Teaware Preferences

What I use doesn’t necessarily count as teaware, but if you’re like me and have a very liberal approach to tea brewing then it’s pretty much all the same.

For very large batches I tend to use a large mason jar combined with a cup strainer. It works really well and it allows me to see how light or dark the tea is before removing the strainer. In our house it’s the only way we (I) make sweet tea. I use the same technique if I’m brewing a single cup because I just prefer glassware.

I also use a french coffee press, and more recently my little adagio cermaic teapot. Which, for the price, is a cute little thing but I know I can find better. I might buy another in a different color for the heck of it.

I also have a plain old whistling kettle for the stove top, and a Kureig that’s just gathering dust.
I don’t think I’ll ever require a yixing pot since puerh doesn’t appeal to me. My phobia of rust keeps from having anything go do with cast iron anything. So I don’t think my technique will change anytime soon. Though I would love to acquire a neat little collection of pretty porcelain and ceramic teapots someday.

Crimson Lotus Tea just got back from Yunnan and have posted gorgeous Yixing pots. I just got an awesome gai wan style Yixing from Mandala tea which I am using for small samples, I recommend Mandala, Yunnan Sourcing or Crimson Lotus for medium priced pots. For el cheapo pots, enjoyingtea.com has a couple of pots on sale right now for $7.98 down from $25.

I have had a medium size Henley teapot (the 27oz one) for years, and I still really love it. It comes with an infusion basket for loose leaf tea, it’s double-walled so the tea stays hot for a long time, the spout doesn’t drip, and the handle stays cool. The only real drawback is that the lid gets super hot so you have to have a towel or something nearby when it comes time to remove the infuser basket.

However, recently I discovered that that same infuser basket fits perfectly into my favourite mug, so now I mostly brew one cup at a time right in the mug. It’s especially useful for tea that can be infused several times, so I don’t end up drinking like 80oz of the same tea in one day. :)

Growing up we used a whistling tea kettle and mugs with tea bags. Then I was exposed to the cultures of tea drinking in South Asia and the Middle East and became accustomed to always having a teapot for brewing/serving (or several, if serving different kinds of tea) and using really small, decorative tea cups.

I now prefer to have a serving teapot, even for individual servings, using the very beautiful and tiny one my mother in law made at the pottery wheel. When there are two or more people, I use one of two other serving teapots (one ceramic I think?, one glass).

For brewing water, we first used a regular pot and boiled water on the stove, and now use an electric kettle (faster, easier to pour).

Cups – I have tea cups that are Moroccan style, Turkish, Japanese, and a few of the ‘bubble’ style from David’s Tea that are really a perfect size and happen to accidentally match my Turkish tea cups and tea pot perfectly.

I consider the serving, and the waiting, a key part of the experience of drinking tea. It’s helped me learn patience to wait while the tea cools, and has taught me hospitality. So while on certain occasions (drinking tea outside the house or at work) I use a travel mug or a mug, whenever I’m at home, I use a teapot and tea cups.

Haha, rereading I just realized how much of a Princess I am about tea! sorry folks, I think I still have connotations of tea parties even though I drink it many times a day :D