FULLY-HANDMADE ZISHA ART AND CRAFT, and TEA PAIRINGS!

FULLY-HANDMADE ZISHA ART AND CRAFT, the Top Teaware Ceramic.

We took this photo (above!) at our YiXing Street, morning, 14th March 2026
The overhead banner presents:
"中国陶都陶瓷城"
"CHINA CERAMIC CAPITAL, Ceramic City"
*** 陶都 is abbreviation for 陶, 首都 ***

And when you alight from YiXing High Speed Rail Station,
We YiXing people have this proud greeting for you:

The greeting in yellow characters, writes:
"中国陶都世界陶醉"
"CHINA CERAMIC CAPITAL, Enchanting the World."

This theme and statement, is repeated within our YiXing ZiSha Ore museum:

In pink: "中国陶都世界陶醉"
"CHINA CERAMIC CAPITAL, Enchanting the World."

The four types of Chinese Ceramics (Tao 陶) are:
1. Jiang Su > Yi Xing, Zi Sha,

2. Yun Nan > Jian Shui, Jian Shui Tao,

3. Guang Xi > Qing Zhou, Ni Xing Tu,

4. Si Chuan (ancient is Si Chuan, now is Chong Qing because Chong Qing as a City has its administrative status and level risen, and directly reporting to the central government) > Rong Chang, Rong Chang Tao (Rong Chang is in Chong Qing, Chong Qing is found within the Si Chuan province. You can liken Chong Qing to be Shanghai, as Shanghai formerly is under Jiangsu province, but now elevated in status to be directly reporting to the central government).

We, Yi Xing people, respect the founding of these four types of ceramics in ancient China. Being Chinese, we are also pragmatic as we both strive ahead and also simultaneously, respect our dearest traditions. That being said, we in China, already know:

China YiXing Fully-Handmade ZiSha status and acknowledgement has risen, now being regarded as the Number One ceramic craft and ware in steeping tea. This is the reason why YiXing is regarded as China's Ceramic Tao capital, 陶瓷首都。

We know it is the best, and forgive us YiXing people, it is really not because we are snobbish _/|\_
1. In terms of tea tasting, it is the best (read on),

2. in terms of crafting, it is the most difficult and demanding （Only Zi Sha is slab-built, the other three: Jian Shui, Ni Xing and Rong Chang Tao are not slab-built）

Zi Sha 紫砂, this name is chosen, because the character 紫 not just means purple, 紫 in our Chinese culture, implies Zenith, King, Emperor.

For example,
紫气东来 Zi Qi Dong Lai means the Emperor is imminent

The Bei Ji XIng (Stars) 北极星 ~ North Celestial Pole Stars, we also affectionately call it as 紫薇星 Zi Wei Xing (you can read about it more on Google and Baidu), with the connotation of it being the King 帝王 of Stars, or where the Immovable Star where the Celestial King Resides.

紫禁城 Zi Jin Cheng, The Forbidden City, denotes the Emperor's City.

YiXing because of its top and unique ceramic clay for teapots, and the craftsmanship entailed which is the most difficult of all ceramic work,
is named, China's Ceramic Capital 中国陶都.
宜兴是中国陶都 YiXing is China's Ceramic Capital:

中国陶都世界陶醉
China's Ceramic Capital, Enchanting The World With Ceramics.

Point number 2, serves point number 1.

If it is not the best, the Craftsmen would not have sacrificed their entire lifetimes, sacrifice many years, e.g. four to six years to perfect a Fully-Handmade Xi Shi, a Fang Gu or a Duo Zhi, in Zi Ni.

They see that it is worth their dedication of their lifetimes to this Art and Craft, because Fully-Handmade ZiSha works are the best ware to complete the half of the tea culture: Tea + Top Receptacle.

