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Awhile back I posted some info about a very Asian style of teapot: the Kyusu. I have also written about a distinctive style of clay teapot from the Yixing area of China. But others abound. They speak of hundreds, and possibly thousands, of years of craftsmanship building up and being preserved as an object of delight to tea drinkers today.
Some Very Asian Teapots
Asia encompasses a pretty wide swath of the land masses of this planet. We always think of China and Japan, but there’s also Taiwan, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Tibet, Laos, Korea, Vietnam, and more. Each has its own culture and style, especially where teapots are concerned, although there are also common threads.
- Zisha Clay Teapots — These special clay pots just ooze tradition. I found this lovely one online during a quick Yahoo! search. The handle and spout are stylish, yet functional. Matching sipping cups create a feeling of serenity.
(found through Yahoo! Images – originally from an article on Gongfugirl.com)
- Cast Iron Teapots — As dancer and tea blogger Elise Nuding shows here, cast iron teapots are not only traditional but seem to have never gone out of style. You know you’re in a good tearoom when they serve up like this. Plus, they can sit on an open flame and be used first to heat the water and then to steep the tea.
(source: Elise Nuding)
- Fancy Thai Tea Set — This was posted on Facebook (my apologies but I neglected to note who had posted it) and I was told by fellow blogger Thomas Kasper, who currently lives in Thailand, that this is more of a ceremonial tea set, for show. That’s okay. Sometimes we need teawares just to beautify our surroundings.
(source: screen capture from Facebook)
- Bronze Teapot from Vietnam — As seen pinned on Pinterest, this bronze teapot from Vietnam features a serene Buddha sitting on top, keeping the tea warm with his… uh, well, hm… best not to think about it. Another teapot that is highly decorative, but in this case also useful.
(source: Yahoo! Images)
Usable or merely decorative, teapots with that Asian flair can be the perfect touch for a tea time that is focused on the tea.
See more of A.C. Cargill’s articles here.
© Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog, 2009-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this article’s author and/or the blog’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
ETS Drawstring Tea Filters (Natural Unbleached) will keep that tea out of your tea! (ETS image)
“There’s too much tea in my tea!!”
I uttered this exclamation the other day, much to the amusement of my tea companion. Her puzzled response (“um, did you just say that there was too much tea in your, er… tea?”) was accompanied by a bemused look, and upon reflection I realised how ridiculous this must sound.
What I meant, of course, was that there were too many tea leaves in my tea. This is something that I usually manage to avoid, but nothing is more irritating than taking the first sip of your tea (whether you made it yourself or ordered it in a shop) and finding out that you are sipping tea leaves rather than tea. Now, I am all for a few leaf fragments here and there. In fact, there are several teas that are traditionally drunk with some of the broken leaves left at the bottom of the cup (Japanese green teas, for example). But too many tea leaves is just not conducive to a good cup of tea, or a relaxing tea time.
But why does this happen? When brewing loose tea that is not whole leaf (that is teas where the leaves are broken up during processing) often the smallest bits will slip through the holes of the infuser. This is particularly common with teas that have a lot of tea dust. If you are brewing whole leaf tea, this will likely not be a problem, as the leaves are large enough to not slip through the infuser mesh. However, if you favour the method whereby you let the leaves brew in your teapot without an infuser, you might end up with one or two of them sneaking into your cup through the spout of the teapot.
So how do you avoid this? The key is to use an infuser appropriate for your tea. For finer teas, an infuser with a smaller mesh is required to prevent all of those bits ending up in your cup. If you take a closer look at your teawares, you might discover that some have infusers with larger holes than others. Ceramic infusers will often be among those with larger holes, and these teawares should be reserved for use with whole leaf tea, or tea where the fragments are large enough to not slip through the holes.
This issue is not just for tea; it also applies to herbal infusions. For example, a rooibos infusion consists of such fine pieces that an infuser with larger holes will not do you any favours. However herbal infusions made up of dried fruits will most likely be suitable for the same infuser, as the dried fruit pieces tend to be sizeable and will expand during steeping.
