Earth and Fire: Tea Story with Jingdezhen’s Master Craftsmen

The Chinese have long said: “Water is the mother of tea, and the vessel its father.” For a cup to be complete, tea and teaware must exist in perfect harmony. At Tea Story, our reverence for the vessel is as deep as our devotion to the leaf itself.

Today, we invite you to journey with us to the spiritual birthplace of our teaware—Jingdezhen, the thousand-year-old city where earth and fire unite, celebrated as the timeless “Porcelain Capital” of China.

A Thousand Years of Fire, An Endless Legacy of Craft

The story of porcelain in Jingdezhen spans more than 1,700 years. Here, the earth, the water, and even the air seem infused with the spirit of ceramics. For generations, artisans have guarded the seventy-two meticulous steps of porcelain-making—kneading, throwing, trimming, drying, painting, glazing, and firing. Each stage calls for patience, precision, and a wisdom that no machine could ever replace.

At Tea Story, we chose to work with Jingdezhen craftsmen because what we seek is never just an object, but the soul within it.

The masters we collaborate with devote their lives to a single calling. Their hands can feel the slightest shift in the thickness of clay; their eyes can perceive a thousand subtle tones in glaze. Each piece they create—often in limited numbers — is a work of art unto itself. In the kiln, fire becomes a silent partner, as flame and glaze flow together to yield yao bian: those rare and unrepeatable transformations that mark porcelain with its eternal character.

The Dialogue of Tea and Porcelain

At Tea Story, we believe that porcelain—its clay, glaze, and form—can shape the fragrance and texture of tea in ways both subtle and profound.

• From Jingdezhen’s unique kaolin clay comes porcelain of rare density and refinement, able to gather and hold the most delicate aromas.

• Its white glaze, smooth and lustrous as jade, remains pure and odourless, allowing each tea—whether the lightest white or the deepest pu’er—to reveal its authentic character.

• Each handcrafted form is perfected through countless refinements, balanced in the hand and precise in the pour, transforming the act of brewing into a fluid and graceful ritual.

To choose Tea Story teaware is to hold more than a vessel. It is to embrace clay tempered by centuries of fire, the devotion of a master’s hand, and a living fragment of China’s cultural heritage.

With respect and sincerity,

The Tea Story Team