Yixing Motoyama clay teapot with matching cups

hi cw....just wanted to share my Yixing Motoyama green clay tea set I just got....I have been very lucky when it comes to finding these wonderful Chinese tea sets...this one is greenish blue and has a slight shine on the outside and is a little rough on the inside of each cup and on the inside of the teapot....I was told that this was because the teapot and cups absorb the tea and with every use the tea flavour improves and provides nutrients...the teapot and 2 of the cups have already been used so I am very lucky that I can use these right away....many Chinese teas are used for healing and these types of tea pots and cups have to be prepared in a certain way to get the most nutrients from the herbal tea mixtures...the tiny green teacups seem to be more fragile than the other purple clay ones that I have with my other Yixing Zisha sets.

The world of Asian tea was a mystery to me and it still kind of is...when I became ill I could no longer have north American coffee so I had to switch to non caffeine herbal tea....Green Tea has caffeine but when it is prepared properly most of the caffeine is discarded....I began to drink a mixture of herbs and tea leaves and I began to get better....I had been seriously ill after having a gallbladder removal surgery...it was a terrible time and I had ended up with permanent pancreas, liver and digestive problems....drinking the Chinese tea mixtures kept me hydrated and also provided me with healing properties and although it has been a few years, I still swear by the herbal teas......now that I have found a fragile green clay yixing tea set I will search the internet for more info about it and which tea is best suited for this teapot....I found some general info about Yixing Tea Sets:
http://www.amazing-green-tea.com/yixing-pottery.html
Seal:
By Qing dynasty, seals have gained widespread acceptance.
They have several advantages over free style engraving.
First, they are more easily mass-produced.
Second, the potter needs not be a trained calligrapher. He just needs to be a good potter.

Seals are usually found at the bottom of the tea pot. In the older tea pots, they can also be found below the lid or below the handle.

They can have many different shapes: square, round, rectangular and oval.
The main content is the name of the potter. But it can also include date of manufacture, name of workshop and location.

I also found some information about the distinctive greenish blue clay that is used to make this set...

http://www.ateatime.com/about-mo-lv-ni-clay-blackish-green-ore-clay/

Intro: Its color close to that of azure mud always puzzles collectors over miscalling it “green mud”, which is in a color just like the green grass. Motoyama green mud is forged from raw ore and gets its name “Blackish Green Mud” on account of its cyanine color with green hues (while without grayish tone).

Kiln temperature: about 1120?.

Shrinkage ration: about 14%.

Ore field: Ding Mountain, Huanglong Mountain in Yixing city, Jiangsu province.

Mud properties: it is good in viscosity and fair in tensile force, glossy in surface and appropriate in texture; it belongs to high-quality muddy ore, yet with a poor output.

Pot-making difficulties: there is a stringent requirement on kiln temperature as the mud is easy to deform: turning in mild color and luster at sufficient kiln temperature, while paler and bald at insufficient one; it also takes greet efforts to collect the raw materials and to get them refined.

Product properties: it is in peculiar color of cyan with green hues, expressing delicacy and beauty. It turns in thick color, becomes mild, crystal and the most changeful once drenched, and thus it is full of a great sense of achievement to admire its beauty.

Tea-making suggestions: Pu’er tea specie, Tie Guanyin tea specie and other semi-fermented tea species, deep fermented tea species (Dark Green tea), raw tea species such as Oolong tea (light-baking species), Green tea, Longjing tea, Black tea eetc.

Tea-making characteristics: its tea performance is gentle and velvety and tea aroma gets condensed in it; it’s easy to handle the tea-making time; it is the very assistant to make a nice cup of tea while feeling relaxed.

Thank you for looking and as always I welcome any comments or info regarding my newest find....love this site!