is ready for use.