Let's celebrate the connections which manifest through Tea.
This is a Huang Jin (Golden) Duanni Clay pot made by Master Xu studios. The clay is from Huang Long Shan, and it has wonderful texture-softening capabilities whilst being remarkably transparent in its effect on flavour.
Duanni is one of three broad categories of Yixing Zisha clay. The first and most common is Zini (purple), another is Hongni (Red clay) which covers all red pots, including the famous Zhuni and then you have Duanni which is normally made from a blend of green-grey ores, which turn yellow when firing. This pot is made from Huang Jin Duanni.
This is a Half-handmade pot meaning that it is made by hand but utilises moulded shapes to assist the production. It is a great performing pot and a perfect way to add high-grade Zisha clay to your collection without spending the huge numbers for entirely handmade.
The shape of this pot is traditionally known as 'Bell Shape' or 'Dezhong' (德钟壶). The first of the characters also refers to morality or virtue, which seems fitting with the theme of the design. We have called it a Barrel pot because I think it is more descriptive of its shape.
The beauty of this design lies in its uncompromising functionality. It has a large opening to easily fill the pot, a fast pour through a ball filter to maintain flow and a great balance in the hands. In some ways, the design is simple and egalitarian yet has striking and bold beauty.
This is a 180ml pot - a versatile size for solo and group sessions. I felt that we needed more of these slightly larger pots and I have been using mine for months whenever I am sharing a session.
The exclusive 'Connections' design is engraved and filled with indigo black ink which contrasts harmoniously with the Golden Duanni.
The design was created to celebrate the connections that tea provides us - connections with nature, connections with the producers, connections with ourselves and with those who share our sessions of tea. In a world that plays sides and jeers on conflict, we needed to remind ourselves that our connections are much greater than our divisions. Applying this design to the slightly larger capacity pot ideal for shared sessions seemed fitting.
We have a very small number of unengraved pots available.
ABOUT THIS CLAY
Duanni is one of the most porous clays with a pronounced effect (although a lot depends on the original ores and temperature of firing). Duanni is also well known for its excellent heat retention. This means that it is most often suited to teas which have a strong character and love hot brewing - think aged Sheng, Shu and Yancha.
I think that this makes a great 'all-star' pot for most types of tea because, while it softens, thickens and sweetens, it is very restrained in its reduction of bright notes.
It is also subtle in its addition of minerals, making it very versatile with all teas.
Brewing in this pot tastes like you are using soft and sweet water. Any astringency, strong punchiness and strong woody, stony or baked notes are radically dialled down. So you may want to refrain from using this pot if you fancy a really punchy session but otherwise, it is a great pot for most sessions.