Yixing pot

From wikiCHA

Yixing pots are from Yixing county in Jiangsu province, China. They are made using a clay from the local Huanglong Mountain (literally Yellow Dragon mountain). When fired, they are usually brown or purple in color, although various other colors are possible depending on the composition of the clay, firing temperatures, and other variables. Because of the predominance of dark brown or purple colors, such pots are also regularly called purple clay (zisha) teapots.

There are various theories as to why pots made with Yixing clay are particularly suited to tea making. Some of these attributes include good heat retention, minerals in the clay softening and changing the water, the porosity of the clay being an aid to tea making and, over time, "seasons" in a way that adds to the flavor of the tea, etc.

Yixing pots were first made during the Ming dynasty. As tea consumption moved from the use of powdered tea to full-leaf teas, a different kind of vessel was required to brew the tea. By the mid-Ming Yixing pots were already well renowned as particularly suitable for making tea, and famous artisans such as Shi Dabin were well known about tea aficionados. Today, Yixing pots are as much a utensil for making tea as collector's item, and is produced in large numbers and wide variation of quality, ranging from the basic, indsutrially made pots to those crafted by famous artisans.