Yixing Tea Cups

About

What is a Yixing Tea Cup? Yixing tea cup - a very special kind of vessel for enjoying tea. It is made from raw Yixing clay (from Huanglong Mountain) in Yixing city, Jiangsu. It is produced through ore crushing, kneading and aging, hand shaping, and high-temperature firing. In the tea ware industry, it is also considered one of the most basic categories of Yixing teaware. In contrast to ordinary ceramic tea cups or glass tea cups, the Yixing tea clay consists of Kaolinite, Quartz, Mica and Hematite. The content of iron is being fixed at 8% to 12%. The most important physical characteristic of a Yixing tea cup is its dual-porosity structure. When fired at a very high temperature, the body of Yixing tea cup forms a porous micro-structure. This pore structure consists of two types of pores, open pores and closed pores. The open pores, with a diameter of 1 to 10 microns, connect the inside and outside of the cup in a chain-like pattern and allow air circulation. The closed pores, smaller than 0.5 microns, these small pores can absorb and hold tea aroma and tea oils. Together, these two types of pores give a Yixing tea cup the ability to breathe without leaking. Water vapor can escape slowly, while the tea liquor does not seep through. The total porosity remains at 5% to 8%, making it far more breathable than a glazed or non porous glass tea cup or a ceramic tea cup. In terms of performance, a Yixing tea cup conducts heat at a moderate rate. Its heat retention lasts 2 to 3 times longer than that of an ordinary glass cup, helping maintain a stable tea temperature and preventing flavor loss caused by rapid cooling. The clay itself is chemically stable. As a Yixing teacup is used normally over a long period of time, it will absorb some of the tea into its pores and form a smooth, mellow tea cup patina, beginning from a dry and rough surface and gradually turning into a fine and silky one. Drinking tea from a Yixing teacup used over a long period of time will also result in a