Taiwanese Teaware & Mini Tea Roaster for sale this week only

The first item from our trip to the farmers association is the blue green teapot and pitcher. It’s $128 with free shipping. We’ve only got one set so if you like it, hurry!

Here’s the link: http://eco-cha.com/products/blue-green-glazed-clay-teapot-pitcher

The design of this tea set is a modern rendition of a glaze style that became popular in the Song Dynasty around 12th century. The natural blue-green colored glaze with a soapstone-like texture was prized for its simple, unadorned, imitation of nature’s characteristics. It’s soft finish reflects light evenly and has an almost glowing effect in the subtlest way.

Today’s item is a bamboo tea tray that we picked up on our recent visit to Lugu, in Nantou, Taiwan – the heart of Dong Ding Oolong Country.

With dimensions of 31 × 20 × 7cm, it’s suitable for a small tea party or just a personal tea brewing tray. The slats in the surface of the tray allow pre-brew rinse water to be poured freely into the teapot, then the pitcher, the cups, and then over the lidded teapot for curing – if you are in the habit of doing so. You can also just pour rinse water from the cups directly into the tray.

The top slatted tray piece is separate and set into the open box, and is easily lifted out for dispensing the rinse water and cleaning. The bamboo has been treated to withstand hot water and not warp or crack.

This size tray is highly versatile and ideal for when you want some aesthetic as well as function. It can be used at home on any table top or floor seating arrangement – including rooftops, porches, gazebos or backyards! You can carry it in a pack for a picnic, day hike, camping trip, or an Wu Wo Tea Party.

Having a drain tray brings a whole style of brewing into being that is prevalent in Taiwan. It involves very specific gongfu (skill) but allows for a play with the brewing process that can accommodate the pouring of water casually from vessel to vessel – with no concern of spilling a bit. In fact, it’s made for spilling tea about – in pursuit of the perfect brew.

Grab it here, there’s only 1! http://eco-cha.com/collections/teaware/products/bamboo-tea-tray

Today’s piece is this Gaiwan/Pitcher with handles.

http://eco-cha.com/products/clay-gaiwan-pitcher

This is a hybrid type of tea ware that has become a favorite of ours for its function and versatility. As a teapot, the wide-mouth top allows for full viewing and smelling of the brewed leaves in the pot, as well as easy pouring when filling the pot with hot water. As a pitcher, simply put the lid aside and use with your favorite teapot.

Perhaps the most special aspects of this overall design are the woven handles and the formed spout. These are what distinctly set it apart from the traditional gaiwan. Gaiwans are tricky to use because the pot is often too hot to pick up without scalding your fingertips. This, along with the fact that they have no spout, so you need to tip the lid to pour – making it rather unwieldy and potentially dangerous if not adept at the skill of using one.

This hybrid style teapot is a perfect example of where tradition meets innovation to provide us with the ideal brewing experience. The deep brown color and slightly rustic texture of the ceramic has been a favorite of ours since we began our tea journey. It is a classic type of clay to balance the innovative design of the pot.

Today’s item is a personal size tea roaster constructed in the same way as the traditional charcoal roasters, which are now typically equipped with an electric heating element. This quality made roaster has separate temperature and time controls and has a ceramic hotplate to distribute the heat more evenly than a basic metal heating coil.

The roaster is designed to “freshen up” previously roasted tea leaves, or unroasted leaves to bring out their full flavor and aroma. It is quite effective in this way, and can be used to experiment with aging tea leaves and roasting them in small amounts at different temperatures and time intervals to experience the varied results.

A personal tea roaster offers good fun and valuable experience to the avid tea lovers’ hobby.
​
​http://eco-cha.com/products/mini-bamboo-tea-roaster
​