Capacity: 105ml
The rim, spout and top of the lid are lined with 99.9% pure silver. This teapot had been used at our office and had developed a nice patina from many sessions of Taiwanese High Mountain Oolong. The very edge of the spout was chipped during use and was repaired with silver by Lin Hanpeng. Silver was also added on the rim and top of lid for decoration by the studio.
Zhuni Dahongpao is a special grade of zhuni named for its deep red-orange hue. The small amount of zhuni dahongpao ore (unprocessed clay) was handpicked by Lin Hanpeng from zhuni mined from Xiaomeiyao in Yixing.
This is an yixing teapot made from a rare type of zhuni clay known as Zhuni Dahongpao. The ratio of dahongpao ore to regular zhuni ore is said to be 1:100, or 1kg of zhuni dahongpao ore for every 100kg of zhuni ore. Dahongpao zhuni has a greater amount of Fe2O3 iron oxide than regular zhuni giving it a deeper red-orange hue. It also contains a lower percentage of Al2O3 aluminum oxide than regular zhuni, making it more difficult to fire without breaking. The range of temperature for firing dahongpao zhuni successfully is very narrow. It also has a higher shrink rate than regular zhuni, sometimes shrinking as much as 40%.
You can read more about Zhuni Dahongpao here, and more about zhuni clay here.
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.