Although us Cao Family does not sell teas, we have many tea merchants who know us for many years, and have been ordering tea pots from us. We do not need to buy teas, for they always give us teas in exchange for pots we make for them. Besides the Pu Er and Oolong tea merchants, there are also those Green Tea merchant families, and traditional White Tea families from Fu Ding, who pride themselves with their family heirloom Gu Shu tea trees from which they harvest their tea leaves for their top White Teas. These Green Tea and White Tea merchants and families regularly come to us at YiXing for tea tastings. These old friends have been coming, family by family. They each brought out their family heirlooms of White Teas, both fresh and aged, and they brought out their own Gai Wans to steep. We of course, go along naturally, for these are friendly gatherings. When we brought out our Xiao Mei Yao Zhu Ni pots, which we have earmarked/reserved and been using for each of their teas in our daily use, and offered to steep their teas, they were surprised at the fact that we have been using Xiao Mei Yao Zhu Ni pots in steeping their teas all along. The suggestion to use Xiao Mei Yao Zhu Ni and not Gaiwan, was a surprise to them as it has not been their usual practice. However, what follows when they actually taste the teas, is that of amazement, and revelations:
Xiao Mei Yao Zhu Ni steeps all their White Teas better! The Green Teas as well! All the teas tasted much better than they had ever tasted, and presented with much amazement: a REFRESHING experience, again never before experienced by them.

This is repeatable not just with these families and tea merchants, this is repeatable with all our customers. Whether in YiXing, in the U.S., in Italy, in Singapore, in Indonesia (not race specific).
Some of them say steeping Green and White teas reveal a freshness, a sweetness, some say taste is deeper, same say the flavours are more multi-layered.

Zhu Ni steeps Green Tea, White Tea and Black Tea (Hong Cha) better than Gai Wan.

We know that many people regard as "Elementary, Mr Watson", to use Gaiwan or porcelain, or even glass, in steeping Green/White Tea.

We YiXing folks would like to humbly and confidently say.
If you want to STEEP the BEST Green Tea or White Tea, use Fully-Handmade ZiSha works.

Many people have the above Gaiwan preconception, and often saying, "as Gaiwan is the material of choice used in tea competitions, Gaiwan would be the best for steeping Green and White Tea especially if Gaiwan being porcelain and without pores, would not add nor take away any fragrance from the tea".

Hence we answer their common questions:
1. "If ZiSha (Zhu Ni) steeps Green Tea and White Tea even better than Gai Wan, then why isn't ZiSha used in tea competitions?"
2. "ZiSha has pores and hence provide aeration but may also take away the fragrance of the Green and White Tea (Green and White Tea are aromatic teas and mostly savoured for their fragrance and less for their taste, as opposed to Pu Ers.)"

To answer these two questions, we YiXing folks can easily explain:
Although Fully-Handmade ZiSha IS the best tea ware ceramic for steeping all teas, it is not used in competitions because of the logistical issues. The logistical steps it would entail, if used in competitions can be quite a hassle:
We know that Fully-Handmade ZiSha has pores and the first time the Fully-Handmade ZiSha pot is used, it would absorb some of the taste and fragrance away. This is true. And only AFTER the fourth or fifth steeping session (each session entailing eight to ten rounds of steepings, one session taking one day, and subsequent sessions spaced out by two to three days to dry) is used for the same tea leaves, would it reach the PLATEAU stage. After two weeks of use comprising four to five sessions, this pot's pores have thoroughly been coated with the tea polyphenols of the same tea leaves, and no more to be absorbed in subsequent sessions! We ZiSha users call it "plateau-ed". Thereafter it will steep the best tea for whatever tea leaves are introduced into its belly : PURELY and happily TAPPING INTO ITS DOUBLE-SIZED PORES UNIQUE NATURE!
~ 1.3 micron, and,
~ and 10-20 microns.

All these imply that, if ZiSha is to be used for tea competitions, each of the competing ten tea leaves from ten different merchants, has to be steeped in one dedicated Fully-Handmade ZiSha pot, and for the preceding two weeks entailing four to five sessions, prior to the actual day of the tea competition and tasting. Nobody considered using ZiSha for all these logistical issues. Competitions stuck to Gaiwan.

Also, using Fully-Handmade ZiSha for competitions can actually be done, but no competition organisers also dared try that, for fear of upsetting the other 3 types of Chinese ceramics too. Porcelain is relatively cheap and ubiquitous too. Using Fully-Handmade ZiSha wares are also more costly than using Gaiwan, and Gaiwan is something which the general public can replicate for its relatively lower price of entry and accessibility.

For tea to taste its own absolute best, use Fully-Handmade ZiSha.

After a Fully-Handmade ZiSha pot has reached its plateau for each tea after four to five sessions, the Fully-Handmade ZiSha pot exerts its full complement of abilities to make tea taste the best: double-sized pores, and because it holds heat better (the air-bubble act as heat insulation), it steeps with steady and beautiful precision: gifting BREATHABILITY and STEADY TEMPERATURE. This is as compared to the un-breathability and stifling lower cauldron that the tea leaves at the bottom of the Gaiwan is subjected to. Steeping in a double-walled vacuum glass, is great for insulation, but there is no breathability.

