Teaware is the medium for us to appreciate and taste tea soup. “The more exquisite the utensils are, the more delicious the tea is.” Therefore, the selection and placement of teaware plays an important role in tea. With the development of modern society and the changes in tea drinking customs, the types, forms and connotations of teaware have been newly developed, bringing people not only delicious tea soup, but also a pleasing effect.

Kettle and Stove

A set of handy water boiler can bring infinite inspiration to the tea man’s tea soup. The so-called “Four Treasures of the Tea Room” include the Jade Book Simmer, a kettle for boiling water, and the Chaoshan Stove, a stove for boiling water.

Yushu Simmer is a flat, ochre-colored, thin porcelain kettle with a capacity of about 250 milliliters. When the water boils, the lid makes a sound like a call for tea. Modern has rarely used this pot, the general tea ceremony hall, more Yixing out of the slightly larger Zisha pot, more pumpkin-shaped or Dongpo lifting beam pot shape. There are also iron pots, iron pots rustic, durable, boiled water for soft water, taste more rounded, sweet, used to brew tea, can effectively enhance the taste, but the iron pot to lift up quite heavy. Silver kettle boiled water, soft and sweet flavor, the pot is not heavy, but the price is higher.

Teapots

Teapot is the center of the tea set, pot size, clay, shape, etc. is also related to the aroma and flavor of tea. Ming dynasty on pots advocate to small for expensive, “pot small taste is not lax, incense does not hide shelves”; XuZiShu in “tea sparse – ou note” pointed out that the silver tin pots are favorable to tea, followed by inside and outside the glazed ceramic pots, but unfortunately most of the old ceramic pots are not resistant to boiling water pouring, ceramic body easy to crack. Jiangsu Yixing sand pots, although respected by the tea people at the time, still need to avoid the sintering temperature is insufficient, soil gas defeat tea.

A good pot, its mouth cover should be tight. When choosing, first in the pot filled with eight minutes full of water, and then finger pressure on the lid of the pot on the air holes, try to do the pouring action, if the water does not come out, the tightness of the lid will be very high. In addition to the pot’s circumference should be proportional, the mouth of the pot should be round; pot mouth, pot button, pot handle three points should be straight, into a straight line; remove the lid, put the pot upside down on the table, the pot mouth and the pot mouth should be flat. Sharp soup, the water column should be sharp, long, round, quite, if the flow rate is too slow, it will affect the quality of the tea broth; the spout of the water break should be bright and clean, no dripping and no backflow.

The most important thing is whether a pot is smooth and easy to lift. Each of our hands, size, length, fat and thin are different, choose the pot, their own hands to hold up, feel whether it is appropriate, some pots are not good to hold the handle, or the center of gravity leaning forward, difficult to operate, it is not the ideal pot. After the pot is filled with water, it can be lifted up with one hand and slowly poured, and the feeling of the water coming out is very comfortable and smooth, which means that the center of gravity of this pot is moderate and stable.

Pot-bearing

The original function of the pot is to ensure that the surface of the mat is clean and dry, and to receive the hot water from the dripping pot. The purpose of pouring pots is to add heat to the pot, in order to brew the exquisite flavor of tea, tea that needs to be brewed at high temperatures, before using the pouring pots, at this time to use the deep-bellied tea boat, in order to receive hot water from the pouring pots. The use of deep-bellied pots bear tea, remember to pour off the hot water over the pot, do not dip the teapot in the cool water has been cooled, otherwise, not only make the pot temperature drop, can not brew delicious tea, and after a long time the pot will produce the upper and lower two cuts of the body of the color.

In the brewing of some of the tea without the pot, you can freely choose a variety of textures, colors, sizes of shallow dishes or rimless mat board to do with, in order to highlight the beauty of the lines of the pot. Sometimes, even a piece of slate in the corner, a handful of pebbles, through the careful organization of the tea people, can build the main stage of the pot, like the lotus seat at the feet of the Buddha.

