We've been working on these pots for almost half a year. We have a similar old pot that we'd bought many years ago, which quickly became a favourite in our tea brewing. The simple shape, clay, balance and functionality all came together perfectly for this pot to become a regular on our tea table. Reproducing was more difficult than we imagined - the refined handle, almost imperceptible curve to the spout and the right curve to the body were all areas that we needed several iterations to refine.
This pot is half-handmade - we created a form for the body and lid to allow the potter to recreate these shapes accurately and with regularity. This also helps to keep the price down a lot more than fully-handmade pots. Inside is a single-hole filter. The walls are medium-thin and the pour is fast and smooth.
This is made from a high quality hongni clay, more specifically a type of hongni called Zhusha. We used this clay also in the other pots in our Fang Xia range of teapots and have been very impressed by it from the beginning. It works very well for young & mid-aged puerh, Wuyi yancha and oolongs, accentuating the top notes while just slightly rounding the harsher edges of these teas.
