So, I unexpectedly acquired another Yixing clay teapot. Yixing #3? Well, I have #2 coming in the mail soon. #1 is the yixing pot I got from Hong Kong.
I was shopping a couple towns over from where I live and my Mother-inlaw said there was a tea shop in the area. We weren’t sure what kind of tea shop it was.. Boba tea? Restaurant? Loose leaf? Anyways, it was a few blocks away from where we were so we went to check it out.
This tea shop is called Bamboo Tea House out in Claremont, California. By the way, the website I linked doesn’t do the shop justice. It turns out, this tea shop sells teawares, teas and tea related trinkets. The shop is small jammed with tea ware at every corner – so much treasure to look at!
They had english tea pots in lovely bright colours, japanese cast iron tea pots and LOTS AND LOTS of owl cups and other japanese tea cups. I wish I brought my camera, but I wasn’t expecting to go to a teashop or buy lots of things
Anyways, in a cubby was a collection of yixing clay tea pots. Some were that fancy designs with not-so-useful carved handles or frogs stuck to the pot, with a couple more simple pots. I found this pot to look and preform the best:
It’s wide and squat with a set in, yet deep lid. Out of all the pots, this teapot’s lid fit perfectly without rattling
Looking inside, it appears handmade (as far as I can tell)
When I flipped over the pot to photograph the bottom, clay curls fell out!
The detailing around the top of the teapot has great texture and interest! I am curious if this one has a bit of glaze on it, as there is some colour differences on the pattern compared to the entire pot.
The damage.. $29 HOOT! The yixing pot is clearly not as nice as my first yixing pot, but I still love it! I’m thinking ripe/shu pu’er in this one.
My only complaint is the shop was heavily perfumed with incense – while we were there the sales clerk was lighting more. Thus, my pot strongly smells, though very relaxingly, like incense. I don’t want to drink incense, so hopefully when I boil this pot to season, it’ll reset the smells. Hopefully! All fails, I might need to try my trusty baking soda. I go through so much baking soda, sigh.
Sadly, I did not walk out with a dozen cute owl figurines and mugs. I probably could of dropped way too much cash there and dented their owl collection, however next time I’m in the area I will be sure to stop by… with more money.
