Virtue Bell Yixing Teapot

As if to impart a deeper respect to the ancient bronze bells this pot is modelled after, the artist has left her inflections on the design minimal here, a shortened cannon spout and shouldered handle giving a certain modern touch to its traditional form. Paired with the former, a built-in ball filter helps the readied tea jet out before missing a beat. The pot has been fired to a dark hazelnut brown, seeming muted and distant yet deeply resonant at the same time; upon the right light, it gleams persuasively purple with a constellation of sandy speckles, the rustic haptics of a timeless artefact.

The clay

This teapot is made of Zini (紫泥) clay, a dark brown ore extracted from the famous mountain Huanglong shan (黄龙山). The capacious body with its flat-form and straight walls will allow leaves to spread out evenly inside, suggesting a likely pairing with rolled oolongs: roasted and aged; as well as black tea and heicha, for this clay is moderately porous and quite the all-rounder.

Why do I need a Yixing teapot?

The material and the shape of Yixing teapots are ideal for brewing tea. They bring out the tea flavor like no other tea vessel. Hand-made Yixing teapots are also valuable handicrafts sought after by collectors. Their value raises with time, usage, and artist popularity.

Yixing teapots are made of a rare and depleting clay mined in the mountains near Yixing, a city in the Jiangsu province. The high density yet porous nature of the clay absorbs the smell of the tea brewed in it. For this reason, it is advised to use the pot with only one kind of tea (for instance with black teas or green teas). Bring your tea to the next level; allow yourself an authentic Yixing teapot.