Lidded teacup

Covered bowl, also known as the cover cup, is a tea vessel containing a cover, bowl, tray three pieces of a style. The Qing dynasty northern popular flower tea, tea soup capacity is more, with the function of heat preservation of the cover bowl will be developed. The mouth of the bowl is large, open the lid, tea, leaf shape can be viewed very clearly. Drinking more tea to cover the dial tea, you can directly sip, you can also pick up the lid, moved to the end of the nose to smell the aroma. The cup holder can avoid the tea hot hands, holding the cup holder, so that the gaiwan looks elegant and generous. When we buy gaiwan, to personally end up to try, sometimes too big gaiwan caliber, the hand can not afford. At the same time try the lid is good toggle, so that in the dial tea, can be convenient to use.

Tea Cup

Tea cup, also known as the fairway cup, in order to seek to evenly distribute each cup of tea soup and the name. Also known as the “sea of tea”, “Dream of Red Mansions” 41, Miao Yu ridiculed Bao Yu: a cup for the product, two cups that is to quench the thirst of the stupid, three cups is to drink cattle and mules, you eat this sea is what?

Selection of tea cups should pay attention to the capacity of the tea cup than the teapot, because the tea cup is used to mix the tea, sometimes must be loaded into two tea, so the capacity of the tea cup than the teapot, so as not to have loaded the situation occurs; the opening of the tea cup to choose a large, so that it can be convenient to the teapot to inject the tea soup; In addition, as in the case of the teapot, tea cups are also important to the water in the pouring of tea to the teacups, to be considered the tea cups of the water out of the smooth, not to be When pouring tea into the teacups, it is important to consider the smoothness of the water coming out of the teacups so that it does not pour everywhere.

Teacups

A touching cup of tea soup is made of various subtle karmic and combinations, and the power of the cup is enough to change the flavor of the tea soup. When we taste tea in cups of different textures, colors, shapes, sizes, heights, thicknesses, the tea soup will take on different qualities, sometimes with surprisingly large differences. However, no matter what kind of tea, if you use a good cup to drink, the aroma, color and taste of the tea soup will be more detailed, rich and fascinating.

What makes a good cup?

1. Choose according to the type of tea to be brewed

Traditional Kung Fu Tea is to use thin porcelain cups. Weng Huidong said in Chao Chuan Tea Classic- Kung Fu Tea, “Exquisite small cups, less than an inch in diameter, made of white porcelain from Jian Kiln, as thin as paper and as clean in color as jade, the lid is not thin, then it can not start the aroma, and if it is not clean, then it can not set off the color.” Plain interior, such as tooth-white or greenish-white cups, can set off the soup color is very bright.

2.Depending on the season or weather of tea drinking

Tea cups are thick enough to keep the tea warm in winter, while thinner cups are suitable for summer use, allowing the tea to cool down quickly for easy entry. Cups for tea people like personal clothing, can be low-profile, soft and unobtrusive, in the tea table seems to be plain to drink, on the mouth but can play the sense of taste, play in the fingertips and can be carefully tasted. Selection may wish to lips on the mouth, try to see if the individual “cup lips are compatible”, if the cup is not detailed enough, the entrance to the tea soup can not be fully appreciated for the taste buds.

Saucer

Cup holder, the ancient name of marigold holder. The cup holder for the cup, as a lady’s shoes and clothing with: can be strong, such as boots; can be grand, such as crystal high heels; can be whispered, such as monks shoes. The main purpose of the cup holder is to prevent hot hands, but also has hygiene considerations, in order to avoid direct contact with the rim of the cup, the tea master to cup holder way to serve tea to guests, more appropriate, but also elegant. The key point in choosing a cup holder is: the proportion of the cup holder should be proportional to the size, shape and color of the cup; the design of the cup holder should be easy to hold. If the cup holder itself is too big, too small, too low and flat, the tea cup on it is not very stable, and it is not the ideal cup holder. If the tea table is flat and the cups are stable, and if there is no cup holder of the right size, you can consider using soft coasters.

