From the hands of a tea master
Gao Liuzhou has spent decades focused on two things: water and leaves. As a tea master, he always found that the vessel holding the water could either elevate or sabotage a session. Metal kettles, however well‑crafted, often whisper a faint metallic note — barely perceptible, but enough to tug at the edges of a delicate green or a wild pu‑erh. So he turned to glass.
In a small workshop on the outskirts of Chaozhou, Gao collaborated with a family of glassblowers who had been shaping laboratory ware for three generations. Together they developed this 1.5‑litre kettle, blowing each piece from a single gather of low‑expansion borosilicate. The choice of borosilicate wasn’t just about heat resistance; it was about absolute neutrality. Gao wanted the water to taste of nothing but itself.
The wide base was engineered for stability on induction plates and gas burners alike, while the slender spout mimics the pouring precision of a gongfu pot. The handle — a seamless loop of the same glass — stays cool enough to hold comfortably. For Gao, the ultimate reward is watching a group of friends lean in as the first bubbles break the surface. ‘You can’t rush that moment,’ he says. ‘You just wait, and the water tells you when it’s ready.’