The largest of the three, for a full table
Gao Liuzhou built this 1.5-litre kettle after the smaller two sizes kept running dry mid-session at gatherings of four or more. Metal kettles, however well-made, whisper a faint metallic note at the edges of a delicate green or a wild raw pu-erh — barely perceptible alone, obvious once you’ve brewed the same tea in glass. That is the reason her whole kettle line, small as it is, stays in borosilicate rather than metal.
Each kettle is blown from a single gather of low-expansion borosilicate, chosen for neutrality as much as heat resistance — she wants the water to taste of nothing but itself. The wide base sits stable on both induction plates and gas burners, and the slender spout pours with the same precision as her gongfu vessels. The handle is a seamless loop of the same glass, shaped to stay cool enough to hold through a full session.
As with the smaller kettles, this size is a sideline to her main gaiwan work, so it comes and goes with whatever bench time a season allows. What stays constant is the moment she says matters most: a group leaning in as the first bubbles break the surface, waiting for the water rather than rushing it.