Gongfu ware · Yixing focus
Vessels that shape the brew before you do
You already brew a specific tea and need the one vessel that will not blunt it — not a department store of teapots. Tea.equipment is the catalog for that decision — *zǐshā* (紫砂) teapots, porcelain gaiwan, fairness pitchers, *chá hé* (茶荷) presentation boats — each piece sourced from named artisans and shipped with care instructions written by working sommeliers.
32
pieces in the catalog
10
categories, clay to porcelain
3
named workshops profiled
By vessel
Six categories, one ritual
Every gongfu session resolves down to the same handful of shapes — chosen for clay, glaze, volume, and the way each piece holds heat across infusions.
Studio log
What arrived this week
- New shipment from Dīngshān — 14 *zhū ní* teapots, 80–140ml
- Restocked: Jingdezhen thin-wall gaiwan, 110ml, ivory glaze
- Care guide published — seasoning a new *duàn ní* pot in 21 days
- Travel notes from tea.travel — visiting the kiln district in Yixing
- Pairing notes added — Dancong oolong × 90ml *zhū ní*
- Sample program live via tea.gratis for first-time clay buyers
This season
Hand-picked for the autumn table
Six vessels chosen by our sommelier team to match the heavier roasts and aged leaves coming into rotation.
Dingshu zisha shipiao, 150ml
Dīngshū Zǐ Shā Shípiáo · 紫砂石瓢
Jingdezhen white porcelain gaiwan, 90ml
Jǐngdézhèn báicí gài wǎn · 景德镇白瓷盖碗
Dingshu zhuni pear, 100ml
Dīng Shǔ · Zhū Ní · 丁蜀 · 朱泥
Cha hai glass pitcher, 150ml
Chá Hǎi · 茶海
Zisha tasting cup set, four 35ml
Zǐshā pǐnmíng bēi tào zhuāng — sì zhī 35 háoshēng · 紫砂品茗杯套装 (四只)
Stone tea tray, 30×30cm slate
Sourcing picks
The people who match leaf to clay
Our equipment recommendations come from the people who visit the workshops — not generalists. Each named profile below sources pieces they have personally tested.
I will not stock a pot whose maker I haven't met. Not as a marketing line — as a practical limit. If a customer writes in three years asking why the lid has hairlined, I need to be able to phone the workshop and ask.
Michael Zhan
Procurement & Sourcing Specialist · Yixing, Jiangsu · Yunnan
A kettle is a promise about temperature. A scale is a promise about weight. My job is to make sure that when our editors taste a tea and write about it, the promises underneath them are the same ones every customer gets at home.
Sandry Law
Head of Procurement (China) · Kunming, Yunnan
How to use this site
Three paths in, one cabinet out
Start with a 110ml porcelain gaiwan, a glass fairness pitcher, and two tasting cups. We have a curated starter shelf at €120 — and free leaf via tea.gratis to brew in it.
Read the clay guide before you buy. *Zhū ní* for oolong, *zǐ ní* for aged pu-erh, *duàn ní* for white and yellow. Volume matters more than ornament.
We supply restaurants and tearooms with matched sets — 12 to 60 covers — through the wholesale desk at shop.thetea.app. Lead time three weeks.
Before you buy
Questions we get most weeks
How do I season a new Yixing teapot?
Rinse with boiling water, brew the tea you intend to dedicate to it, and pour the liquor over the outside for the first three sessions. Full method on the Yixing guide page.
One pot, one tea — is it really necessary?
For unglazed clay, yes. The pores hold oils from previous brews. Dedicate a *zhū ní* pot to oolong and a *zǐ ní* pot to ripe pu-erh — never cross them.
Where do your pots actually come from?
Dīngshān (Yixing) workshops for clay, Jingdezhen for porcelain, Fújiàn co-ops for bamboo. Every listing names the workshop. No anonymous stock.
Can I learn the ritual itself somewhere?
Yes — tea.school runs a four-week gongfu course, and tea.events lists in-person ceremonies in Berlin, Lisbon, and Saint Petersburg.
Start with one vessel