Recommended for Yunnan teas.
It is recommended to boil the pot in water before using it for the first time.
"Five-color clay" is the raw material used in the production of Yunnan Jianshui ceramics. The clay mined in Jianshu naturally comes in five colors (red, yellow, green, white, and purple). The desired final color is achieved by mixing the five colors in different proportions. Its rich tones come from iron oxide (Fe₂O₃) and other metal elements in the soil, which undergo chemical reactions and oxidize during the high-temperature firing process (approx. 1120°C-1180°C).
The production of ceramics traditionally consists of six steps.
· Clay preparation: sourcing and refining raw materials. This is the first step in transforming "five-color clay" into usable clay, a very meticulous manual process.
· Selection and preparation of raw materials: clays of different colors are selected by hand from places such as the "Five-Color Mountain" and then dried naturally.
· Crushing and washing: the dried clay is crushed to the size of an egg, then soaked in clean water for a long time and stirred to form a suspension.
· Filtering and awakening the mud: The mud is filtered several times to remove gravel and impurities, resulting in a fine paste. It must be "awakened" before use.
· Kiln firing: The clay is fired at a high temperature of 1120 °C–1180 °C. During the firing process, the metal elements in the five-colored clay finally reveal their colors and stabilize.
· Unglazed polishing: After firing, the ceramics are not glazed, but polished with pebbles and other tools until the surface becomes mirror-like. This process brings out the fine, smooth texture of the five-color clay.
