Handmade Yixing Purple (Zisha) Clay Teapot Gongfu Tea Set

Bamboo Joint High Shipiao Teapot Shape

This teapot is a classic variation of the Shipiao teapot, a timeless classic among Yixing purple clay ware models. Based on the traditional High Shipiao teapot, it incorporates bamboo joint elements into the design. This is not a mere decorative addition but a thoughtful integration that takes into account the symbolic meaning of bamboo joints, aesthetic value and practical functionality.

The Symbolism of Bamboo in Traditional Chinese Culture

In traditional Chinese culture, bamboo symbolizes the noble character of a gentleman, representing perseverance, humility with moral integrity and elegance free from vulgarity. It also carries the auspicious meaning of steady progress and smooth fortune in life and career. Ceramic artisans infuse the design of the High Shipiao purple clay teapot with bamboo elements precisely to embody these beautiful auspicious wishes in the teapot.

Yixing Raw Ore Purple Clay

This fully handcrafted Yixing purple clay Gongfu tea set is made from genuine raw ore purple clay sourced directly from Yixing, Jiangsu Province in China. This precious earthen clay is exclusive to Yixing and serves as the only authentic raw material for purple clay tea ware. It inherits a thousand years of mining and teapot crafting techniques, making it an irreplaceable material in the craft.

No artificial additives or chemical coatings are used in the entire crafting process of the tea set. Both the interior and exterior of the teapot are unglazed and it is fired at a high temperature of 1100 to 1200 degrees Celsius. This ensures the utmost safety for tea brewing at its core, as the clay does not react with tea liquor in any way and preserves the pure original flavor of the tea leaves to the greatest extent.

The core advantage of purple clay tea ware lies in its unique double air hole structure: it is breathable yet impermeable to water. It can firmly lock in the rich aroma of tea and absorb the off flavors from the tea leaves, resulting in a more mellow and delicate taste for various teas such as oolong, pu erh and black tea.

With long term use, the natural tea oils in the tea liquor will fuse with the minerals in the clay, forming a smooth and lustrous patina on the teapot surface that becomes increasingly warm and glossy with care. Each brew will yield a more mellow and smooth tea liquor as the patina develops.