"Pine Wind" Handcraft Chinese Yixing Clay Teapot 240ml

This is a 240ml Yixing teapot in the Han Tang Shi Piao (汉棠石瓢) form. It's a low, wide shape that sits on three small feet. The clay is Jiangpo, and both sides are carved by hand: a pine branch running across the lid and body, and a line of calligraphy on the back.

Pine Wind (松风) is the workshop's name for this pot, after the pine branch carved across it. It's also an old tea phrase for the sound of water just before it boils, like wind moving through pine needles.

Product details

• Capacity: 240ml, give or take 10ml. Each pot is measured by hand
• Size: 15.0cm long, 7.0cm tall, 5.8cm mouth
• Clay type: Jiangpo clay (Yixing zisha)
• Shape: Han Tang Shi Piao, three-footed
• Carving: hand-carved pine branch, calligraphy on the reverse
• Strainer: built into the spout
• Origin: Yixing, Jiangsu Province, China

Jiangpo clay came out of road works in the 1990s, from the slope where Huanglong and Qinglong mountains meet. It fires to a warm yellow-red, with sandy grain and small gold flecks you can see in the surface. Like all Yixing clay it's unglazed and slightly porous, so it takes on the flavour of what you brew in it. Pick one tea and stay with it.

The calligraphy on the back reads 如青松之茂密，纳百川之胸怀. Roughly: dense as the green pine, with a mind wide enough to take in a hundred rivers. It's dated 2023, the year the pot was made.

This works well for

• Rolled and large-leaf teas. The belly is wide enough that tightly rolled oolong opens all the way out, which is where most of the flavour comes from
• Aromatic teas as much as dark ones. High mountain oolong, Dong Ding, or ripe puerh
• Pouring for two or three people. At 240ml this is on the larger side for gongfu, so it suits a table rather than a solo session
• Anyone who finds narrow pots fiddly. The mouth is 5.8cm across, so wet leaves come out easily

Joanne's tip

We have two Jiangpo pots with pine carving in the shop, and people do ask which one to take. There isn't much between them. Same clay, same full round belly, so they season alike and they'll taste alike. Pine Wind holds 240ml. The Pine holds 190ml and sits a touch taller. Both give rolled leaf the room it needs to open. So pick by how many cups you pour: if it's usually just you, take The Pine. If there's someone else at the table, take this one.

In the gift set

The pot arrives boxed, with a certificate from the workshop and a brocade pouch.

Seasoning your new Yixing teapot

Before first use, season the teapot to open the clay's pores:

1. Rinse with warm water — lid, spout, and body
2. Submerge in a pot of water (place a cloth underneath) and simmer for 30-60 minutes
3. Brew a strong batch of the tea you'll dedicate this pot to
4. Fill the teapot with the brewed tea and soak for at least 24 hours
5. Rinse with warm water and air dry

Never use soap on unglazed clay. Rinse with hot water after each session.

Shipping

Each Yixing teapot is individually wrapped in foam and boxed. Ships from Hobart, Tasmania. Free delivery on orders over $95 Australia-wide.