177.0ml.
Skilful Craftsman Zhai Yi Yao 翟一耀 has officially joined up with Craftsman Wang Xing and us taking care of all the Zhu Ni Zi Sha Works from June 2024 onwards! He starts off with both his Xi Shi and Li XIng for us. Zhai Yi Yao and Wang Xing are former course mates for three years at the ZiSha school. He is one with us, working alongside his long time friend Craftsman Wang Xing.
Craftsman Zhai Yi Yao 翟一耀 collaborated with Craftsman Yi Hu Bi 一壶笔 (Artistic Byname) as Craftsman Zhai crafts the pot while Craftsman Yi engraves. Here Craftsman Yi chose the Bamboo engraving on this ZiSha work on the left face, and the right face are the inscripted words,
冰清玉洁 "Bing Qing Yu Jie" meaning:
Clear and Pure as Ice, Clean and Reflective as Jade.
Very simple words which we in the tea culture, often relish and be at one with.
Bing 冰 means Ice,
Qing 清 means Clear,
Yu 玉 means Jade,
Jie 洁 means Clean.
Craftsman Zhai also conscientiously sculpted a 手推内球孔 Hand-Pushed Spherical Filter to increase the number of filter holes for a solid and fast pour of tea out, working with the largish diameter spout; and with better catching of tea leaves at the bottom fast while allowing tea to flow out from the upper holes.
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Note on our TRUE Fully-Handmade Zhu Ni pots from RealZiSha: NOT those thick-/irregular-thickness-walled ones which are actually fake "Fully-handmade ZhuNi pots" utilising the cheating new technology: "车一刀 Che Yi Dao": Such ZhuNi pots utilizing Che Yi Dao process, have been sprouting up in the market since early 2022. Che Yi Dao involves a swivelling-rotational cutter that goes around a roughly-finished ZhuNi pot to cut the outer surface into a perfect shape. This cutter obliviates the need of accomplished skill of a true Fully-Handmaking Craftsman. Obviously, Che Yi Dao also absolves the need of a skilled FHM Craftsman to 1)pound the slab into a careful thin-slab, 2)paddle-pat the slab into a uniform shape purely manually.
Li Xing 梨形 is one of the most lovely Austere shapes which XiaoMeiYao is made into! A highly limited run here as well as our recent Fang Gu, Xi Shi, Pan Hu, Ming Lu, Shui Ping and JingZhou ShiPiao models. We hope you friends have loved all of them!
Li Xing 梨形 exudes the Aura of Chinese Orientalism, 2)for a narrowing top ZiSha model, it has a wider opening than Si Ting for better ease of introducing tea leaves and washing after steeping, 3)has a sharp-ish spout for decisive cutting of flow, and 4)has a slightly raised lid that stores a column of air above the tea water level when the lid is closed, so that during the initial first moment of pour with that few degrees of tilt, tea water flows out decisively and easily right from the start.
Crafted at ~180ml to cater for our tea friends who want a small ZhuNi pot for Gung Fu tea steepings, and suitable for one to two persons.
This pot caught my eye due to its short, squat, adorable stature and silhouette, which I immediately fell in love with! I love the wide lid opening. This allows the user to easily load and remove tea leaves, and gives easy access to the inside of such a small volume pot. The large lid is easy to handle, and the lid knob is thoughtfully raised with a sculpted taper at the base, ensuring your fingers lock onto it with a sure grip.
This is my first Zhu Ni pot, and I love the feel of the smooth, leathery clay with heavy wavy creasing. The difference between other Zi Sha types can be easily observed and appreciated.
I purchased this pot to brew fresh Chinese green tea over the summer. The flavor of the green tea brewed in Zhu Ni is simply incredible. The fresh and nutty flavors of the tea are preserved, while the harsher, bitter flavors are rounded off for a balanced and harmonious steeping. I highly recommend any green tea lovers try a Zhu Ni pot for this application!
Shipping to the US was smooth and worry free. As always, Ian's communication through email is kind, courteous, knowledgeable, and quickly responsive.
Thank you again to Ian, Yi-Lei, and craftsman Shi Yun 石芸 for this cherished Ming Yuan Xu Bian 鸣远虚扁!
Absolutely beautiful pot, love the craftsmanship and design. Perfect in everyway, it will be used with joy and cherished.
beautiful form of the teapot. Elegant, handles well, does not leak, very well made. I love the fairy etched into it. The clay is suitable for various teas. I can only recommend!
nice and beautiful
Really impressed by this 87ml piece. Outstanding craftsmanship by Fan Xiao Zhi — classic Xi Shi lines, tight lid fit, and a strong, smooth pour. The granular texture of this Zhu Sha clay is beautiful in person. Very happy to add this one to my table!