When I made my cup of tea the other day, I had inadvertently grabbed an infuser that was not appropriate for my finely processed tea. I won’t be making that mistake again—or at least not any time soon. So here’s to not having too much tea in my tea!
See more of Elise Nuding’s articles here.
© Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog, 2009-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this article’s author and/or the blog’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Recently, I have been spending a good bit of time at the British Museum in London. It has one of the largest and most renowned museum collections in the world, but while it may be better known for antiquities such as the Elgin Marbles and the Rosetta Stone, I have been discovering that it also has hundreds of teapots among its collections.
A History of the World in 100 Objects (screen capture from site)
It not only has teapots, but tea sets, one of which I am particularly fond. It was featured on the popular series ‘A History of the World in 100 Objects.’ This radio series in partnership with the BBC used 100 objects from the museum’s collection to highlight cultural trends of different eras from across the globe that helped create the world we know today. Fittingly, since the world I know definitely wouldn’t be the same without tea, object #92 is an early Victorian tea set.
The tea set consists of a teapot, milk jug, and sugar bowl (described on the series as “the holy trinity of afternoon tea”), and was manufactured by Josiah Wedgewood’s pottery firm, c.1840-45. The set is made from red stoneware with hand-cut, open latticed silverwork. I managed to get a fairly decent photo of the set on display.
Early Victorian tea set (photo by article author)
Although the use of silver implies a consumer base of a certain class, the red stoneware base indicates that this was a mid-range tea set reflecting the much wider market for tea that emerged during the nineteenth century; tea, and tea sets, were no longer elite luxury items. Part of the series’ theme of ‘Mass Production, Mass Persuasion AD 1780-1914’, this tea set was selected because it speaks to the global trade networks set up by the British Empire and the socio-cultural, as well as economic, impact that these networks had. The tea that would have been used in this tea set is, of course, the most obvious element, imported to Britain from various parts of the British Empire. However, interestingly, the red stoneware from which the tea set is made was also imported to Britain from China. The sugar for the sugar bowl would have been another import, and the milk, although not imported, would have arrived in the cities via the new railway networks from rural areas. Thus, this humble tea set is indeed what the series describes as “a three-piece social history of nineteenth century Britain,” but a history whose impact spread far beyond Britain.
This beautiful tea set is a good reminder that the history of tea is present not only in the tea we drink but in the teawares we drink it from, and that this history is deeply intertwined with the complex social, economic, and political strands of global historical events.
See more of Elise Nuding’s articles here.
© Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog, 2009-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this article’s author and/or the blog’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
“I never use a teapot!” Yes, it’s true. Some tea drinkers don’t steep tea in a teapot. And we’re not just talking about folks who dunk a teabag in some hot water in a mug. We’re talking about those “alternate” tea steepers. Here are five such alternatives for you to try (or maybe you already use one or more of these):
1 Gaiwan
Available in ceramic, stoneware, glass, even metals, these steeping bowls with lids and little saucers have been used for centuries and are considered the traditional way to enjoy many of the finer Chinese, Taiwanese, and other oolongs, greens, whites, and even black teas. Pu-erhs are especially good when steeped in them. The idea is to fill them with dry tea leaves, add water heated to the appropriate temperature for the type of tea you are steeping, and let the steeping commence. The steep times are usually shorter when using a gaiwan (sometimes as little as a few seconds versus minutes in a teapot) and render several more infusions from the same tea leaves. They can be tricky to handle at first and take some practice to master. The bowl and lid can get quite hot. Seasoned gaiwan users, though, find the heat to be inconsequential when compared with the steeping excellence these little devices impart.
Trudeau Travel Tea Infuser Mug (ETS image)
2 Steeping/Insulated Mug
This is sort of a variation on the gaiwan melded with a thermos. Steeping mugs are generally equipped with some type of infuser basket, are insulated to keep your tea warm for awhile, and have a lid of some kind (with or without an opening for drinking the tea). They can be overblown and complicated like this one or they can be simple “insulated glasses” or something in-between.
