New Yixing Teapot and Chinese Porcelain Carp Design Teapot

Yixing Teapots

Good well-priced Yixing teapots are hard to find, but when I come across interesting items I'll advertise them on the site. Here's a little background on Yixing.

Yixing teapots are very special teapots made from zisha clay, a rare type of purplish clay made of iron, quartz and mica. It is found only in Yixing, China; a town located roughly 120 miles north west of Shanghai amidst rolling hills. Zisha clay is so unique in fact, that Yixing is the only place in the world where it can be found. This very rare material gives the Yixing teapot special properties that make it one of the most sought after teapots in the world, for both collectors and tea enthusiasts alike.

Besides the Yixing teapot's beauty, it is also considered to be one of the finest tea brewing pots in the world. It is said that if you pour hot water into an empty Yixing teapot that has been in use for many years, you can brew tea without any tea leaves. Zisha clay is extremely porous and will absorb the flavor of tea, making each brew better and more flavorful every time it is used. Another special quality of zisha clay is its ability to retain heat. It has a low shrinkage rate when the clay is fired in a kiln, and potters can create a tightly fitting lid that will decrease oxidization and further increase tea flavor. What's more, zisha clay comes free of any toxic materials like lead, arsenic and cadmium, which can found in some other types of clay.

Yixing teapots are arguably among the finest teapots in the world. When evaluating a teapot's brewing quality, four factors are taken into consideration: The color of the tea produced, and the levels of phenol, caffeine and aminophylline. The Yixing teapot's performance has been found to be superior to that of standard teapots in all four areas of testing.

Not only are Yixing teapots an important part of Asian culture and sought after by tea enthusiasts and collectors across the world, but they are unique and valuable works of art. Each one is a simplistically beautiful tribute to the Asian arts, and each one brews a healthier, superior, more flavorful cup of tea as well.

Chinese Porcelain Carp Design Teapot

Not only is the price exceptional but the quality is excellent too. It's obviously a highly subsidized product.

Teapots, Infusers, Teabags and Teastick!

With the renaissance of loose leaf teas has come a new interest and inventiveness about the ways of brewing up.

Teapots

Teapots have always been there but to accommodate loose leaf teas they now can be bought with built in filters. From Asia there are now glass tea brewing systems that purport to deliver a perfect cup of tea every time.

Teabags

Do-it-yourself teabags have become very popular, available in sizes for the individual tea mug, teacup or tea glass, and larger ones have capacity enough for a six-cup teapot.

Tea Infusers

But most popular of all are the personal and portable tea infusers, in all shapes and sizes. Tea infusers are made in stainless steel, silicone and other materials. All three of our tea infusers sell well with the Teastick having the slight advantage.

Tea Mugs

Last but not least are the individual tea mugs with built in filters. Many of these come from China and carry beautiful traditional designs.

One way or another all these methods have helped popularise the use of loose leaf tea. It's all so easy now to drink the real thing.