Our Diana teapot is made of lead free white porcelain and will make 2 cups of tea.
Porcelain is one of the strongest, toughest materials available for making teapots. Our 2 cup Diana porcelain teapot is a perfect combination of style, function, and economy. Made in a clean, bright white color, this 2 cup teapot matches any decor, is microwave and dishwasher safe, and makes a great gift for your favorite tea drinker!
It measures approximately 4.3" × 6.7" × 4.9"
While tea has been around for many thousands of years the teapot is a relatively new invention that only appeared on the scene around the year 1500 in China. Up until that time bowls and cups (as in gaiwan) were used to prepare tea that was consumed in cake and powdered form. The first teapot to be invented was the Yixing teapot in China in the 1500s, but it was not until the late Ming Dynasty (1368--1644) that its use became widespread. In “The Tea Lover’s Treasury,” James Norwood Pratt writes “Second only to tea, perhaps the most important contribution China made to European life was “china” itself—the hard, translucent glazed pottery the Chinese had invented under the T’ang Dynasty and which we also know as porcelain.”
Europeans were introduced to the beauty of Chinese ceramics by the British East India Company (also known as John Company) in the 17th century. John Company imported tea to England starting in 1660. By 1750 tea had become the national drink of Britain and John Company was importing millions of pounds of tea per year. While tea and other perishable cargo was stored above the water line Chinese & Japanese porcelain teapots and other non-perishables were used as ballast in the lower portion of the cargo ships. Europeans greatly admired Chinese ceramics but it was very costly to import it. However, the procelain industry in Europe didn't get going until 1709 when Johann Friedrich Böttger finally perfected the production of translucent white porcelain. It wasn't until the late 1700s that porcelain production became widespread in Europe.