Tea Rules & Teaspoons

When taking tea leaves, it is best to use a tea rule. Our hands have hand sweat, hand cream and other odors, do not use your hands to take tea leaves directly, so as not to make the tea adsorption of the odor. The shape of the tea leaves, some into a ball, very tight; some into a rope, very fluffy. Ball-shaped tea leaves are very easy to place tea, stripes of tea leaves should be prepared to be larger bamboo tea is good to take.

Teaspoon in addition to pull out the dregs of tea, but also through the pot of the use of hand to intercept the spring sprouting of young bamboo branches, a little trimming can be made to streamline the natural lines of the teaspoon, and then pillowed with the pebbles with the shape of the creek, is the natural teaspoon and the spoon set up. You can also use slender chopsticks instead of a teaspoon to hold the leaves more freely.

Pot for tea

Tea canisters, used to store tea containers, avoiding light damage to avoid heat and humidity, and therefore more choice of high density porcelain canisters or inside and outside the glazed pottery urns, metal containers should be avoided to avoid the gas of grease and rust.

Tea cans of rich materials, common ceramics, purple sand, bamboo, tin cans. Tea should be stored to avoid sunlight, so the most basic requirement is that it should be placed in an impermeable jar, the glass tea canisters on the market are mostly introduced for aesthetic or furnishings. Selection of tea canisters, pay attention to its functionality, try to choose a larger caliber tea canisters, in order to avoid in the face of fluffier tea, not good to take, resulting in broken tea.

Tea tray

Tea tray is used to hold the teapot, tea cups, tea favor and even tea food shallow bottom vessel. Its selection of a wide range of materials, common metal, bamboo, wood, clay and other materials, including metal tea tray is the most simple and durable, bamboo tea tray is the most elegant and appropriate. In addition, there are special stone such as jade, stone, stone, purple sand made of tea tray, simple and heavy, distinctive flavor. Tea tray style is also very diverse, different sizes, crescent-shaped, checkerboard-shaped, fan-shaped, square and so on.

But no matter what material and style, the most important thing is: wide, flat, shallow, white, that is, the plate surface to be wide, so that the number of guests on the number of more or less, you can put more than a few cups; the bottom of the plate to be flat, so as not to make the teacups are unstable, easy to shake; the side to be shallow, the color to be white, in order to teapot, teacups, tea soup set off the excellent, so that it is elegant, as for the carving, opulent and magnificent teapot, the tea table, but can not serve as the main Peaceful and quiet background backdrop, but lost tea taste. In addition, the end of the tea tray must be on the plate of pots, cups, fair take down, or a miss, “all gone”.

Hydroelectric power

The water cube, also known as the water pot, is used for pouring the water after warming the pot and clearing the cup and the residual leaves after brewing. The choice of the water cube depends on the space you have when making tea. Choose the right size so that it does not take up too much space and affect the movement when making tea. Generally speaking, if you want to place the water cube in the tea table, you should choose a delicate small water cube, if you need to use a slightly larger water cube, it is best to move it away from the tea guests, such as the back of the tea stove, put the place should not be too conspicuous, but still pay attention to the principle of smooth and easy to use. And for the choice of color, it is appropriate to do with the color and material of other tea utensils as a whole. The common water square on the market, most of the ceramic material. If the tea table has a tea tray, you can not use the water side, because the basic function of the tea tray can take excess water, and tea residue in addition to clean up can be.

Tea towel

Jie Fang, that is, the tea towel, the ancient for swabbing clean ware, the line of tea at hand at any time to use Jie Fang, generally no more than the size of a handkerchief, and strive to be delicate and small. When we make tea at high temperatures, after the pot, you can put the teapot on top of the Jie Fang, absorb the hot water at the bottom of the pot, and then out of the soup, the water of the pot will not be down the body of the pot.

Although strictly speaking, from the point of view of the use of the clean side, it is not necessary to specialize can also be, or even with a rag instead of can also, but this seems to be contrary to the elegant and clean character of the tea. Zhang Chao, “The Shadow of a Dream”: the face of the towel in the hand is enough to know the elegance and vulgarity of the person. Before the tea party, the host and the guest have never met, but vaguely from the square between a glimpse of the inner life of the tea people.