There’s Money To Be Brewed From Teapots

Beyond their aesthetic appeal, teapots are also attractive because they can appreciate in value, especially the ones made of porcelain and zisha that Giacomo Corp (M) Sdn Bhd CEO and chairman Jacob Chan collects.

TEAPOTS are vessels used for brewing tea leaves in near-boiling water.

To Giacomo Corp (M) Sdn Bhd chief executive officer and chairman Jacob Chan, Chinese teapots have not only been a part of Chinese culture for thousands of years, but are today also valuable antiques.

The teapot lover, who worked as a delivery boy for a culinary ware marketing company in Singapore after finishing his GCE O-Levels in Malaysia, has not looked back since he was introduced to the exquisite products 40 years ago.

He not only admires the aesthetic value and unique designs of Chinese teapots, but also finds them to be a good form of investment.

Today, he has more than 3,000 teapots of different sizes made from porcelain and zisha (purple sand clay) from China.

“Antique shops are my regular haunts when I travel to China, and teapots are the priority (in my shopping list),'’ Chan told StarBiz at his office at Balakong, Seri Kembangan.

In the past two decades, he has culled these hand-made teapots for his ever expanding collection; once he bought up to 200 teapots at one go from an antique shop.

He finds it impossible to display his thousands of teapots at his home or office, so he puts those that are still kept in boxes in “special corners”.

The English-educated Chan does not read Chinese, yet he appreciates Chinese art and craft, and paintings and is enamoured with teapots and all things porcelain.

He travels to China four times a year on business, and during each visit, he is sure to return with teapots.

“The workmanship and uniqueness of a teapot are its most valuable characteristics.

“Many are surprised by the price of just a little teapot, which can run into hundreds or thousands of ringgit,” said the father of eight children aged between nine and 30. Chan added that his teapots were his investment for the next generation.

Chan, 55, is a successful businessman importing and marketing culinary and kitchen household products. He learnt about porcelain products when he was 16 years old and started his own business 22 years ago.

Showing off some of his porcelain and zisha teapots, Chan said all were custom-made with his name printed at the bottom of each teapot.

“In fact, handmade teapots are rarely duplicated. They will somehow look different even if they came from the same craftsman,'’ he said.

Holding a small porcelain teapot he bought a few years ago for RM600, Chan said the price was considered “cheap'’ because he had paid nearly RM10,000 for some zisha teapots.

“I paid for the excellent workmanship, as the smallest teapots are the most difficult to make or paint.” A craftsman usually takes about a week to finish the artwork on a small teapot.

Chan said zisha teapots were usually more expensive than porcelain ones due to their fine quality and highly skilled artwork.

Zisha was originally dark purplish and red due to the high amount of iron oxide in it. Now, these teapots are made in several colours, like black, brown, red, purple, yellow and green.

The porosity of zisha absorbs the flavour and colour of the tea that is brewed in it. Ultimately, the teapot will become seasoned with repeated use.

The teapots also contain thousands of air holes or micro-air pores, which keep water hot for a longer time and brew better teas.

Chan said most tea lovers would dedicate a single flavour of tea to a specific teapot so that the seasoning is not affected by cross-brewing, adding that the oldest teapots, including used ones, are the most expensive.

Chan sees teapots as investment assets because their prices appreciate by 100% or more each year due to rising workmanship costs and the growing popularity of the craftsmen.

“So, the longer I keep my handmade teapots, the more I will gain as they eventually become expensive antiques,” he added.

This article was taken from: The Star