Yixing Teapot Guides: Clay, Craft & Care

Brown cylindrical Yixing-style teapot with engraved Chinese calligraphy and a loop handle

Vintage Yixing Teapot: How to Assess Its Age

Assess a vintage Yixing teapot’s age through provenance, seal marks, form, clay, and construction. Learn what the evidence can—and cannot—establish.

Light brown Wendan-style clay teapot on a textured rock outdoors

Yixing Teapot Price: What Should You Pay?

Compare Yixing teapot prices, understand what raises the cost, and set a practical budget for daily brewing, handmade work, or collectible art.

Rocky excavation and water-filled pit identified in the source as Huanglongshan in Yixing, China

Yixing Clay Teapot Guide: Zini, Zhuni and Duanni

A practical guide to Yixing clay teapot materials from China: Zini, Zhuni, Duanni, Benshan Lvni, and the named varieties you will encounter when choosing a…

Hands refining the outside of an unfired Yixing clay teapot with a small tool

Handmade Teapot: Fully Handmade vs. Half-Handmade

Compare fully handmade and half-handmade Yixing teapots from China, with workshop photographs, clear forming terms and practical questions to ask before buying.

Brown Chinese clay teapot with incised calligraphy on patterned cloth

Yixing Teapot Masters: Famous Artists and Title Guide

Explore famous Yixing teapot masters, understand Chinese artist titles and master awards, and learn how to check credentials before choosing a zisha teapot.

Faceted Chinese Yixing teapot on a wooden tea table

8 Benefits of a Yixing Teapot: Clay, Craft and Tea Culture

Explore eight Yixing teapot benefits, from unglazed clay and patina to Chinese craftsmanship, plus practical brewing and care tips for everyday tea drinkers.

Four views of a reddish-brown clay teapot showing its surface and engraved details

What Makes a Yixing Teapot Special? Clay, Craft and Culture

Watch an English-language introduction to Yixing teapots, exploring zisha clay, traditional slab-building and the poetry and calligraphy of literati culture.

Yixing Zisha clay fragments being sieved before stone grinding

Yixing Zisha Clay Preparation Video

Watch traditional Yixing Zisha clay preparation: raw clay is broken down, sieved and ground in a stone mill before it is made into a workable…

Hot water poured over a reddish-brown Yixing teapot on a tea tray

How to Season and Care for a Yixing Teapot

A practical guide to preparing a new Yixing teapot and caring for it over time: gentle seasoning, daily cleaning, lid-off drying and natural patina development.

Red-brown clay teapot with an engraved floral design

What Do Zisha, Yixing and Zi Ni Mean?

Yixing names the place, Zisha the wider clay tradition, and Zi Ni a specific purple clay. This illustrated guide also explains Zhu Ni and Duan…