What´s your teaware style?
Thellou everybody:) Tell me about your favorite teaware style. Do you like rosy teacups or modern white teacups, or anything else. I love a little romance in my choise of teaware at home. I like to set the teatable with great interest in detail: flowers, doilies, little teaspoons and lovely napkins. At work thoug i like very simple style, a big teamug that rests on my desk.
I’m lazy: I guess my teaware style could best be described as dishwasher safe.
I collect teapots & teacups/saucers… but it is a rare occasion when I actually use them. My everyday cuppa I sip out of a big mug.
I second Anthony’s sentiments. I would love to get into teaware but both my husband and I hate clutter and we’re currently trying to sell our condo and buy a house so that just means more stuff to move/hide during showings. That’s the reason (the clutter, not the condo selling) I went with a ceramic teapot over cast iron since cast iron picks up the flavors from the tea and I make so many different flavors I’d have to have about 10 teapots. Between that and my perfect teamaker, I’m set.
However, the siren song of cute teaware does call to me sometimes. So far I’ve been able to resist it. High price tags help.
I do totally want the bodum double walled glass mugs though. I blame Ashley for that. Their price tag and high breakability are the only thing keeping me from replacing all my mugs with those.
Hm, I’ve not really researched it but have never had a problem with my own Double walled mugs. Not Bodum brand, but very similar style. They’ve been clunked about a fair bit and my only problem is that they display finger-prints more readily than ceramics.
I’ve got a number of bodum double walled glasses, they make the tea look exquisite and I can’t prove it but I am convinced that it makes the tea taste better. I’ve got a 12 oz bodum that I’ve used almost everyday for the past four years that has held up fine, I am relatively careful with them though. They are totally worth worth it though, I can’t believe I just used the word totally, been hanging out with my sister too much.
I have a big red teapot, and a smaller light green one. All my cups and teaware are bright solid colors. I like color that is uncomplicated.
I love collecting yixing pots, hagi, and gaiwans but I tend to keep my collection small so that it only takes up 2 shelves. I love Chinese and Japanese style teaware.
English style teaware is my preference but I love a good artsy or whimsical teapot – the only thing keeping me from filling up my house with Franz is the price! Since I host tea parties I do have a lot of teaware. Most of the matching cups I have are glass. I have no cast iron at all and my glass pots are small and used only for flowering teas.
When making for myself at home if I am doing a whole pot, I use a pretty floral cup from Scotland. If just making one cup, I use a small cup with one of the traditional Chinese patterns. At work it’s a big ol’ Elvis mug. :)
I love quirky stuff, but only buy new things if there’s room, which right now I am at my limit. I love mugs with faces on them, I have a moose one, and a old sea captain.
For teapots, I want a teapot from each type of tea culture. That’s exciting to me. I hope to travel more someday, to add to it. I get almost all my teaware at thrift stores/flea markets. I really love Japanese teaware, but haven’t ran into any in the thrift stores I visit.
I do not have a particular style. But I am drawn to all white uniform porcelain coffee mugs. I do have a soft spot for that aesthetic. But outside of that little quirk, I enjoy my teaware based on feel and function. I have toted around foolish looking containers that suited my feel (a goofy snowball juggling snowman).
Mix and match for me.
I am too lazy to use dishwasher. Plain water rinsing for all my tea ware :-p
I am getting into a “Shabby Chic” sort of look, nothing matches, but everything is super bright and colourful and nothing is flowery or “too girly”. And I only use my one pot of weekends when I want more than one cup and I don’t want to go through the effort of putting down my book to get another cup.
But I would LOVE a clear pot for my oolongs, they are so pretty and I wish I could watch them as they open.
hello. Just wanted to add that we have a very nice glass teapot that is hand-blown, heat resistant (microwave safe & can be used on certain stoves), and comes with a glass infuser. We also have a glass gaiwan if you prefer to brew your oolongs that way.
http://www.butikiteas.com/Teawares.html
Its not very complicated once you get the hang of it. I find it easier since the brewing times are shorter. Essentially, you:
1. Warm the gaiwan & tea cup(s)-Add hot water to gaiwan & tea cup(s) then dump it out.
2. Add the leaves (you will be adding more leaves than western style brewing)
3. Rinse the leaves-add hot water (same temperature as needed for brewing). Next strain the water out by tilting the lid slightly and holding the lid in place. There are a few methods for doing this. I find it most comfortable if i use my index finger on the lid and thumb on one side of the gaiwan and middle finger on the other side.
4. Brew the tea (you will be using shorter infusions)
5. Pour the tea into the cup(s). Tilt the lid slightly, and hold it down while pouring your tea (with same method as above)
6. You can re-use the tea multiple times.
If you’d like, I can prepare and send you more detailed information on gaiwan use with the steep times and amount of leaves used.
That would be helpful since I was just gifted some four seasons oolong a while ago and I just don’t have the heart to try this one until I have something proper to steep it in.
Sorry for the delay. Here is a better write up on using a gaiwan: http://www.butikiteas.com/Gaiwan.html
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