3 Glass Measuring Cup
If you can use a glass teapot to steep tea, why not a glass measuring cup? Sure it’s not as pretty, but if it’s just you and the cat enjoying a quick cuppa, who’s to know? (Bribe the cat with some tuna to keep him/her from giving away your secret.) The real practicality here is that you can heat the water in the microwave and then add the dry tea directly to it. While I wouldn’t advocate this as a habitual routine, it will certainly do in a pinch. After all, when you need a cuppa, you need a cuppa!
4 A Cup-sized Infuser
No teabag dunking going on here. An infuser that fits inside your cup will allow the tea leaves to move about freely, and you will have the neatness of being able to lift the infuser out of the cup at the right time to assure no oversteeping occurs. I have employed this method on numerous occasions and found the only drawback to be how hot the metal rim of the infuser can get. This is when having a hubby to lift the infuser out for you can come in very handy.
Teaz Cafe Infuser Mug with Lid – the infuser is very close to the size of the cup interior, letting the leaves steep freely. (ETS image)
5 Steeping Machine
I don’t use one. I don’t know anyone who uses one. But hey, they’re out there, so I include them here. The big drawback is having to use teas in those expensive little cups, although you can now buy reusable cups to fill with the tea of your choice and use in these machines. Still, high-pressure tea? Where is the calming effect in that? Part of the whole issue of taking time to steep tea is to give you a moment to relax, step out of whatever stressful situation you are in, and take a breath or two, regaining your perspective. Living in our speedy world, though, you might find that speedy cuppa just the thing before heading out to face “them.”
I’m sure there are more out there. Let us know what you use to steep your tea!
See more of A.C. Cargill’s articles here.
© Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog, 2009-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this article’s author and/or the blog’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Glass Teapot – Zen Style – see what you’re drinking! (ETS image)
People starting to dive into the higher orders of tea preparation or studying the Chinese tea ceremony (Gong Fu Cha) will often respond with some curiosity to the obviously omnipresent, while seemingly redundant procedure of letting the tea liquor pass through a glass vessel on its way from the actual teapot to the final drinking vessel.
While the aesthetic component of such step, revealing the color of a tea’s liquor much clearer than any teacup will allow for, is something most people can catch at once, there’s much more to this:
- Just like the smell of a tea and the taste of a tea, the color of a tea is one integral element of degusting a tea.
- The way via the glass pot will, where done properly, allow for the tea liquor’s temperature to drop to just exactly that level that will enable normal human beings to swallow their degustation cup in the course of the 3 gulps “prescribed” by Chinese tea degustation culture (without the embarrassing experience of sitting there and waiting until you could actually do that).
- You won’t have to apply a sieve to the actual drinking vessel (which wouldn’t work with aroma cup set vessels anyway), but will use the sieve when pouring the tea from the clay teapot to the glass vessel.
- You will be able to distribute the clean (free of leave residues) tea liquor directly to the drinking vessels of all participants in the event, without having to add another ceramic teapot to the process chain, which would only serve the mere purpose of sieving the tea liquor without adding any real other additional value.
- The Chinese tea ceremony is more than just a perfected way of trying tea in practical terms, it is in fact the ritualized Chinese art of savoring tea, and as such lives of playful and aesthetic elements as well, these often being of equal importance to the whole than the practical aspects.
- The glass teapot will add another element to the material components structure of the ritual, rounding the same up to being a more universal representation of the underlying (Chinese) holistic philosophy.
Uhhh, you thought it’s “just drinking tea” and you are asking why you would care for all these things in the first place? That’s okay, of course, you don’t have to, and a lot of people won’t, while still enjoying their tea, but just like with quite some other fields (such as their traditional healing and medicinal practices) , the Chinese tea culture has been nurtured by millenniums of more or less uninterrupted development, and has an enormous wealth of insights and wisdom to offer, especially for those of us, who still believe that our western ways are the ultimate blessing of human evolution.
See more of Thomas Kasper’s articles here.
© Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog, 2009-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this article’s author and/or the blog’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
It’s been a long time since I’ve used one of those tea infusers that you stuff with tea and stick into a cup of hot water. The consensus is that they’re not the best at making tea, since they don’t usually allow the water sufficient room to swirl around the leaves. I can buy that, but as a gadget category, however, novelty tea infusers are hard to beat. If I were organized enough I’d have kept track of all the ones I’ve reported on over the years – kind of a Hall of Fame of Novelty Tea Infusers. But I haven’t, so I’ll just direct you to the latest one I’ve run across. It’s a winner.
Inventors always seem to have a new gadget to deal with the mess and fuss of those squishy wet used tea bags – and they probably have been coming up with them for as long as there have been tea bags. But what about the age-old problem of the tea bag string that goes for a swim in your tea? That’s another fairly active tea gadget sub-category and you can see a recent solution to the problem here.
If you think of tea lights only as itty bitty candles (that are used for what?) then it’s time to expand your conception of the phrase a bit. From Pinterest, here’s a clever version of a chandelier made from various types of teaware that’s sure to clash with anyone’s décor. These teapot lights are certainly no less clever and they’re a little bit easier on the eyes, to boot.
For the upper-crust fan of all things tea and tea gadget-related let me direct you, with no delay, to what might be the ultimate such item. For a mere $3,099, you can lay your hands on an actual refrigerator that will dispense hot water for tea. At least that’s how this article bills it, although to be fair you could probably find a multitude of uses for that hot water.
There are settings (90 degrees for warm water, 150 degrees for cocoa, 170 degrees for tea, and 185 degrees for soup) that could conceivably used for different types of tea, but until there’s a model with the near boiling water that would be suitable for black tea, the good people at GE better not make any plans on how to spend my three grand.
See more of William I. Lengeman’s articles here.
© Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog, 2009-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this article’s author and/or the blog’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
To say that anything is typically American, even teapot styles, is to discount about 99% of the country. (I should clarify that I am using “American” here in the widespread meaning of referring to us “Yanks,” that is, citizens of the United States. Sorry, Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America!) We come from such a broad spectrum of cultures, and each has brought pieces of that culture here, blending those pieces with what was already here, that to say anything is typical brings a chuckle to my lips.
Case in point was when a friend from Germany visited years ago. He and some other economy students at his university were on a trip to visit a business park here in the U.S. He asked me to recommend a typically American restaurant. My brain screeched to a halt, and then it began cranking so fast, trying to think of something that could be described as typically American, that you could hear my brain gears creaking. I finally opted for one of those high-class pizza places. Truth be told, however, it was not what I would consider typical. The same applies to teapots. We each have in mind an idea of what we consider typical.
The teapots chosen to show below are but a miniscule sampling of the variety that teapot makers here have available.
Some Teapots I Consider Typically American
They are all quite different yet all useful (just like a good teapot should be). And they all evoke the spirit of this country: “be free to be yourself.”
- Pewter Teapot — Sure, Paul Revere is a better known metalsmith, making useful items from silver and pewter, due to that Longfellow poem, but other metalsmiths were busy, too, crafting teapots and other wares out of silver and pewter both before and after our colonial days. One such craftsman was George Richardson who created this gorgeous pewter teapot. This is an inverted “double ender” teapot (the body was molded in a top and bottom half that was welded together seamlessly).
AMERICAN TEAPOT BY GEORGE RICHARDSON
- Stoneware Teapot — Think rustic log cabin or sod house. Think of a lifestyle that squeezed every bit of use possible out of an item, not just throwing it away when it got chipped, ripped, dented, or out of style. Think of patching something until there is nothing left to patch just because there is no store nearby or online shopping to purchase a replacement. But think also of taking raw materials out of the ground and building items of use and beauty. Here is a fine example from an American pottery firm called Louisville Stoneware that I wrote about previously.
Brooke Teapot & Cover Set
Here is our version being greeted by another American teapot (the infamous Little Yellow Teapot who considers all teapots to be his cousins):
Here is our version being greeted by another American teapot (the infamous Little Yellow Teapot who considers all teapots to be his cousins)
- Athena Teapot — Often when people think of modern, they think of sleek and sophisticated. This porcelain teapot has both visual elements conveyed by the simple lines, a more squat shape, a high gloss finish, and an unusual handle design. Best of all, it holds a generous 44 ounces of tasty tea — plenty for sharing with a friend or two. And it’s safe to put in the dishwasher and microwave. Very modern!
