The use of tea wares has a long tradition in China. In Chengdu, tea-drinking utensils are made of bronze or ceramics; and consist of mainly teapots, cups, tea bowls and trays, etc. some first-class teahouses are equipped with high quality utensils. Unglazed earthenware like that used in ancient China is still used in Sichuan for brewing tea today. In the Tang Dynasty, metal wares were used to serve the noble families; porcelain earthenware for ordinary citizens. In the Song Dynasty, tea bowls became common. They were glazed of black, dark-brown, gray, gray-white of white colors. Gray-white porcelain ware was predominant in the Yuan Dynasty, whereas thite tea ware became popular in the Ming Dynasty. Later during the middle of the Ming Dynasty, teapots made of porcelain and purple clay were in fashion. Porcelain wares made in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, and purple clay wares made in Yixing, Jiangsu Province, occupied the top places among various kinds of tea wares.

This article by Yang Tianqing and Daniel Kister.