A very ordinary pot

Apart from collecting pots made by masters, I also collect ordinary pots which are excellent to brew tea with. As I like to brew kungfu tea, I would prefer small teapots as they are convenient to use and easy to handle. Moreover I do not have to put too much tea leaves in the pots. Good tea is expensive and it is best to monitor the amount of tea leaves used to brew the tea. Anyway, kungfu tea is suppose to be appreciated using small cups. Who needs giant teapots?

The photo below shows a small teapot I bought in the 90s. It is called "Pan Hu" or teapot made for the Pan family. This pot is made using the red purplish clay. I particularly like teapots made from the red Yixing clay as these red teapots develop a patina quickly after a few months of brewing tea with them. This particular pot has a certain rough texture which local people call it the pear-skin pot.

An interesting thing about brewing tea with the Yixing pots is that you can always see the changes in the pots as you faithfully and patiently use them. The colour will darkened and the texture smoothened. No wonder people in Yixing give the ware a nickname, "purplish jade golden sand" to describe the ware to the equivalent of jade pieces.

When price is a constraint, it is alright to get a very ordinary Yixing pot and watch how it develops into a precious tea drinking equipment. This ordinary pot may one day becomes very extraordinary. A heavily used yixing teapots will definitely develop a patina very pleasing to the eyes. The touch is equally smooth and delicate. However, to develop these characteristics, the pot has to be a genuine Yixing ware, not to confuse with some pots made from imitation clay or chemicals-tainted clay.

A very ordinary pot becoming extraordinary