Athena Teapot Black
- Industrial Teapot 2 by Rebecca Sabo — The U.S. spans the continent of North America from ocean to ocean. In-between there are big cities, towns ranging in size from ones that are comfortable yet has amenities to ones that if you sneeze while driving through them, you miss seeing them entirely. Teapots are in them all. Here, potter Rebecca Sabo captures the industrial character of some parts of this country. This teapot was part of an exhibition in American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California, in 2012.
Industrial Teapot 2 by Rebecca Sabo, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
You will, no doubt, have teapots that you consider typically American. We’d love to see them!
See more of A.C. Cargill’s articles here.
© Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog, 2009-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this article’s author and/or the blog’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
A stirring experience!
Before we get to discuss what would define music as tea music, we first need to answer the question, whether there is such thing as “tea music” at all. It seems that while music seems to be rarely composed for the particular purpose of being tea music, some of the music that is basically produced either for its own sake or in order to fit a particular or more general background or psychological purpose (e.g., movie soundtracks, event themes, meditation music) is commonly perceived more suitable for any kind of tea drinking event than other, thus creating a perception of the same as appropriate “tea music” by people, who tend to “celebrate” their tea drinking even in everyday situations.
Believe me, I know, what I’m talking about, I am one of these people, and I have met many others, who are alike, if it comes to preparing and drinking our tea: before we actually make tea, and apart from the actual preparation of the preparation, this including the setup of instruments and tools we will need for preparing and drinking tea, we will also perform a lot of seemingly erratic activities, such as moving things in places (apparently randomly), changing the light, shutting down TV, opening windows, closing doors, and, last but not least, thinking about whether music would be suitable or not, and if we decide that yes, then we will invest a considerable effort, which music will fit best to our “tea situation”, in other words, which music will be the best “tea music” right now?
At this, it is not that we are really free to choose. While we might be real music geeks otherwise, spanning the spectrum from heaviest metal and punk to pop, jazz, and spiritual music, we will automatically narrowing our choice to what we will implicitly consider as potential tea music. And though they might not be all too strict, there are rules for this: the spherical instrumental, relaxing acoustic or meditational, soft and melodious jazz will have much better chances to make it into our final pool for selection than any aggressive rock or punk music, nerves-killing free jazz improvisations or that super-trendy pop star you like to listen to in your car a lot and who strikes all your emotional chords at once with her or his hit tunes. As I said before, the rules aren’t any strict, in fact, they are set up by individuals in the first place, developed by the interplay and forming consensus within the plurality (social structure) of such individuals, and are constantly newly interpreted and reinvented by them and by the described processes.
So, while the borders between genres and other characteristics of music might be blurred in regard to making a particular music eligible as tea music, there are safe areas of consensus that are best described by a set of attributes, which either alone or in combination with each other. Due to the heavily blurred borders, overlappings and strong individual preferences involved, though, it is very hard to name these attributes or establish a definite list of them. A humble try of mine to cover a few of them would be stating “relaxing” (as opposed to unnerving), demanding (as opposed to trivial), peaceful (as opposed to aggressive)… not wanting to offend anybody for their preferences, I don’t even dare listing more of the attributes that would fit the purpose of defining a music as tea music for me. You might come up with your own set of such, and I’m sure you will, and I’m sure there will be differences, even contradictions, between our sets, as will be the case not only between you and me, but also between you and/or me and any other individual. Still, I am also sure that if we will collect the attribute sets of 1000 random individuals (tea drinkers, of course) regarding the question which music they will consider as suitable for tea music, we would also received strong overlappings and tendencies defining what I have earlier called “safe areas of consensus”.
See more of Thomas Kasper’s articles here.
© Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog, 2009-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this article’s author and/or the blog’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Tea towels are handy to have around the kitchen. They suck up spills, dry our dishes, and generally keep things neat and dry. If you don’t use them enough, though, they can get a bit thirsty!
