“The Noble Bamboo” Handcraft Chinese Yixing Clay Teapot

The Noble Bamboo hand-carved Yixing zini teapot, 250ml

The Noble Bamboo is a 250ml Yixing clay teapot in the Handuo form, made for gongfu brewing of darker teas. The clay is zini, the classic purple clay of Yixing. People who buy a bamboo pot usually want meaning on the side as well as a good pour. Bamboo is one of the Four Gentlemen of Chinese painting and stands for quiet integrity, carved here by hand across one face of the body.

Your hand goes round the handle and the first thing you notice is the tall knob. The Handuo form is named after an old Han-dynasty bell, and that bell shape is easy to lift with wet fingers. Inside the spout is a cluster of hand-punched holes, so the pot pours fast and holds the leaf back. Keep it to one tea; over months the porous clay seasons and the tea comes through rounder and deeper. Aged pu-erh and roasted oolong suit it best.

Bamboo in the details

The bamboo is carved into one face of the body. On the reverse is a Song-dynasty verse in calligraphy: bamboo forms its nodes (the word also means integrity) before it breaks ground, and keeps a hollow, humble heart as it grows toward the clouds. Each pot varies a little, as hand carving does.

Product details

• Capacity: 250ml
• Clay: Zini, Yixing purple clay
• Form: Handuo, upright body with a tall bell-shaped knob
• Carving: Bamboo on one face, calligraphy on the reverse, by hand
• Spout: Multi-hole mesh, hand-punched
• Signed: Two maker's certificates (potter and carver, in Chinese)
• In the box: Gift box and brocade pouch

This works well for

• Roasted oolong and aged pu-erh, brewed gongfu style
• A pot kept for one tea and seasoned over months
• A gift for someone who brews with care, boxed with its certificates
• A tea table where the pot is looked at as much as used

Come and turn it over at our Salamanca Tea Bar in Hobart and look at the joins where spout and handle meet the body.

Seasoning your new Yixing teapot

Rinse with hot water, brew a few rounds of the tea you plan to keep it for and pour them away. Then that tea only.

Care

Rinse with hot water after each session and dry lid off. No soap, no dishwasher.

Shipping

Ships from Hobart, Tasmania. Free shipping on orders over $95 Australia-wide. The pot travels in its gift box and pouch inside a padded carton.

Related

Chinese Yixing Clay Teapots · Teapots