I have a couple of zisha clay gaiwans that I bought (because they were cheap) some time ago when I knew less about tea. Because they were yixing clay I "dedicated" them to one type of tea the same as you would with a purple clay teapot. I have always wondered however, why they chose to glaze the inside of the cup and leave the outside unglazed. Unglazed yixing clay is touted as being good for certian reasons but namely for the developing of a patina on its surface, so why would they glaze the part of the cup where the tea would be and leave the part that you could wash (the outside) unglazed? Seems like it should be the opposite! Did I just buy a bad product? Nearly every yixing gaiwan I have seen has this pattern of glaze on the inside and not on the outside? Anyone else use these?
- posted
19 years ago