Zhu Ni (Red Clay / Hong Ni) — genuine Yixing Zisha
Craft
Semi-handmade by Yixing artisans
Capacity
230ml (Large)
Best for
Fragrant Oolong and Black tea
What size is this teapot? A gongfu size guide
Traditional Yixing gongfu teapots are small by design — you brew a little, steep it many times, and read how the tea changes. At 500ml, this is our largest sharing pot.
Mini
80–120 ml
Solo drinking / savouring aroma
Small
120–160 ml
1–2 people
Medium
160–200 ml
2–3 people
Large / Sharingthis pot
200 ml +
Sharing with several people
This teapot's clay: Zhu Ni (Hong Ni / Red Clay)
A dense, fine red clay that concentrates and lifts aroma and heats quickly — best for high-aroma teas such as Tie Guan Yin, Wuyi rock Oolong and Phoenix Dan Cong. Because zisha takes on a tea's character over time, the tradition is one pot, one tea.
About the Shui Ping shape
Shui Ping — meaning "level" — is one of the most traditional gongfu shapes: a low, well-balanced body designed to float upright and pour evenly, long the go-to pot for fragrant Oolong. Also known as a purple sand teapot.
Best tea for a Zhu Ni Red Clay Teapot
As a Zhu Ni red-clay pot, it shines with high-aroma teas. Pair it with a fragrant Oolong — Tie Guan Yin, Wuyi rock tea or Phoenix Dan Cong — or an aromatic Black tea. Keep steeps short and quick to catch the aroma at its best.
Hand-made vs semi-handmade Yixing Zisha Teapots
Fully hand-made Zisha Teapots involve a long, complex craft, so their prices are naturally very high. Fully machine-made pots sit at the other extreme — mass-produced and, to our eye, without soul.
To find teapots that are a genuine pleasure to use, finely detailed, yet not overly costly, we chose semi-handmade Yixing Zisha Teapots — the body is shaped with the help of a mould, then the details are carved and finished entirely by hand. You keep the refined craftsmanship while the price stays fair. We do not sell fully machine-made teapots.
Whether semi-handmade or fully hand-made, every teapot we carry is made from genuine, natural Yixing Zisha ore clay — nothing artificial in the material.
