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Clay teapots are a beautiful option when making a pot of tea. The first clay teapots came to us from China, made out of the purple clay from the YiXing area. This clay was fired and hardening making it able to hold hot liquid -- yet it was still porous enough to let the flavor of the tea permeate the interior of the pot. The only problem with YiXing pots is that is necessary to have one per the type of tea used. Those people that like a variety in tea would have to have more than one or two of the pots. The English had a great love of tea and it was impossible for most of them to get a teapot made in China. They were very expensive including the china teapots. Most common folk had teapots made of local clay that was turned on a potter's wheel and formed into shape then fired in a kiln. The spouts were short and straight and made separately with the handle to be attached later. The spouts tended to chip and break so the artisans figured out a way to replace this piece. These clay pots were most like made of earthenware or stoneware. Earthen ware is very porous and required internal glazing to prevent the pot from absorbing liquid and becoming stained by it. Earthenware has a white, chalky look before glazing. It is fired in the kiln at a lower temperature, which causes the colors to be beautifully vivid. This is the oldest method of making clay outside of China. Stoneware came a little later on the time line and fires at a higher temperature in the kiln. Stoneware is very heavy and dense. It is durable and withstands extremes in temperatures. Usually there are some glazed parts of the teapot and unglazed parts. The inside and outside is always glazed but the lid and base of the teapot may stay unglazed. Both stoneware and earthenware can be handmade on a potter's wheel or stamped into a mold for mass production. Brown Betty teapots came to England in the 1800's. This was a cheap alternative to porcelain or bone china teapots and the common working could afford them. They started as red clay glazed with manganese giving them a brown to reddish brown color. They are still made today, although several years ago they had a problem with the clay that made the pots break and crack easily. Both YiXing and Brown Betty teapots can be found online or in department and discount stores. New ones are more affordable. Older teapots are frequently found in antique stores and cost more.
Steve Green is an author for Unity Teapots [http://www.unityteapots.com/glass-teapots.html] -
online purveyors of Yixing teapots [http://www.unityteapots.com/yixing-teapots.html].
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_N_Green
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