Closely tying in to the last post, I wanted to provide some details on the Banko-Yaki Houhin teapot that I referred to. I wasn’t really in the market for a teapot in this style when I came across this one several months ago, but I really liked the look of it so I bought it. [...]
In addition to my writing here, I am also a contributing writer for The Taste of English Tea Blog, which is connected to the English Tea Store. This has led me to pursue avenues of tea and tea research of a more English flavor. One recent example was that I started finding out more about [...]
This past November, in a thorough security scan of the British royal family’s residence, it was determined that a samovar which had been presented as a gift to the Queen by the Russians more than twenty years ago might possibly be harboring surveillance devices, leading to its removal from the premises. The need for security [...]
At the other end of the spectrum from careful, fully attentive sessions of gongfu cha are solutions for drinking tea while mobile, with mental energies diverted to tasks other than tea drinking. I doubt that tea on-the-go is anyone’s preferred way to enjoy tea, but it doesn’t have to be a miserable, unsatisfying compromise, particularly [...]
A couple of weeks ago I was in a local antique store, probably engaging in the ongoing and fruitless search for an Eastlake or Aesthetic Movement hall tree/coat and hat rack type of thing that suits my needs, when I spotted this beautiful antique Chinese cabinet. I wasn’t sure that I could find a place [...]
I am constantly thinking about books, and reference materials, and access to information. Naturally, some of the time I think about these things in relation to tea and what data I want to be able to find and how I want it to be available to me. In this massively electronically connected world I’ve become [...]
The object above is not a “tetsubin.” It is also not a “tetsubin teapot,” a “tetsubin tea kettle,” or a “cast iron tea kettle.” It is a cast iron teapot. Japanese cast iron teapots like the one in the photograph are similar in appearance to a traditional Japanese tetsubin, which I suspect is the reason [...]
Sometimes a full gongfu cha ceremony is beyond the scope of time or practicality or attention span. One method that I use at times like this employs two gaiwans. I use the first one to brew the tea. Then after the requisite steeping time, which is dependent on how many infusions I have already brewed, [...]
My first exposure to a tea mascot was at New Century Tea Gallery. As the owner prepared and served tea gongfu style, I noticed an inexplicable yixing sculpture hanging out on the table and accepting a wash of tea and water every so often during the course of the tea service. I was told that [...]
The cicada is quite a fascinating little creature, appearing as a symbol of longevity or immortality throughout the arts of China and Japan over the past several centuries. The accompanying photographs are of a yixing teaset that we sometimes use for brewing and serving pu-er. The tea pouring down over the pot was the initial [...]
