The yixing (pronounced "ee-shing") teapot, made of the elusive zisha purple clay, found in only one area of the world, some 100 miles northwest of Shanghai. Often much smaller than what one in the western world would associate with a tea pot, along the lines of 170 mL, which makes for a very personal teapot. Loose leaves are strewn about in the bottom, steeped, and poured off, separated by a built in filter near the spout. When pouring, the tea that flows out is a smooth arc, melding quietly and patiently into your tea vessel.
It is recommended that you use only one type of tea in any given yixing teapot, since the clay has the unique property of absorbing flavours. After many uses, it becomes seasoned, lending a very wholesome character to your tea; something you will take for granted until the day you try to brew the same tea via some other means, and realize that it tastes nothing like the tea you make regularly in your very special little teapot. The flavour becomes so deeply embedded within your teapot, that, when adding just hot water to it after some use, you can brew a perfectly fine cup of tea using no leaves at all.