If you had to pick one "everyman" teapot shape that is easy to use, beautiful, and flatters the tea, it would certainly be the Fanggu. Now Artisan Chu Dung Khảo has dressed it in a robe of culture, with a lotus motif and meaningful calligraphy.
Form: The body resembles a flattened drum, with a full rounded belly, crisply cut shoulders, and a flat, tightly fitting lid. The whole conveys a feeling of great solidity and calm.
Advantages: Unlike other Fanggu pots, this one has a wider mouth, which makes adding leaf and cleaning out the spent tea extremely easy. The flat lid is easy to hold and hard to let slip.
The pairing of image and text gives the piece its depth:
Front - Lotus Flower (Liên Hoa): A lotus in full bloom beside broad lotus leaves, carved and painted in gold with fine detail. The lotus stands for purity ("grown from the mud, yet untainted by its smell"), lightening the spirit of whoever drinks from the pot.
Back - Calligraphy: The four characters "Phẩm Trà Luận Đạo" (品茶论道). They mean sitting down over fine tea to discuss the Way and the nature of life. This is the highest state of tea drinking.
Capacity 180ml: This is the standard and most sought-after capacity for the Fanggu shape.
Use: Perfectly suited to drinking alone (an unhurried session for one) or to drinking with a companion or a small group (2-3 people). This size holds heat well so the tea infuses evenly, yet is not so large that the tea goes cold.
Fully handmade: The pot is made entirely by hand, with seamless, refined joins.
Nine-hole filter (cửu khổng): The traditional filter is hand-drilled and laid out to a careful pattern, so the water flows evenly and the leaf is held back cleanly.
Tight lid & clean cut-off: The strength of Chu Dung Khảo's Fanggu is how tightly it seals (tilt the pot and the lid stays put - still, hold the lid while pouring). The short spout sends the water out powerfully in a round stream and cuts off cleanly, without dribbling.
A fine-grained clay in a warm, deep brown. The more it is used, the richer its colour and the finer its sheen (seasoning the pot).
Its breathability softens the water, tempers astringency, and lifts the tea's aroma.
All products are in stock and on display in our shops.
