Welcome to Cairns Pearls

Ebay Store

We are an Aussie online store that is proud to offer

A new range of Beautiful Chinese Teapots and Accessories.

We have traveled throughout China for the past 14 years and found a rich tea culture.

 The benefits and enjoyment of drinking Green, or Pu-erh, White, Black, 

and the many fruit teas are now being realized in Australia.

We would like you to try our Teapots.

 We will try to offer the options of Teapot, Matching clay or Glass cups and packet of Chinese tea for you to try.

I will include washing and care instructions plus a “how to use” info pack that shows how to get the most out of your tea 

with your purchase, plus you tube has endless short video’s on how to stuff. 

SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY 

PRICE with extra bonus's

VERY BEAUTIFUL  HANDMADE TEAPOT

NIXING  QINZHOU POTTERY

HAND CARVED BIRD & FLOWERS & SCRIPT

only have this 1 teapot..

Free Gift Glasses: Two x 30 ml Double Glass Drinking Cups

Free Gift Tea: 1 x Free Green Tea Sampler Packet from Guilin. 

Free Gift Boxing:  Super rich red silk magnetic display box, yellow soft foam insert.

Pot will be wrapped in matching red & yellow silk drawstring material wrap for protection.

Material: Nixing Qinzhou Clay

Province: Guangxi, Qinzhou City  ( the area in China it is  from)

Colour: Copper Brown with Dark Chocolate Swirls in it.

Really special, not something you see often.

Style of Teapot:  Xi Shi ( High Profile  Shape) 

High Profile :High-fired teapots for teas such as Green, White and Oolongs use a finer, thinner clay and will cool faster, 

preventing these more delicate teas from “cooking” in the teapot.

INFORMATION DETAILS

Disclaimer: I am not an expert by any length on this subject, still learning so please excuse mistakes or omissions.

I have genuinely tried to give you as much info as i can on each teapot we are offering and in 

no way am trying to mislead or sell cheap knockoff's. Any faults are listed, if I've missed something i'm sorry. Thanks for your patience.

For Purchase : 1 x New Genuine Handmade Qinzhou Nixing Clay Teapot

Hand Carved: Little Bird with Blossoms and reverse side is script.

Aprox Size: 13.3 cm long x 7 cm high x aprox 8.5 cm across, 4.8 cm is mouth opening

 Capacity: Aprox 200 ml not exactly sure

 7 hole inside leading to spout.

Note: Handle, Lid and Spout line up straight.

Colour: Copper Brown with swishes of dark chocolate through it..looks like a hot cup of chocolate.

Surface: Has a super smooth finish, This FEELS WONDERFUL to hold, the surface is SO SMOOTH like silk. It is rougher inside. 

If you want a supper shinny finish you can polish with a little olive oil and buff, the potter's cover them with film of wax, so they photograph well and hide any faults, but i have removed that so you can clearly see the clay.

Hand carved: This has been hand carved. With a little bird and a bunch of blossoms, and opposite side has chinese script highlighted in yellow. 

(i dont know what is says, they usually are a piece or line of poetry.)

Fit: The Lid fits perfectly and smoothly swivels. Has hole through the base of lid into the button top.

Tested:  It handles really well and pours nicely. 

Size: Perfect for 1-2 people per pot full of tea at a time & fits comfortably in one hand.

Authenticity: Seal Stamped on bottom of Teapot. (see photo's)

Cleaning: I have washed it in hot soapy water to remove the wax and any other "stuff" 

from the producer but please wash and season again yourself before use.

Comments:  I have examined it carefully and only marks i can see are 2 small indents in the base. see photo 8.

Posted: in special gift  box as pictured to prevent movement in travel. Additional Cardboard box wrapped and sent Aust Parcel

Post with tracking and signature.

It's All About the Clay: Nixing clay is a mixture of Qinzhou clay from both banks of the Qinjiang river prepared in the traditional way.

The clay is pure and neutral. No glazes, other clays, chemicals or artificial colouring are added.

After the clay is fired it will appear as different hues between copper brown and blue-grey. The result is unpredictable and uncontrollable.

 The artist will not know the final appearance of the piece until after it is fired,  because of its very fine and smooth surface, Nixing Clay is very well suited for carving.

Nixing Clay is porous, which allows the tea ware to breathe. Nixing pores are smaller than the pores of most Zisha, such as Zini and Duanni, but unlike these kinds of Zisha which tend to trap air and heat within the pores, Nixing allows circulation, and does not trap heat as much as Zini and Duanni teapots do.

