A teapot is a vessel in which to brew tea leaves with hot or boiling water, either inside a tea bag or loose, in which case a tea strainer will be needed to catch the leaves when the tea is poured. Teapots usually have an opening on the top with lid where the tea and water are added, and a spout through which the tea can be poured. A small hole in the top of the lid is necessary to stop the spout dripping when poured. In modern times, a tea cosy is sometimes used to prevent the contents of the teapot from cooling too rapidly.

Which teapot?

Teapots vary largely in design and purpose. Black teas are best brewed in a stoneware teapot, while stronger teas such as Assam and Ceylon are best brewed in pewter, iron or silver teapots. Oolong teas are best brewed in Chinese Yixing clay teapots. Lighter teas such as Darjeeling and green teas are suited to porcelain and fine china teapots.

People are often advised not to use the same teapot for very different teas, as herbal and very strong smoky teas, for example.

Teapot care

Teapots should never be washed in a dishwasher or soapy water. They should be rinsed with warm water and left upside down to dry. To remove build-up of tannin in a glazed teapot one can use boiling water and a couple teaspoons of baking soda, and leave overnight. The layer of tannin in an unglazed teapot can be left, as it will enhance the flavour without flaking off as would happen if the pot were glazed.

Notable teapots

A teapot is notable for its rather peculiar shape, and its fame has often nothing to do with its primary function.

• The Utah Teapot is a standard reference object of the computer graphics community, comparable to Hello, World for its popularity. It is included as a graphics primitive in many graphics packages, including AutoCAD, POV-Ray, OpenGL, Direct3D, and 3D Studio Max.
• Russell's teapot, a skeptic analogy refuting the unfalsifiability of religious claims.
• The teapot has been featured in the nursery rhyme, "I'm a Little Teapot".
• The character 'Mrs. Potts' in Disney's film Beauty and the Beast is a teapot.
• Teapot Dome is the name given to a political scandal centred around the sale of an oilfield which was named 'Teapot Dome' after a local teapot-shaped rock formation.
• The constellation of Sagittarius famously resembles a teapot.
• Teapots in architecture:
  • In 2004 Malaysian cult called the Sky Kingdom erected a pink teapot 35 feet tall on its property as part of its own private symbolism ^*.
  • The (purported) world's largest architectural teapot is to be found in Ohio ^*.

See also

• Tetsubin, a cast-iron Japanese teapot
• Teakettle

Teaware

Teekanne | Tetera | 急須 | Czajnik | Bule | Чайник