Our pottery chimenea of the week

Our steel chimeneas and cast iron chimeneas always go down a storm, but a pottery chimenea gives you the traditional look so many people love. It’s softer-looking, more natural-looking, and while you do need to take a bit more care over the maintenance and stick to smaller fires, the clay versions of this classic patio fire work like magic to keep your outdoor space warm.

This is our pottery chimenea of the week, a grand item with loads of drama built in and a credit to any style of garden. Meet the Asteria XL Chimalin AFC chimenea in glazed purple, including lid and stand, a bit of a legend in the chim world and an outstanding design to grace your garden.

First, the material itself. When they say ‘clay chimenea’ they actually mean it’s made from pottery, from ceramic. Clay, pottery and ceramic are basically the same thing: a natural material made from mud and water that you can easily form into the right shape when it’s damp.

Unlike many clay chims, this one has gone through two firing processes, ‘firing’ meaning simply heating it up to a very high temperature in a kiln until the water evaporates and the clay turns to actual stone. It’s the exact same process a layer of clay under the ground goes through when heated up by the earth’s volcanic activity and squashed flat by its sheer power, eventually turning into the incredibly strong metamorphic rock called slate. In this case the clay is fired to a temperature of around 950 – 1100C to turn it into what is effectively stone.

The first firing, called the bisque firing, hardens the clay into stone. The second firing, the glaze firing, turns the runny glaze applied after the bisque stage into a glassy surface with a multitude of potential colours. This one is the most gorgeous deep, dramatic aubergine purple, which looks epic standing next to the lush greenery of plants, a stunning contrast.

Better still, this design also comes in a multitude of other colours, with something to suit every taste, from white to black, red to green.

Terracotta clay, the red clay used to make traditional clay chimeneas, is the same kind of stuff used to make traditional flowerpots and plant pots. This chimenea’s made from red clay, and being Mexican it’s built to an unusually effective design.

The proportions of the chimney, wide mouth and fat belly deliver a highly efficient fire which quickly heats up the pottery body so it acts like a giant radiator. It isn’t about the fire itself. You don’t need a big one. A small fire does the job perfectly, which means these designs are extremely fuel-efficient. Non-Mexican models just don’t do the same job, never performing quite as well as this ancient design, which has been perfected in Mexico over centuries.

See the 5 year guarantee sticker? You won’t see it anywhere else. This is special clay, which took eight years for the brand to develop. While ordinary clay chimeneas can crack through heat stress, this one stays whole and firm and strong, making it even easier to use, even more user-friendly.

It’s about so much more than fire alone. After dark the flickering flames give you a wonderful, warm and welcoming look in the garden. You can cook on it and inside it, creating a remarkable variety of tasty dishes with ease.

The tripod metal stand means it always stands firm without wobbling, something to do with the maths and physics of having three legs that we don’t understand but can appreciate! The rain lid tops things off beautifully, and it can stay outdoors all year round as long as you cover it in winter and in bad weather with a special fitted and insulated cover.

So will you go for purple or choose black, cream or something else? Whatever shade you choose it’ll look wonderful, last for years and bring your garden lifestyle to warm, bright life through every season.