Heini (Wuhui Zhuni) Dragon Egg Yixing Teapot, 焐灰朱泥龙蛋壶, 120ml

Capacity: Approximately 120ml

This "heini" or "black clay" Yixing teapot is produced by firing original ore zhuni clay in a low oxygen environment in the kiln. Reduction fired zhuni appears black, even darker than wuhui zini. The clay has the same properties as zhuni fired in oxidation firing, but appears black instead of red/orange.

Firing a teapot in a low-oxygen environment is called “wuhui” 焐灰 which can be loosely translated as “smother with ash to fire.” The teapot is stuffed with dry rice straw, placed in a clay box and surrounded with more rice straw before being covered. When it is fired in this way, the straw uses the oxygen when it burns to ash, reducing the oxygen in the clay box while the teapot is being fired. This creates the reduced oxygen environment that gives the clay its black appearance.

You can read our blog entry here to learn more about the reaction that occurs in a reduction environment to give the clay this appearance in our blog post here.

This yixing teapot is made from the rarer red clay known as zhuni. As you can see from the photos, zhuni clay has a slight bumpy appearance. The clay will develop a shine from use. Zhuni clay is prized for its ability to preserve the full spectrum of flavour and fragrance of a tea. It is also the most difficult clay to fire as it is more likely to break during the process. This zhuni is original ore zhuni mined in Xiaomeiyou Yixing.
You can read more about zhuni 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.