If you are in Bali, pay a visit to Tea Master Barry Boullon's tea institution: The Dragon Tea Temple, where he does very focussed tea classes, and he also does blind-testing for all tea ware ceramics for various types of teas. He had done such amazing exercises before, and says, "every time, all the participants unanimously voted for Fully-Handmade ZiSha as giving the best tasting teas. Every time." We gladly welcome you aboard and taste your best teas at home too!

The double-sized pores of ZiSha is nature's gift to tea steeping, providing breathability AND heat stability for the top steeping and best-tasting of teas realised!

We have not even touched Fully-Handmade ZiSha as the very Art Form it is! and its amazing position as the top carrier medium of FIVE Chinese cultures: Ceramic Crafting, Painting, Poetry, Calligraphy, Engraving. A compact and ergonomic Art piece that serves you gastronomic delights, aromas and visual Art. A Craft piece that gets better with time with your involvement in using it.

Enjoy Fully-Handmade ZiSha Art and Craft. Each, for a lifetime and beyond.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fully-Handmade ZiSha clay types and Tea Pairings.

We have a saying in our tea culture and in YiXing,

"紫泥不挑茶"

meaning, Zi Ni is not choosy about the tea leaf type steeped in it.

Zi Ni is able to steep all tea types. This is why, we often advise a person to get a Zi Ni pot as his or her first pot.

Expanding on this,

if we are to be financially fortunate ((fortunate to have the financial accommodation for ZiSha pots because we must always stay rooted to the ground and realise that as we steep tea, there are many people who cannot even afford food on this earth. We are reading this because it is indeed fortunate for us to be able to savour and steep tea, and we always have in mind in our hearts the less fortunate and to donate and help them regularly),

we would choose:

1. Zhu Ni (e.g. Xiao Mei Yao Zhu Ni), for steeping all types of Oolong, i.e. light-roasted, heavy/dark-roasted, also Yan Cha, High Mountain teas, Dan Cong, Tie Guan Yi, yes, all types of Oolong, plus, Green Tea, White Tea (as elucidated above), HongCha, and definitely also all floral teas.

We at YiXing, are very confident that Fully-Handmade ZiSha is the best ceramic works for steeping tea, all types of tea.

2. For Pu Ers, sheng pu er 生普洱 and shu pu er 熟普洱:

We use ZI NI, DUAN NI and BEN SHAN LÜ NI works.
Zi Ni e.g. Di Cao Qing, Qing Shui Ni, Da Shui Tan Zi Ni, Lao Zi Ni,
Duan Ni e.g. Qing Hui Duan 青灰段, Bao Shan Duan 宝山段, Tai Xi Duan 台西段, Jiang Po Ni 黄降坡泥. etc.

If we are to be even more particular,

For Young and mildly aged Sheng Pu Er, we utilise:
(1) Zi Ni (Di Cao Qing, Qing Shui Ni, Da Shui Tan Zi Ni, Lao Zi Ni, etc), and,
(2) Duan Ni (Qing Hui Duan, Jiang Po Ni, as above),
(3) Ben Shan Lü Ni.

For very AGED Sheng Pu Er 生普洱, and the Shu Pu Er 熟普洱, there are four which we use:
(1) Xiao Hong Ni 小红泥, (2) Zhu Sha 朱砂, (3) Jiang Po Ni (particularly Hong Jiang Po Ni), and (4) Yuan Kuang Da Hong Pao 原矿大红袍 (Da Hong Ni 大红泥),
1 to 4 are not in any order of good, better and best. They are almost equally great, and dependent on taste preferences.

Of course there is never right and wrong here, our taste buds may differ, and some of our patrons insist on using Zi Ni for their Oolongs and White Teas, and Ben Shan Lü Ni for Aged Sheng Pu Er.

Dearest Friends, we hope to see see you in YiXing, and we know you know, it is a one and three-quarter hour ride either via High Speed Rail or via car, from Shanghai to YiXing!
See you at 103, Jie Fang Zhong Lu soon!

Happily serving you this lifetime,
~ dedicated Craftsmen and Artists, and our Cao Family at YiXing,
Our Mission as the continuity of the hard work by our late forefathers and pioneers,
Remembering all the lives they had laid down for Fully-Handmade ZiSha Art and Craft.