Brewing

Yixing

/yee-SHING/

Famous unglazed purple-clay teapot from Yixing, Jiangsu — believed to 'season' with use.

Yixing's zisha clay is porous: it slowly absorbs the tea's oils and, over years of dedicated use to one type of tea, returns aroma to subsequent brews. A well-seasoned yixing is a tea-drinker's most treasured tool.

Related terms

Words that travel together.

Gaiwan

A lidded ceramic bowl used to brew and pour tea — the Chinese Swiss-army knife.

Gongfu Cha

'Tea with skill' — a Chinese brewing style using lots of leaf, very little water and many short infusions.

From the Journal

Read further.

Curious Tea Stories6 min read

Meet Your New Tea Tray Companion: The Wonderful World of Tea Pets

A tea pet is a small, unglazed clay creature that lives on your tea tray and slowly drinks tea alongside you. Over months and years it gathers a rich, luminous patina — a quiet record of every cup you've shared.

by Amina

The Tea List dispatch

One letter. One tea.
Every Sunday morning.

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