Description
 
Yixing Zisha Clay LinHua Teapot
 
This LinHua (菱花) shape Yixing teapot is fully handmade using Zisha clay (“purple clay, 紫泥”, according to the certificate) and fired at 1150-1180 degrees celsius. It features an extremely wide lid opening, making it suitable for unruly larger leafed teas. Linhua means flower having 6 petals.
 
This teapot holds approximately 260ml (+/- 5ml) and features a large ball filter and tight-fitting lid, making it suitable for serving 1-2 people. Pour speed is approximately 15 seconds. 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 flavour of the tea you use it with 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 seasoning and maintaining your teapot.
 
Zisha (‘purple sand’) describes the reddish-brown color of the sedimentary soil which settled in ancient lakes and is now buried deep underground. The clay is compressed under heavy sedimentary rock formations throughout the Yixing region, southwest of Shanghai, in China’s Jiangsu province. Huanglong Mountain near Dingshu township has been the source of high quality purple clay ore for centuries. The mountain itself is rather ordinary – neither grand or pretty – but it is 350 million years old.
These teapots are prized because their unglazed surfaces absorb traces of the beverage and develop a patina, which enhances the taste, color and aroma of fine tea.