The taste of tea is affected by many factors: quality of the tea, water, skill and state of mind of the tea master and, of course, ware in which tea will be made.
The Chinese tea ceremony doesn't suffer vanity therefore correctly chosen teapot will allow to create to you the necessary mood. Clay teapots are suitable for the Chinese way where tea is "spilled", but aren't drawn. In clay teapots it is the best of all to make uluna with high fermentation rate, red teas and Pu-erh. At the same time for each type of tea it is better to choose the teapot because over time such teapot is capable to incorporate aroma of the made tea up to that the boiled water poured in an empty teapot gets a gentle tea aroma.
Pick up the teapot which was pleasant to you. Its color has to be natural natural shades. If colors unnatural, probability is high that polymers are added to initial material. The teapot shouldn't seem heavy. It has to be pleasant to you to hold it in hand. It has to have a plain surface and thickness, both outside, and inside. To the touch the surface of a teapot will be smooth outside and a little rough (porous) inside. Thanks to the porosity the teapot absorbs water and, respectively, a tea aroma which in it is ready. Clay "breathes", passes air that well affects taste of tea.
The handle of a teapot has to be convenient, not too wide and not too thin that the teapot in a ceremony was as continuation of a hand of the master. The handle has to be located on one axis with a nose.
Uncover and turn a teapot upside down. Put the turned teapot upside down on a plain surface. The correct teapot will have the top part of a nose, a neck and the top part of the handle at one level. It allows a teapot not to proceed and merge all tea leaves completely.
Glance in a teapot and pay attention to a strainer. It has to be convex, it will allow tea leaflets not to be hammered in a nose.
The cover has to adjoin to a teapot densely. Ask the seller to pour cold water or boiled water in a teapot. Usually when choosing a teapot the sellers don't refuse the good place. In the closed state in a teapot there are two openings – in a nose and on a cover. If to close an opening on a cover a finger, water from a nose doesn't flow. Now close an opening in a nose and turn a teapot upside down. In the correct teapot the cover remains on the place and doesn't fall. In experience with turning of a teapot use only boiled water, but not cold water. Of course, checking a clay teapot thus before purchase in order to avoid misunderstanding ask the help of the seller better or hold just in case a cover, don't make sure yet that a teapot correct. Also be accurate with boiled water!
Pay attention to a stream of the water flowing from a teapot. It has to be equal, the teapot shouldn't "lick" and create smudges.
Pay attention whether the nose holds a drop. Water shouldn't pour out through a cover, and the cover at the same time sits densely and doesn't dangle. If the cover sits leaky, it causes a number of inconveniences, and eventually the cover can just come off a teapot and break. It is almost impossible to pick up other cover. Therefore, it is necessary to buy a new teapot.
Council: after tea brewing it isn't necessary to wash a teapot with special means, it will be harmful to it. It is enough to rinse of it warm water.