Capacity: Approximately 190ml
Each teapot features this hand-carved pattern. Pattern/carving may vary slightly from photos as each is handmade and unique.
This teapot is a replica of a famous teapot made by Chen Mansheng 陈曼生 in the Qing Dynasty. The teapot shape is called Hehuan 合欢 meaning happy together. The teapot has the carving in Chinese: 八饼头纲 为鸾为凤 得雌者昌 曼生铭. 八饼头纲 is a kind of tea cake which is presented to the Emperor. 八饼头纲 为鸾为凤 refers to the teacake with the image of the dragon and phoenix pressed onto it, which is meant for the Emperor. 得雌者昌 refers to an ancient story about a King who followed his dream to prosperity.
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.