Ya-Ya’s Tea-Board

News from the Teahouse, about tea and more

Teapots: small vs. large

[IMAGE World's largest Yixing teapot ] Today, I won’t go into a detailed essay about the benefits of different sizes of teapots. I’ll leave that to a later date since I know that this is an issue that concerns quite a few of our readers. I know, a lot of you are a little surprised when you see those doll’s house size Yixing teapots in the counter of our teahouse for the very first time. Most people think they’re just there for decoration rather than being actually usable accessories.

Instead, I want to share with you some more entertaining facets of the intriguing world of Chinese Purple Clay teapots. Zisha (or purple clay) teapots have been produced in Yixing, the pottery capital of China, for well over a millennium. The occurrence of this special clay attracted many craftsmen and artists and formed the base for the fame of its products. While the reputation of Yixing teapots is a very old one, the last 6 months have seen strange developments in this traditional craft.

[ IMAGE: The world's smallest teapot ] In November last year, Chinese master potter Wu Ruishen presented the world’s smallest teapot, weighing only 1.4 grams (see picture on right). Supposedly, it is fully functional, i.e. it could be used to steep and pour tea. Judging by the size of it, one would have to use broken leaf grades rather than Yunnan Large Leaf varietals, though…

Then, the announcement of the *largest* Yixing teapot was made last month. The massive pot is shown at the beginning of this post. It seems that the competition was on and instead of trying to beat the smallest teapot, potter Cheng Miaogen used more than 2 tons of the precious purple clay to build a teapot that has a circumference of 1.6m! I would argue the point that this teapot is equally impractical for everyday tea drinking - just imagine you would have to fill this pot halfway with high quality leaf!

[ IMAGE - Yixing tea pot ] Just to put things back into perspective, this is my favourite teapot for hong cha (Chinese black tea). It’s big enough for two people but doesn’t feel like a waste for one person and a few infusions, either. Like most other people, my general trend is towards smaller teapots. Our first Yixing pot was somewhere around 250ml and we thought it was cute and small. Now, this one is around 100ml and seems just right! But quite often, I’m looking for something smaller and end up using a gaiwan to brew smaller quantities.

And now for something completely different…

A recent article in the Telegraph made me aware, that teapots are sometimes more than just vessels to enjoy tea from. In Malaysia, a woman was jailed for joining a “teapot worshiping cult”. This interesting cult had a two-storey high temple in the shape of a teapot until 2005 when it was bulldozed by the government. I guess, the price for the largest teapot should be awarded to Sky Kingdom Cult!

By: Jo | 2008/04/13 | Uncategorized | Trackback | Comments [RSS 2.0]

4 Responses to Teapots: small vs. large »»


Comments

  1. Michael
    Comment by Michael | 2008/04/14 at 08:59:07

    Ah, something to believe in at last … the “sacred tea pot”.

    Of course this potty behavior is the illogical conclusion to Bertrand Russell’s use of the Celestial Teapot in his repudiation of God.

    Nevermind, I’m looking forward to hearing more about teapot sizes. I was out to lunch (so to speak) on Friday and someone was commenting on the small teapot - a large Yixing teapot. I couldn’t immediately come up with a defense for it; people expect quantity over quality these days.

    Happy Thai New Year to Diane and Jo.

  2. Andreas
    Comment by Andreas | 2008/04/22 at 00:03:15

    I take very often a look on your blog. Your last post is very interesting and you wrote there something about the doll’s house size of tea pods. That’s exactly the same reaction of my friends when I show them my small tea pot including the tea cups. Every one of my friends that:” What’s that. That looks like dolls dishes”. I can imagine what you’re thinking, when you get in the same situation at your teahouse.

    After such statements I am constrained to make a tea with the small pot. AND most of my friend said, wow that’s cool and it has a special style. Every time I am very proud of my small tea pot ;-).

  3. Jo
    Comment by Jo | 2008/04/22 at 00:10:03

    @Michael: I thought you might get a kick out of this one. It shows that we are on the right track, we just have to find the true path. BTW, it was never mentioned whether the cult actually paid much attention to the tea…
    As to the teapot size, I’ll write something on this issue soon, so you can refer your friends and colleagues to my “dissertation on teapot sizes” ;-)

    @Andreas: You’re doing well, Andreas. I realized that the only way to convince someone that a 150ml YiXing pot can produce A LOT of tea for 2 people is to take them through an extensive session with a decent pu-erh. I have seen more than 1 or 2 give up before the tea gave in…


Trackbacks & Pingbacks »»

  1. Videos of the making of a Yixing teapot | Ya-Ya’s Tea-Board
    Pingback by Videos of the making of a Yixing teapot | Ya-Ya’s Tea-Board | 2008/05/08 at 08:06:01

    […] This short post is a follow-up to my last article on Yixing teapots and intended to satisfy the curiosity of some of you who’ve bought a Yixing teapot from us. Did you ever wonder exactly how these precious little Yixings are made? I’ve found 3 videos that show you the creation of a Yixing teapot. […]

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