 Nixing is therefore a better clay to use for more delicate teas. It can be used for all varieties of tea.

*If you would like extra tea cups, or any of the tea utensils, drainage tray ect 

just ask and after purchase ill adjust postage price to suit based on weight.

*Please note,  decorations only for display purpose.

Conditions of sale:

·         Each item is photographed and size listed on each sale site.

·         Photographs are enlarged so we will photograph items beside common house hold items so you can compare sizing.

·         We realize that on line buying is harder as you can’t see the item personally so we aim to provide as much detail as possible.

·         No refunds accepted at this stage due to change of mind / you haven't read description correctly / you haven't collect parcel from Aust Post Office and it is returned to us.

·         I will send you a pre posted packing photo so you can see all are undamaged and packaged safely.

·         All items are fully online traceable, please use the number supplied on your invoice from us to track your items.  Signature on delivery will be required to confirm received.

·         I will wash and dry and inspect each item to ensure your safety. We recommend you clean and  season it yourself as well.

·         If any teapot has a mark, pin hole from the firing process I will note it as best I can.

·         Please be aware that due to these being a “handmade item “if we have multiples of an item slight differences may occur. I will note that if that is the case on the sales site.

·         The item in the photograph is the one you will receive unless stated.

·         No returns, exchanges or replacements will be offered, I have limited stock and most of these item are “one off’s”. Please look at the photo’s as they make up part of the description.

·         ASK questions if you are not certain about size, shape ect, saying “ I thought it would be bigger” is not an excuse to return or ask for a partial refund. 

Payment:

·         Payment to be made in checkout.

·         Pay pal, Direct Deposit is available in checkout.      

Shipping:

·         Most items in our store have free combined postage, but some items will not have combined postage due to size, please ask before you purchase.

·         Australia Parcel Post with tracking and signature on delivery for all items. Cost will vary due to size of parcel but $12.00 is the base price for parcel under 500 grams.

Damage in Transit:

·         If Aust Post breaks your item then as the buyer you must claim against Aust Post for a money refund. Demanding that I refund an item broken by Aust Post is not an option

·          Due to very limited stock, most items are one off’s so packing from our end will be very well done. We will supply photographs of packing to show we have done all at our end we could do.

Unpaid Items:

·         We understand you can buy items and change your mind, You can contact me via the items message system before you pay and request a cancellation; this removes the item from your cart and refunds us the seller’s charges.

   Feedback.

·          We love leaving happy positive feedback for you, and expect the same in return.

·         Anyone who leaves nasty, abusive feedback or threatens to do so in exchange for money or refunds will be handed over to EBay’s Trust and Security to deal with.

CHINESE TEAPOT FUN FACTS:

1.     Unlike English black tea we have with milk and use once, Chinese tea is very economical.   You can refill your teapot and re wash* the tea leaves many times, some upwards of 30 times,  

     some leaves like Pu'er actually taste better on the 4-5^th wash*   *Wash means filling the teapot; let it sit for 30-40 seconds then pour out.

2.     You must clean your tea leaves on the 1^st pot full; they may have traces of dirt in them.

o    After warming the pot, put in tea and hot water, allow too steep for a minute, allow the leaves to   open up, then pour out the tea, (you can use it to heat the cups, water your tea pet but don't drink it) … then refill pot and you can start to drink.

o    Some tea's need more than one wash.

o    You should always empty the tea out of the teapot each time you make a new pot full, don’t let the leaves sit and soak.

o    Use your tea strainer, pour out the tea, fill the pitcher, and then serve your guest and yourself from that.

3.      You can even leave the leaves in the teapot (no water) overnight and use the again the next day,  add more tea to for a stronger taste if you like or make a couple of weak pot fulls to fill a drink container and drink it cold.

4.     You should use a different teapot for different types of tea’s as these are unglazed and will absorb the smell of the tea leaves used. 

 I personally have a Black teapot for Black tea, a Red Teapot for Red tea, Dark Purple Pot for Pu'er,  White Clay Pot for White tea, and Green & Flower tea. 

5.     Different shaped teapots are recommended for specific teas as they help the leaves release aroma in different ways and they have a different name for each shape. 

                         Xi Shi is the most common, round high pot./   Shi Piao is the more squat wide bottom narrow low top type.

6.     You can mix and match your teapots and teacups and accessories. A lot of the pleasure in Chinese tea drinking is enjoying handling your teapot and enjoying looking at your treasures and of course drinking the tea.

      7.     Always pour any extra tea you might have over your teapot / tea pet and give it an occasional polish with a soft cloth. This will help to build up the oils allowing your teapot to create its own unique patina.

