At next week’s Salone del Mobile design festival in Milan, British-based designer Christopher Jenner will launch Yixing, a new tea set made using purple Zisha clay from Jiangsu Province in eastern China. “The material was the thing that attracted my attention,” recalls Jenner of his trip to the area three years ago. “The clay, which can be traced back to the North Song Dynasty, is renowned as being the best material for brewing tea.” It has the ability to retain heat and is porous when fired, so that, over time, the flavours are absorbed into the material and released, making each brew taste richer.
在不久前的米蘭國際傢俱展覽會(Salone del Mobile Milano)上，英國設計師克里斯多夫•詹納(Christopher Jenner)將推出一套名爲「宜興」(Yixing)的全新茶具套件，由產自中國東部江蘇省的紫色紫砂泥製成。「這種材質當時就吸引了我的注意。」詹納在回憶自己三年前赴江蘇地區的旅行時說。「紫砂泥——其歷史可以上溯到北宋時期——被譽爲最適合泡茶的材質。它能夠保溫，在火上加熱後又具有滲透性，因此隨著多次使用，茶葉的味道被吸入了紫砂材質當中又被再次釋放出來，使得每一泡茶的風味更加豐富。
