This teapot is fully handmade from Yixing duanni clay and employs an intricate and detailed hand-sculpted design. The surface also features a fine hand engraved/painted mountain scene or branch. Please make a selection below to confirm the appearance – note that the Mountain option may have minor differences from one pot to another in terms of the exact design (pictured).

This teapot holds approximately 175ml (+/- 5ml) with a 13 second pour and flat filter. Please note that with “fangxing” (angular/not round) style shapes, such as this one, it is much more difficult to achieve a perfect seal due to the style of construction. Each teapot also includes a certificate from the artist indicating the artist’s name, shape and clay composition.

Zisha (紫砂, lit. “purple sand”) clay from Yixing is valued largely due to the porous nature of the clay. As you use it, oils from your tea enter the pot, which can in turn season it and enhance the tea you brew with it over time.

For this reason, we recommend dedicating your new Yixing teapot to one type of tea only (raw puer, shou puer, aged puer, black, dancong, yancha, etc) and never washing it with soap or anything else besides water. Please see the care instructions tab above for more details on preparing and maintaining your teapot.

Additionally, a patina or surface shine can develop on the outside of the teapot due to its interaction with the tea, providing an aesthetic enhancement. Functionally, zisha teapots can also have good heat retention qualities.

Our criteria for selecting Yixing teaware focuses primarily on aesthetics, overall fit and finish and quality of the clay used. We inspect each piece for visible defects and ensure that it pours well and functions without issue. In many cases, handmade and half-handmade pots may have slight imbalances, so if you plan to measure each side with a ruler (especially “fangxing” style pieces) or expect perfect symmetry, we advise not purchasing this teapot.

Once your receive your new zisha teapot, you may want to season it and prepare it for the many teas and years of use it will experience. Personally, we have shied away from seasoning teapots as time goes on, not because this process doesn’t help, but because it is extra work and invites the risk of breakage if you’re not careful.

Pots made from genuine clay should not exhibit much clay taste of flavour-suck for too long, so we feel that a week or 2 of consistent use is typically sufficient to break in a new pot. More often than not, we just rinse a new pot twice with boiling water, then go to town. Simple and easy.

With that said, if you still wish to season your teapot and get a head start, the process is relatively simple:

1. Check for clay deposits and scrape gently with a wooden or bamboo stick if necessary.
2. Place the pot in boiled water and allow to sit for 30-60 minutes. Some may advise letting your teapot simmer in the pot during this time. If you do this, avoid letting the teapot is rattle on the side of the boiling pot too much. If you notice this, reduce the heat to a less vigorous boil and always use a cloth or towel to pad the sides.
3. Remove the pot and allow it to dry
4. Using new water, add some new or used tea leaves of the type that you plan to use this pot for, boil, add the teapot and allow it to sit for another 30-60 mins. Again, you can boil the pot with the tea for this duration if you wish, just be careful.
5. Rinse with regular water and allow to dry. Try not to use excessively cold water for this step in order to avoid shocking the pot and causing a potential crack. In fact, avoid sudden/drastic temperature changes altogether to avoid cracking or breaking your new teapot – it can happen.
6. Repeat as desired
7. Your teapot is ready to be used!

After seasoning your pot, it’s advised to designate the pot for one type of tea (raw puer, ripe puer, oolong, black tea, etc) as the pot will slowly absorb the flavour and characteristics of the tea you use it for.

If for some reason you use it with another type of tea, don’t worry. Your pot is not ruined or tainted. The process of raising it is cumulative and happens over a long period of time – one simple session of brewing with another type of tea won’t make a noticeable difference. However, one thing you should definitely not do is use soap or anything other than water to wash or rinse your pot. If it absorbs the properties of tea over time, it will also absorb anything else you put in it, especially anything perfumed or scented.