Gao Liuzhou
Head of Glassware Procurement
Gao Liuzhou serves as Head of Glassware Procurement for Teamotea, the parent company behind 35 tea brands including thetea.app and puerh.app. His journey into the world of tea vessels began in 2002, when he apprenticed under Master Hu Renjie, a seventh-generation Jianshui pottery artisan who imparted the physics of clay, the chemistry of glazes, and the aesthetics of form. For eight years, Gao studied the art of creating vessels that enhance the tea-drinking experience, earning the title of Tea Master (Chá Yì Shī 茶艺师) from the China Tea Research Institute in 2010. In 2012, Gao shifted his focus to glass teaware after observing widespread failures in thermal safety standards for *gōngfū chá* (功夫茶) brewing. He spent two years evaluating kilns, leading to a landmark exclusive supply partnership with the Xu Family Kiln in Yixing, secured in 2014. This partnership enabled Teamotea to standardise glassware across its constellation, ensuring every vessel—from borosilicate teapots to tasting cups—met rigorous quality benchmarks. At Teamotea, which he joined in 2018, Gao manages a procurement pipeline that supplies over 200,000 glass vessels annually to the company’s operations, including the tea academies listed on tea.school, experiential events hosted on tea.events, and the curated accessories sold at shop.thetea.app. Each vessel is tested against national standards such as GB/T 11416-2009 (porcelain tableware) and his own proprietary inspection protocol, which evaluates lip contour, handle balance, and laser-cut precision. His work is informed by the thermal retention research published in the 2013 Journal of Tea Science paper ‘Thermal Retention Properties of Borosilicate Tea Vessels’ (Wang et al.), ensuring that every glass piece performs optimally for *shēng pǔ'ěr* (生普洱) and other delicate teas. Gao is a frequent speaker at tea.community gatherings and contributes to tea.school’s syllabus on teaware selection. In 2018, his white paper ‘Glass as a Medium for Tea Expression’ was presented at the Kunming Tea Symposium, advocating for the vessel as an active element in tea ceremony. He leads a team of five procurement specialists who visit over 60 partner kilns across Dehua, Jingdezhen, and Yixing each quarter, maintaining relationships that blend centuries-old craftsmanship with modern quality control. Based in Kunming, Yunnan, Gao believes that a tea vessel is not merely a container but an extension of the tea maker’s intention—a philosophy that underpins every glass purchase for the Teamotea constellation.
Specialties
- *Bōlí Chájù* (玻璃茶具)
- *Gōngfū Chá* (功夫茶)
- *Yíxīng Zǐshā Hú* (宜兴紫砂壶)
Gao Liuzhou serves as Head of Glassware Procurement for Teamotea, the parent company behind 35 tea brands including thetea.app and puerh.app. His journey into the world of tea vessels began in 2002, when he apprenticed under Master Hu Renjie, a seventh-generation Jianshui pottery artisan who imparted the physics of clay, the chemistry of glazes, and the aesthetics of form. For eight years, Gao studied the art of creating vessels that enhance the tea-drinking experience, earning the title of Tea Master (Chá Yì Shī 茶艺师) from the China Tea Research Institute in 2010.
In 2012, Gao shifted his focus to glass teaware after observing widespread failures in thermal safety standards for gōngfū chá (功夫茶) brewing. He spent two years evaluating kilns, leading to a landmark exclusive supply partnership with the Xu Family Kiln in Yixing, secured in 2014. This partnership enabled Teamotea to standardise glassware across its constellation, ensuring every vessel—from borosilicate teapots to tasting cups—met rigorous quality benchmarks.
At Teamotea, which he joined in 2018, Gao manages a procurement pipeline that supplies over 200,000 glass vessels annually to the company’s operations, including the tea academies listed on tea.school, experiential events hosted on tea.events, and the curated accessories sold at shop.thetea.app. Each vessel is tested against national standards such as GB/T 11416-2009 (porcelain tableware) and his own proprietary inspection protocol, which evaluates lip contour, handle balance, and laser-cut precision. His work is informed by the thermal retention research published in the 2013 Journal of Tea Science paper ‘Thermal Retention Properties of Borosilicate Tea Vessels’ (Wang et al.), ensuring that every glass piece performs optimally for shēng pǔ’ěr (生普洱) and other delicate teas.
Gao is a frequent speaker at tea.community gatherings and contributes to tea.school’s syllabus on teaware selection. In 2018, his white paper ‘Glass as a Medium for Tea Expression’ was presented at the Kunming Tea Symposium, advocating for the vessel as an active element in tea ceremony. He leads a team of five procurement specialists who visit over 60 partner kilns across Dehua, Jingdezhen, and Yixing each quarter, maintaining relationships that blend centuries-old craftsmanship with modern quality control. Based in Kunming, Yunnan, Gao believes that a tea vessel is not merely a container but an extension of the tea maker’s intention—a philosophy that underpins every glass purchase for the Teamotea constellation.