This is the duanni of our dreams. Clay like this doesn’t come around very often, and talking with the maker Sheng, when it does, you have to stock up. Shen comes from a family of Yixing tea makers, with her grandparents both working in the legendary State-Owned factories. Her little studio is full of slabs of clay she has found, collected, and stored for years, and she remembers each like a fine vintage. Not only is there a nice bit of grog in this beautifully colored duanni, but the shape of the pot is carefully fine-tuned for easy brewing. The lid can be lifted from the sides or the top button, the spout is positioned in such a way to give a beautiful pour, and the curvature at the bottom is exquisite. All that said, the first thing that catches our eye is the unique etched motif around the rim of the lid.
