A quiet atelier in Liuzhou’s glass quarter
Liuzhou, Guangxi, has worked glass for three generations, but the neighbourhood’s small workshops rarely see foreign buyers. Michael Zhan came across this studio on a sourcing trip in late 2024, drawn by the way their pitchers caught the light in the sample room. The family behind it — three brothers and their uncle — still blow each piece by hand, using a borosilicate recipe they refined after years of trial with local tea masters.
This 180ml model was shaped around a request: a handle-less gong dao bei that could be held comfortably by the rim, even when hot, and would disappear visually on the tea tray. The brothers thickened the upper band just enough to insulate, then fire-polished the spout to a near-invisible edge. No moulds, no machine cooling — each pitcher spends two full days in the annealer.
Michael selected this lot after testing the pour with a 2024 Yunnan silver needle. He notes the glass doesn’t pull heat too fast, so the tea stays warm through three rounds, and the clarity makes it a natural companion for our visual-brewing range.