{"product_id":"zisha-teapot-zi-ni-ming-shi-long-dan-440","title":"Handmade Longdan Yixing Zisha Teapot – Zini Clay, 140ml","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a 140 ml longdan teapot in Zini Clay, fully handmade, made in Dingshu, Yixing. Its Chinese name is 明式龙蛋.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe clay.\u003c\/strong\u003e Zini is the foundational Yixing clay — purple-brown, mined at Huanglong Mountain, and the most forgiving of all the ores. It is highly plastic, notably porous, and develops a patina faster than most clays. Even-tempered and genuinely versatile. It rounds out a brew rather than sharpening it, which makes it a safe first pot for someone who drinks several kinds of tea.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe form.\u003c\/strong\u003e The Longdan form (龙蛋) dates to the late Ming to early Qing. A smooth, egg-shaped body, named from the old auspicious idea of a dragon's egg. No ornament at all — just a full, taut curve. The purest expression of a plain form.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow it was made.\u003c\/strong\u003e Built entirely by hand — the wall is beaten out from a slab and joined without a mould. Inside the body you can still read the tool marks and the joint line, which is how the method is verified.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSize and tea.\u003c\/strong\u003e 140 ml serves two to three people from a single fill, which makes it the most generally useful size on a tea table. Best suited to pu-erh, black tea and aged oolong.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis pot.\u003c\/strong\u003e Catalogue no. 440, 140 ml, US$1000. Photographed individually — the images show the pot you receive.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMade by an independent Dingshu potter working outside the titled-master system. We do not attach a name we cannot verify.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eClay\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eZini Clay (紫泥)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eForm\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eLongdan (龙蛋)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eCapacity\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e140 ml\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eCraft\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFully handmade (全手工)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eOrigin\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDingshu, Yixing, Jiangsu, China\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003eCatalogue no.\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e440\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNew to zisha? Read \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/journal\/how-to-season-a-yixing-teapot\"\u003ehow to season a Yixing teapot\u003c\/a\u003e before first use.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eSimilar teapots\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"\/products\/zisha-teapot-lao-zi-ni-ma-dao-cheng-gong-409\"\u003eHandmade Sculptural Form Yixing Zisha Teapot\u003c\/a\u003e — Aged Zini Clay, 140 ml, $550\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"\/products\/zisha-teapot-zi-ni-ban-ge-xi-gua-302\"\u003eHandmade Sculptural Form Yixing Zisha Teapot\u003c\/a\u003e — Zini Clay, 150 ml, $450\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"\/products\/zisha-teapot-zi-ni-mei-zhuang-367\"\u003eHandmade Sculptural Form Yixing Zisha Teapot\u003c\/a\u003e — Zini Clay, 220 ml, $700\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eOr browse \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/zini-yixing-teapots\"\u003eevery Zini pot\u003c\/a\u003e · \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/yixing-zisha-teapots\"\u003ethe full Yixing catalogue\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Yihu Yike","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45837665239087,"sku":"YHYK-0440","price":1000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/8676\/5615\/files\/longdan-zini-clay-yixing-zisha-teapot-440-01.jpg?v=1787072358","url":"https:\/\/yixingzishateapot.com\/products\/zisha-teapot-zi-ni-ming-shi-long-dan-440","provider":"Yihu Yike","version":"1.0","type":"link"}