Wan Tao Hu - 200ml

Once again, a lid-inlaid teapot crafted from aged Pin Zi Ni clay by the Yixing Teapot Factory. This is another form I find quite enchanting— the bowl-shaped teapot. The knob on the lid, shaped like a peach branch with a peach and peach leaves, carries an antique, simple elegance, yet with a touch of wild, natural charm. It’s one of those teapots that grows on you, revealing its depth the more you look at it.

Like many of my favorite pieces, I own two of these. As I write this, the other one is beside me, brewing a 2003 Menghai Tea Factory #7542 sheng pu-erh. The clay is from the Yixing Teapot Factory’s formula used from the 70s to early 80s, and its texture is finer, smoother—perfectly pleasant to the touch. The design of the lid, with its delicate details, gives the teapot a sense of weight in the hand, though its total weight remains under 200 grams. Holding 200ml of liquid, it pours in about 13 seconds—clean, steady, and graceful.

This teapot is particularly suited for sheng and ripe pu-erh teas, aged white teas, and aged red teas. I personally feel that the clay in this teapot enhances the tea’s original fragrance, while gently removing any awkward, stale notes that often linger in older teas. The result is a tea that is more focused, more penetrating, as if the flavor becomes clearer and more vivid.