In the past, whether it is in Japanese or Chinese culture, tea pottery is an integral part of tea culture in Japan or China. Beside the meticulous choosing of pottery for holding and pouring tea, one also admires other porcelain like vases to soak in the atmosphere of the ancient Chinese and Japanese literati.

        It is the intention of our website to also integrate the culture of pottery to tea culture in order to provide our readers with a more comprehensive understanding of Chinese and Japanese pottery and the selection of tea wares in the process of drinking tea.

        We also welcome all feedback, suggestions, questions about Japanese or Chinese tea pottery. We have admidst our panel, people who are studying pottery and the origins and different styles of Japanese and Chinese pottery. We also provide authentication services for different types of pottery as well as welcoming all forms of research on pottery or tea culture to be posted on our website for the benefit of many readers in Asia, Europe, Americas and other parts of the world.

        In addition, we will endeavour to scour the pottery markets of Japan, Malaysia and China to select some of the good quality wares for sale on the internet so that those who surf our website may buy them at affordable prices. That is our commitment.

Tea pot category

The two main types of earthernware tea pots from China are:
- red clay from TeoChew
- Yixing purple clay

There are also many types of porcelain teapots from China.
The main types are Jingdezhen porcelain.

These are the main export regions:
- Liling region
- Henan region
- Swatow region
- Shiwan ceramics

How To Choose Chinese Teapots

1. The cap must be firm and should not move around easily.

2. The body must not feel grainy.

3. The knob on the cap must be ergonomic and in sync with the rest of the body.

4. The body should be able to hold substantial water.

5. The teapot which is artistic and valuable USUALLY but not always contain enough tea to serve 2-3 persons and not masses

6. TeoChew teapots are generally not valuable except for a few teapots that were made in the early postwar years.

7. When water is poured out of the teapot, it should come out in a beautiful stream

8. The handle should be erogonomic and enable one to hold the teapot firmly.

9. The mouth may have a net to catch unwanted tea leaves.

10. The hardness of the body should be just right. If too hard , that means that the teapot artist has used too much metallic elements and may be brittle and break easily.

11. The colour should not be dyed.

12. The shape should be flowing and there should not be awkward proportions.

13. Expert collectors do not collect 1990s teapots. They like those that are made in Qing Dynasty, Republic of China 1911-1949,early postwar, teapots made in the cultural revolution 1970s and in the 1980s.

14. Unusual shapes usually indicate high craftsmanship

15. Teapot should be made of purple clay or zhu ni clay.

16. Be careful of those with high lead content.

17. Usually, the bottom of the teapot cap would have the name of the artist engraved or moulded onto it.

18. Good teapots tend to have skin that feel brittle and its walls are usually thinner than the inferior or imitation pots.

Interesting Trivial

        To see whether a teapot is good or not, one of the many indicators is flipping the teapot over and see whether the mouth of the sprout, the opening on the body and the handle are at the same height, thus the teapot should be able to stand firmly on the table upside down. However, this rule does not apply on some teapot shapes that are unusual. It applies to most conventional shapes though.

Tips On Appreciating Teapots

1. The real Zhu Ni teapot is usually red with purplish tinge on the outside and just red on the inside. It tends to be a of slightly darker colour than the red clay teapot.

2. The netting at the sprout (interior of the teapot) should be well done with holes of even size and usually ranging from 3- 6 holes, no more no less.

3. Zhu Ni is the most expensive clay that can be used.

TeoChew teapots

        Eastern Tea is proud to bring you high quality TeoChew teapots used by Chinese all over the world for tea-drinking. These tea pots are made in the Teo Chew region of China. TeoChew is spelt ChaoZhou in Hanyu Pinyin. They are made of red clay which make them excellent for drinking Chinese tea. Yet they are affordable as unlike the purple clay teapots in the Central part of China, worksmanship is simple and labour is cheaper. They also make excellent display items for lovers of Chinese tea sets. Chao Zhou teapot is made in such way that it is ergonmic and easy to handle. They are also light and perfect for gifts as they have a strong oriental flavour.

        The correct way to hold a Teo Chew teapot is by clasping the handle with the middle and first fingers while the second finger is used to push down the cover of the teapot. In this position, you are able to pour tea to serve your guests.

        Eastern Tea is offering such teapots at an affordable price of only US$15 (including mailing). Please allow one to two weeks of delivery time. Eastern tea would like to warn surfers of imitation goods which are dyed red tea pots, made in Taiwan or Thailand.

Purple clay tea pots

        Purple clay tea pots are also known as Yixing tea pots. These tea pots are made in central China. They have been used since Qing dynasty (1644-1911).

        The reason why these pots are used is because the purple that is used to make these earthernware are said to possess special properties that enable the scent and the taste of the tea to be infused into the chambers of the pot.

        These wares are carved from blocks of clay, adding on to the technical difficulties in making these pots. They come in all shapes and sizes and collectors' pots can fetch very high prices, including the used ones.