8.     To clean when finished simply wash thoughly in water, polish with a soft clean cloth and store in a safe place, its best to leave the lid off teapot or partly off to make sure its dry inside.

      9.     Chinese Teapots have been tradionaly made by hand for a long time; there are 4 famous area’s in China that produce the different clays, styles and finishes. Some cheap factory made pot are        painted or worse use dyed clay to copy the good ones, obviously those are not good for your health.   Sichuan RongChang clay; Yixing Zisha Clay; Yunnan Jianshui Clay; Nixing Qinzhou Clay.

10.  Yixing is the most popular and depending how they fire the pot, and what other stone, mineral pigments they add; the clay can produce different colours in the clay. This gives you the beautiful varieties of green, brown, blue, yellow, red, black, gold fleck, white, orange, the list just goes on.

    Nixing clay is a mixture of Qinzhou clay from both banks of the Qinjiang river prepared in the traditional way.The clay is pure and neutral. No glazes, other clays, chemicals or artificial colouring are added.After the clay is fired it will appear as different hues between copper brown and blue-grey.  The artist will not know the final appearance of the piece until after it is fired,  because of its very fine and smooth surface, Nixing Clay is very well suited for carving.

   Nixing Clay is porous, which allows the tea ware to breathe. Nixing pores are smaller than the pores of most Zisha, such as Zini and Duanni, but unlike these kinds of Zisha which tend to trap air and heat within the pores, Nixing allows circulation, and does not trap heat as much as Zini and Duanni teapots do. Nixing is therefore a better clay to use for more delicate teas. It  therefore  can be used for all varieties of tea.       

11.   A good teapot is not cheap, it should be stamped by the maker on the base, and usually inside the lid of the pot as well, some are even stamped on the handle at the bottom. 

12.  The lid should fit snuggly, when filled with hot water you should be able to get a good seal and it will spin smoothly.

13.  Only 50% of handmade teapots survive the “wood fire” process, and some will have tiny flaws or evidence of being handmade, this is a good thing…..shows that someone put a lot of time and effort into making your pot.

SUGGESTED TOOLS FOR CHINESE TEA MAKING

·     TEAPOT : Shape and design are very personal, it must fit comfortably in your hand, and you enjoy the look and feel of the clay, but keep in mind the type of tea you drink and try to match the tea to the suggested style.

•  High shaped-fired teapots with finer, thinner clay are excellent for use with most types of tea and a must for Green, White and Oolong teas. These will cool faster, preventing these more delicate teas from “cooking” in the teapot hence having a “bitter taste”.

• Low shaped-fired teapots that use a thicker clay hold heat longer and the more porous clay works bestfor Pu-Erh Teas Black Tea (called Red Tea in China) and Pu-Erh Tea.

·   TEACUPS: Chinese teacups are low, shallow and wide and very small by Western standards, like a tiny bowl that is just large enough for one or two sips. This emphasises the “quality over quantity” aspect of Gong Fu Cha, where one’s concentration is on savouring every drop of tea in small amounts. 

·     TEA TRAY: A tea tray collects or re-directs the water that gets splashed about when making Gong Fu Cha.  Chinese tea trays have built in water reservoirs or hoses to an external reservoir and come in beautiful traditional and modern designs. 

·     PITCHER: By using a pitcher, you can pour the tea from the teapot into the pitcher to stop the brewing and serve the tea directly into the teacups. Also known as a fair cup because it ensures the tea is the same strength for each cup. We recommend these for beginners which makes tea-making simpler and more enjoyable when starting out.

·     CHINESE TEA SCOOP: This is the traditional tool used for measuring out tea leaves and for conveniently placing them in a teapot or  Gai Wan (1 scoop = 1 Western tablespoon). 

·     TONGS: When making tea for guests, you are preparing food, so proper food handling procedures should be followed. Tongs are inexpensive and an indespensible tool for handling teacups and picking up and cleaning off stray leaves from your preparation area.

·     STRAINER: A Chinese tea strainer uses a very fine mesh and is specially shaped to fit Chinese teapots and pitchers. They are inexpensive and work very well to keep your tea clear and free of particles.

·      TEA STORAGE:  Chinese tea is best stored in a clay pot, the fragrance of the tea will seep into the clay over time, and it allows airflow to the tea and looks great.

·     TEA PET: Does it really need an explanation….they are cute, fun and you water them with the leftover tea….some even will spray water at your guest if you soak them with water then pour hot water over them…..