This attractive unglazed 80 ml tea cup is made from Laoyan clay, meaning old rock clay. It is a coarser grit crushed stone material that produces nicely textured, more porous stoneware items. Very often, different coloured grit are mixed together to give it a distinctive rustic look, like it is the case with our Laoyan Clay range. Similar to our Miaoli Clay kettles and teapots, this material is said to render a smooth and sweet character to the liquids it holds. This is more noticeable when you use it with darker teas, either more oxidized, fermented or baked ones. The material’s porosity makes it a perfect memory cup that will develop a nice patina with time. You may want to consider dedicating this cup to a particular style of tea, just like you would do with a prized clay pot. The cups are first molded for consistency in shape and then turned one by one by an artisan to render this spiral texture inside and out. The shape is quite pleasant and they stack very well. The lip features a very comfortable taper. Depending on where the cup is positioned inside the kiln during firing purple hues may colour the natural earth brown colour of the clay. Smaller 60 ml and Larger 140 ml ml sizes are also available. Hand-crafted in Taiwan