Choosing Your First Yixing Teapot
Clay, size, shape and pour: four things to check before you bring home a zisha teapot.
Yixing teapots are made from zisha, a mineral-rich clay found around the town of Yixing in Jiangsu province. Unglazed and slightly porous, the clay slowly seasons with the tea you brew, which is why many tea drinkers keep one pot for one type of tea.
1. Pick the clay for your tea
- Zini (purple clay): the all-rounder, great for roasted oolong and ripe pu-erh.
- Zhuni / hongni (red clay): dense and fast-heating, ideal for aromatic oolongs.
- Duanni (golden clay): gentle and open, lovely with white tea and green pu-erh.
2. Choose a small size
Chinese tea is brewed with many short infusions. A pot of 100–200 ml suits one to three people.
3. Look at the shape
Round shapes such as Xishi and Julunzhu let rolled oolongs unfurl. Taller shapes such as Shipiao give long leaves room to move.
4. Test the pour
A good pot pours in a smooth, steady stream and the lid fits snugly. Place a finger over the lid's air hole while pouring — the flow should stop.
First use
Rinse the pot with hot water, then brew a few pots of the tea you plan to use it for and discard them. Never use soap.
