by Siyan and Patrick

This is part 2 of our interview with Lin Hanpeng, the co-owner along with Chen Chunhong, of an Yixing Teapot Studio. Click here to read part 1 of our interview.

by Siyan and Patrick

​The first time we met Chen Chunhong and Lin Hanpeng was at the tea table of their shop in Guangzhou. Chen Chunhong chatted with us as she poured us each a cup of shu pu'er. Her husband Lin Hanpeng was discussing clay with some customers. At the time the two were very busy with a growing customer base - thanks largely to word of mouth among zisha (Yixing Clay) enthusiasts in the city. Their shop was known for the authenticity of its teapots - only using original ore zisha and focusing on functionality. They worked with a few reliable artists out of Yixing. They soon left their shop in Guangzhou to establish their own studio in Yixing.

Seeing how busy their little studio is today, it is clear that whatever challenges they faced initially, their move had been a success. We spoke with Lin Hanpeng to hear more about these challenges and how their studio fits into the modern zisha industry.

by Patrick

“What kind of filter is best?” “What kind of filter do fully handmade teapots have?” “Should teapots with ball filters be avoided?” We have been asked about filter options for Yixing Teapots and hope to address some of the more common questions here. In particular the question of whether ball filters are a desirable feature or not.

Teapots with ball filters have a somewhat dubious reputation in China. For many, having a ball filter is a sign that a teapot is cheap or low-quality. To understand where this reputation comes from and how fair it is, it helps to look at where this design came from and how it has been applied.