YIXING TEAPOTS: ZHUNI vs. HONGNI

Yixing teapot advanced tutorial: how to distinguish hongni from zhuni teapots and avoid fakes.
Hongni and zhuni are two similarly-looking reddish ores used to make Yixing clay teapot (aka Yixing zisha), each with slightly different appearances and effects. We look at colour, texture, sound, size, and other factors to distinguish the two and recognize if one is being sold as the other or, even worst, if teapots of low quality clay are sold as hongni or zhuni.
We look also at what effect the different ores have on brewing tea, including the best teas to use with each kind.

Yixing ore:
Yixing teapots are made of a rare and depleting clay mined in the mountains near Yixing, a city in the Jiangsu province. The high density yet porous nature of the clay absorbs the smell of the tea brewed in it. For this reason, it is advised to use the pot with only one kind of tea (for instance with black teas or green teas).
We often call the material 'clay' for the way it is shaped by potters, but it is, in fact, mined as a hard stone which is then made malleable by the addition of water. It comes in several different sorts with differing compositions. 'Hong ni', literally 'red mud', is a common, terra-cotta-coloured ore, whereas 'zhu ni', literally 'vermillion mud', is more of an orange. Practically, the way in which these two differ in colour and feel is more subtle and overlapping. Watch the video to get an idea!

Yixing Teapots:
The material and the shape of Yixing teapots are ideal for brewing tea. They bring out the tea flavour like no other tea vessel. Hand-made Yixing teapots are also valuable handicrafts sought after by collectors, and the precision and delicacy of their manufacture requires the utmost mastery to achieve. Their value raises with time, usage and artist popularity.
For more on Yixing teaware, check out our blog and other videos on the subject!

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