170ml Early-mid 70s Factory 1 Hongni Teapot (#5)

If you want to make great tea, these early-mid 70s factory 1 teapots are the real deal. You can of course find cheaper younger teapots (but they don’t brew nearly as well and possibly have added chemicals) and of course there are a lot of fakes at any price. Smaller teapots will also be less expensive than 90-150ml ones (which are more in demand).

Please expect tool marks, dents and other possible sign of use, please also expect craftmanship to not be as precise as modern teapots, in both cases please examine the pictures carefully.

Please expect the lid to not fit perfectly like in modern teapots, and expect it to require some technique to achieve a good pour (see below for tips). This is because of how teapots were made then and it’s always the case with antique teapots (some more than others).

All the teapots have also been authenticated with at least one (sometimes two) of the most serious teapot experts in Taiwan, but please bear in mind that there are many self-proclaimed experts about Yixing clay, sometimes with very wildly different and colorful opinions. What I can confidently say is that if I or the expert(s) I consulted had any doubts about their authenticity, we will not sell them here.

I mostly wish to make these antique teapots available for their excellent clay and therefore drinking performance. This type of clay is perfect for both 5-15year old puerh and for even older dry stored masterpieces (like for example 2002 CYH Yiwu pure gushu).

My sincere advice after trying a lot of them: do not waste your time with late 70 and 80s-90s-2000s factory teapots, in terms of drinking performance the early-mid 70s (and before) are much better. Further, teapots from the late 70s and later have possible addition of various potentially dangerous chemicals to the clay. For modern teapots the best choice are teapots made from very selected batches of excellent aged Yixing clay without chemical additives (like the Teapots by He Zhong Tai).

Technique tips for a better pour with antique teapots:

• handle the teapot properly (index finger on the knob without closing the hole on top, thumb and middle finger on the handle)
• do not fill the teapot to the top
• when pouring, apply forward pressure with index finger on the lid
• try to pour slowly at first, then increase angle gradually (you will need to experiment with each pot to find the best angles)
• unclog the pot often

Sizes are approximate, please refer to pictures or ask if in any doubt.