Chaozhou Floating Teapot

A perfect marriage of Chaozhou and Yixing could well be this: A classic Shui Ping ('balanced water') form pulled on the wheel from original clay of Huanglongshan. When done by the hands of a meticulous potter, is the result a body of pristine build with a lid so well-fitted, it chimes together like magnets. Such a curious endeavour will get a few pot-heads thinking. Then, to follow the hint by brewing within the Yixing clay a tea from the local Guangdong province may well connect the dots separated by some thousand kilometers away.

The clay

The Floating Yixing teapot is made of the aged Lao Hongni (老红泥) clay, a red ore extracted several years ago at the mine in Lanshan (拦山). The clay was stored at the entrance of the mine for more than a decade before being shaped into a teapot and fired. The suffix "lao" ("old" in Mandarin) refers to the long storage.

Why is it called 'Floating'?

A centuries-old teapot form, 'Shui Ping' means literally 'water level' or 'balance'; it is characterised by the alignment of the tops of the body, spout, and handle, lending it an exceptional balance—indeed, many empty Shui Ping teapots will float on water, as this one does!