Many tea connoisseurs would say that the Yixing Clay Xi Shi Peony Teapot is an indispensable item for a tea enthusiast's collection. The qualities that make them truly special are directly linked to the purple clay (ZiSha), found only in the Yixing, Jiangsu province of China, and the highly skilled craftspeople commissioned to create the pots. Yixing teapot is considered by some connoisseurs as the best possible way to steep tea.
Tea and painting
Tea sets, caddies and packing papers are the space of tea-painting. Purple sand teapot or porcelains are painted the picture with the theme of tea, which is more notable on caddies. In the market of second-hand goods you may happen to see the old caddies that made before in the foundation of New China, its painting often are beautiful ladies of Shanghai in 1930s, which also can be appreciated as tea-painting. Chinese calligraphy focuses on using simple lines to express abundant ideological connotation, just like the simple color contrast of tea and water reflects a colorful world. It pursuits the internal sense of life showing by plain elegance other than gorgeous appearance. There are increasing calligraphies about tea since the Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty, such as Mifu's Tiaoxi Brook, Zheng Xie Bamboo Pole and Wang Caolin's Tasting Jing County’s tea in Youfu Room.