Xishi, one of the four Chinese Beauties has for long been a muse for ornamental pottery, allowing each potter to envision their ideas of beauty onto form. This one is unique to the artist himself, having fitted the figure of youth with a wide and waning handle and a rather brawny knob. Its juxtaposition is temptuous, and how that will brew a cup of tea may be worth finding out. The perfectly spherical form invites many different types of tea, though the Chaozhou thin-walls and materiality would suggest suitable for highly aromatic types such as dancong and Taiwanese oolongs.

The clay

Chaozhou red clay from Phoenix Mountains is very fine and has an elasticity that supports being thrown on a wheel. It is not hand-built like Yixing teapots which leads some stylistic differences between the two. The thinner walls dissipate heat quickly making it suitable for more smaller thus delicate tea leaves, whose higher aromatic profile should be protected from overheating. Containing the same minerals to the earth Dancong tea trees are grown, the two are considered a good brewing match, though the clay itself is versatile for other types of tea too. It does well in softening and rounding any tea liquor, and adds character to the flavour while preserving its brightness.