I recently moved and facing the reality of how many clay pots I own has been humbling. How is it possible I have so many? I'm going through my collection (see? I can justify things if they're a collection. It's not hoarding!) to see what stays and what goes down in the basement. A few less than stellar pieces will become pots for plants.

One of the easiest types of clay to love is Chamba. It's from Colombia and Chile with the better ones coming from Colombia.

Like all good clay pots, they change and improve with use and age. The bottoms and areas exposed to flame turn back to red. It's just as dramatic and I think it looks great, almost like an old whale's skin, having seen lots of action and adventure.

The photos show the soup pot, which is fine for beans but there are dozens of other styles and sizes like comales and cazuelas.

I have a lot of these pieces, and almost all have come from La Toque Blanche in Half Moon Bay. They are the experts and have the best selection that I've found.