The tea towel is a central part of your tea equipage. Don’t let it get too thirsty! (Photo source: A.C. Cargill, all rights reserved)
Don’t panic. No one is advocating that you engage in spilling things (especially not your tea) just to save your parched tea towels. However, think of them when you need to dry your dishes and pots and pans. And your teapots. Sure, you can air dry these things, but just think if you got out of the bath or shower and had no towel there. You’d be dripping everywhere and even end up with chafing. Not good. And your poor bath towel would be languishing from lack of moisture. How cruel!
It’s a good idea to dry your fine bone china, porcelain, ceramic, and especially stainless steel and glass teawares anyway. For the fine bone china and porcelain, this is mainly a matter of helping them retain their dignity. They don’t have to sit upside down in a dish drainer to be sure the water drips out of their spout. The ceramic teapots are such dignitaries but still find that upside down position to be a bit uncomfortable (you try it sometime and see how it feels!). As for the glass and stainless steel teawares, letting them air dry usually results in spots, which are the minerals in your water that got left behind when the water molecules went floating away. Water spots are not very attractive or appealing and thus can cause these teawares much embarrassment. Further, if you are using a glass teapot, gaiwan, or other steeping vessel so that you can view the tea as it steeps (especially nice for a blooming tea), those spots will spoil the show!
Those thirsty tea towels come to the rescue, drying your teawares to perfection and without linty buildup (a real tea taste spoiler). They make your glass and stainless teawares sparkle and give a glow to the bone china, porcelain, and ceramic teawares. That, of course, makes them happy, which means that they will impart that happiness into your tea and make it taste even better than usual. (It is a well-established rule that unhappy teawares steep bitter tea.) Just be sure that your teawares are well rinsed before letting your tea towel do its job, or your tea towel will end up stained with tea. And that would lead to an unhappy tea towel which could lead to unhappy teawares which could lead to bitter tea. Yikes!
See more of A.C. Cargill’s articles here.
© Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog, 2009-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this article’s author and/or the blog’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Teacups come in a wide array of sizes and shapes. They all have that essential characteristic: being able to hold tea liquid. But from there they cover quite a design spectrum. To keep this down to a manageable size (we’re talking blog article here, not doctoral dissertation), I will limit my coverage here to five teacup styles, based on general design, materials, and period.
1 Cups without Handles
These are often called “sipper cups.” They are probably the oldest form of tea cup. To use them properly you need to put two fingers under and your thumb on top of the cup. I use an alternate method where I fill the cup only about two-thirds full so that the top edge remains relatively cool. I can then lift by that edge and sip without scorching my fingertips.
Sipper Cups (Photo source: A.C. Cargill, all rights reserved)
2 Footed Cups
This style was explored in a previous article but still deserves mention here as a distinctive style. There are two basic versions: feet and pedestals. Either way, they do not serve a really practical purpose. They simply make the teacup seem more delicate and are usually on teacups that are part of cup/saucer sets.
Cup with matching lid and storage box. (Photo source: A.C. Cargill, all rights reserved)
3 Lidded Cups
These are ceramic usually and have lids made to match the cup. The lid serves two practical purposes: first, if you steep in the cup, the lid will help the tea steep better; second, after steeping the lid will help the tea stay warm longer.
4 Travel Cups
Some are meant for steeping and drinking tea. Others are best for steeping in a teapot and then pouring the tea into the travel cup to keep it warm and from spilling as you drive, jog, etc. Some are overly complicated and therefore of little practical use while others are simple and very utilitarian.
4 cups made Jujube wood (Photo source: screen capture from site)
5 Cups Made of Unusual Materials
Leaving out Styrofoam, paper, and even heavy plastic, there are some other materials used to make teacups but much less frequently than the usual porcelain, ceramic, metal, and glass. One is wood, including bamboo. Another is semi-precious stone (onyx, agate, etc.) using a super adhesive to attach spouts, handles, and lid finials.
Whatever cup style you choose, be sure to fill it with a tea worthy of such a vessel. Enjoy!
See more of A.C. Cargill’s articles here.
© Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog, 2009-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this article’s author and/or the blog’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Online Stores, Inc., and The English Tea Store Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
