Some Tea enthusiasts, when buying a Teapot, notice flaws on its surface and conclude that the pot is not made of purple clay.

If you share this view, then you are greatly mistaken!

Let me tell you that if your teapot has some minor flaws, it does not mean the clay is of poor quality; instead, it confirms that your Purple Clay Teapot is made of genuine material.

The saying goes, “There is no such thing as pure gold or perfect man,” so how can there be so many flawless items?

Some enthusiasts believe that for the high price they paid for their purple clay teapot, it should not have any flaws.

Why are the purple clay Teapots on Taobao perfect and tempting in price with all sorts of discounts, while my teapot is so expensive and still has flaws? This boils down to a lack of understanding of purple clay.

Today, let's look at what common flaws typically appear in top-grade unprocessed materials.

01 Bursting Bubbles (Bursting Sand Particles)

The appearance of bursting bubbles, bursting sand particles, and bursting mud indicates pure sand particle materials or materials with a very high sand content.

During firing in the kiln, the teapot contracts as a whole, and some larger particles burst due to the sudden change in temperature difference between the inside and outside, exploding because there is no buffer around the particles.

This phenomenon can be reduced by controlling the speed of temperature changes in the kiln, but most people do not have their own kilns, and even if they do, they may not master the firing method.

Therefore, preventing such issues remains challenging.

02 Kiln Cracking

The root cause of this situation is low plasticity, insufficient pressure during production (the hard work of the smoothing needle is not hard enough), and uneven force when opening the teapot.

Even top masters find it difficult to avoid flaws with such materials.

03 Lime Burst

Lime burst occurs when limestone particles mix into pure purple clay, turning into lime at high temperatures and expanding. Because the buffering capacity of pure sand material is minimal, the particles explode, forming lime bursts.

04 Surface Cracks

The fundamental reason for surface cracks or fractures is the purity of the sand, commonly known as a bursting clay nature with very low viscosity. Many pure and hard sand materials have crack lines or cracks on the surface, most of which can only be seen with a magnifying glass, yet do not leak. This situation is quite normal.

05 Bursting Bubbles (Also Known as Blistering)

Bursting bubbles (also known as blistering) occur in materials with good purity, high hardness, and slightly larger particles, generally in hard sand clays of forty to sixty mesh. The main cause is the firing method and the atmosphere in the kiln.

If the temperature in the kiln rises and falls too quickly, larger particles will burst due to the significant temperature difference, resulting in blistering or bursting bubbles.

06 Sand Jumping (Jumping Sand)

The formation of jumping sand is simple: during firing, the teapot body contracts, and there is no buffer between the sand particles and the material, causing the sand particle with the least adhesion to pop out under pressure. From this perspective, teapots with jumping sand are mostly made of pure and top-quality hard sand materials.

07 Iron Blackening

Iron blackening refers to iron minerals that melt under high temperatures but do not fully exude on the surface of the teapot.

Iron melting refers to crystallized iron that has melted and exuded on the surface. When pure unprocessed materials are fired to a certain temperature, most exhibit iron blackening and iron melting. Iron-blackened purple clay is relatively common, and the quality of the material is usually not bad. Materials that show iron melting are only found in original unprocessed materials.

Some say that the water in the purple clay teapot industry is getting deeper, which is related to the current market. No one is willing to accept flaws, and whether true or false, superior or inferior, doesn't matter as long as it looks good.

However, these phenomena mostly appear in top-grade unprocessed materials. People with a high level of understanding of purple clay generally do not reject normal flaws in top-quality materials, while those with a low level of understanding will not accept any flaws.