The Zi Sha teapot

The Zi Sha (scarlet sand) teapot - the pinnacle

The pinnacle of clay teapots belongs to a class made from a special clay called ‘Zi Sha’ (translated: scarlet sand) - only produced in the JiangSu province in the YiXing area of China in limited quantities.

Local craftsmen (Zi Sha artists) hand craft the tea pots from the ‘Zi Sha’ clay. There is a strong tradition and culture associated with this craft, with artists regularly tested and graded by titles according to skill level.

Making a Zi Sha Teapot involves precision and artistry.  The results are astonishing:

1. First a sample of clay is “filed” for future reference. The rest of the clay is then put through a process that can sometimes takes up to a month before it becomes a teapot.
2. The basic vessel of the teapot is shaped.
3. Body, handle, spout and lid are then made at various stages.
4. Every detail presents as a coherent story, a product of the artist personality, skills, feelings and interpretation of the history and tea culture.
5. Sometimes teapots are paired: ie sister Zi Sha teapots, male and female teapots, fruit and vine teapots – all unique.
6. The finished product will then be stamped by the artist’s personal seal with a certificate outlining details of the teapot production: the artist, year, date, name given to the teapot and the details of the clay sample’s file etc.

 Many of these teapots will then fall into collectors’ hands to be traded as art pieces.

 The unique properties of Zi Sha teapot

Zi Sha fired clay has the special characteristic of being able to eradicate foreign odors. Zi Sha’s odor absorbing effect enhances the subtle odor of teas.

• Zi Sha clay when fired leaves small cavities embedded in the clay that allow the teas to breathe through, contributing to freshness of the brew.
• The most amazing characteristic of Zi Sha is that it is ‘nourishable’. New teapots have a ‘raw clay’ appearance, whilst the ‘well nourished’ ones appear to shine - as if they had a layer of lacquer.
• Zi Sha teapots collectors pay up to thousands of dollars to purchase a teapot. However they are not initially put on a shelf, but loaned to a tea house for the staff  to ‘feed’. ie brushing the outside of the teapot with tea whilst brewing with the teapot many thousand of times – till the teapot acquires the appropriate shine.

It is believed if well made Zi Sha teapots are used in association with quality tea leaves, the goodness of the good teas will remain in the teapots as a kind of residual.

An ancient Chinese tale tells of an ancient writer traveling with a Zi Sha teapot (an obvious tea lover). One day, he run out of tea leaves. Still desirous of a cup of tea he simply put some boiling water into the much used teapot and derived a pleasant ‘cup of tea’ from the teapot.

High quality Zi Sha is only produced from the cores of limited number of Zi Sha mines in YiXing area. They are very rare and highly valuable. A high quality Zi Sha teapot could fetch from a few hundred to up to tens of thousands Chinese Yuan (about 1/6 of USD or AUD). The antique ones are worth of even more.  For daily use, most of the products on the market are produced from either clay from outskirt of Zi Sha mines, or materials from elsewhere with similar nature. The small clay teapots we currently offer on our online store belong to this category.

Preparation instructions when using a clay/Zi Sha teapot