It's All About Tea — zisha

In today's blog post, we'll talk about one of the most classic teapot designs - the Shui Ping pot. This teapot design has become an integral part of China's prevailing Gong Fu Cha tea culture, while also establishing itself as one of the classic designs in Yixing's ceramic industry. 

Shui Ping is hailed as one of the most proportionate and functional designs in the tea-world, so much so that its design largely remained unchanged in the next half-millennium after its invention. Let's find out the secrets behind this achievement! (Read more)

If you are on the path of brewing loose leaf teas and learning Gong Fu Cha, you have undoubtedly heard of yixing clay teapots. You start browsing the subject and find bits and pieces of information that are often conflicting and leave you even more confused. 

We hope that this article will help you better understand yixing clay and figure out what type of yixing teapot you need, why you need it, and what to pay attention to when shopping for one. (Read more)

When choosing the right teaware for our tea ceremony, we may be faced with a common pondering. Porcelain or glazed stoneware? Or perhaps a non-glazed ceramic material like Yixing clay? Ultimately there exist many different types of clay, and on top of that, glazes that influence the final look of the teaware and even the taste of tea. 

This post will discuss all ceramic teaware and how its unique composition can alter the final tea drinking experience. You can use this guide to choose the right teaware for yourself or friends or simply get acquainted with the different pottery styles. (Read more)

If you have looked into yixing clay before then you have probably heard people suggesting only to use your yixing teaware with one type of tea. This is because the clay is porous and easily absorbs flavors and aromas. (Read more)

A common mistake people make is thinking you can use your teapot as soon as you get it. We often get questions from people who are curious or taken aback by the smell they sense after getting the piece of teaware. It can be described as “earthy”, “muddy”, “moldy”, and even “fishy”.

To lighten the earthy smell of clay and prepare the teapot for tea brewing we always need to season it before use. (Read more)