To accomplish any task well, one must first sharpen their tools. This adage applies to general labor as well as the art of tea-making, which is not only a physical activity but also a spiritual one. The choice of utensils is crucial, as they must be functional, organized, and aesthetically pleasing. As early as in ‘The Classic of Tea’, Lu Yu meticulously designed twenty-four utensils suitable for brewing and tasting tea. Tea utensils, also known as tea sets or tea instruments in ancient times, are essential for creating the perfect cup of tea. Based on their function, tea utensils can be divided into main brewing tools and auxiliary tools.
Main Brewing Utensils – Teapot: A teapot is a vessel with a spout used for brewing and pouring tea. Teapots are primarily made of purple sand or porcelain and are one of the main brewing utensils. Due to the subtle differences in the handle, lid, base, and shape, there are about 200 basic forms of teapots. The size of the teapot when brewing tea depends on the number of people drinking. The most common materials for teapots are purple sand pottery and porcelain. A classic phrase related to teapots is: ‘A vessel becomes famous for its tea, filling the room with the aroma of tea.’ Gaiwan: A gaiwan is a Han Chinese tea utensil consisting of a lid, a bowl, and a saucer. The ‘gaiwan tea’ from Sichuan uses this utensil. Also known as the ‘Three Talents Bowl’ or ‘Three Talents Cup’, the lid represents heaven, the bowl represents humans, and the saucer represents the earth, symbolizing the harmony of heaven, earth, and humans. The ‘tea saucer’ is also called the ‘tea boat’. To prepare gaiwan tea, one must first rinse the bowl with boiling water, then add tea leaves, pour water, cover, and steep for approximately 20 seconds to 3 minutes depending on the quantity and type of tea leaves. Originating in Sichuan during the Tang Dynasty, it became popular in the Qing Dynasty’s capital. Scent Cup: The scent cup is a tea appreciation tool used in Han Chinese folk culture. It is longer and slimmer than a tasting cup and is a unique utensil for oolong tea, often used when brewing the highly fragrant oolong from Taiwan. It is matched with a tasting cup of the same material, and when a tea saucer is added, it forms a set of scent cups. Tasting Cup: The tasting cup is used for tasting tea and appreciating the color of the tea liquid. Therefore, tasting cups are often made of white porcelain, purple sand, or glass. Cup Saucer: A cup saucer is a small shallow dish used for placing cups on the table. Lid Rest: The function of a lid rest is to keep the kettle lid clean and prevent water droplets from the lid from dripping onto the table. Therefore, a lid rest must have a water collection function. A support-style lid rest is a cylindrical object that only supports the center of the lid, so the lid must also be designed with a water collection function to gather the water on the lid to the center and then drip it into the cylinder to accumulate. The height should be slightly higher than the cup, or a straight cylinder cup can be used instead; a mat-style lid rest can use various plates or tea saucers. Auxiliary Supplies – The Six Gentlemen of Tea: The tea set, also known as the Six Gentlemen of Tea, is an essential tool for tea art, composed of a tea scoop, tea spoon, tea needle, tea tongs, tea strainer, and tea container. The tea scoop is used to hold tea leaves, facilitating the appreciation and measurement of the amount of tea, and is a tool for transferring tea into the kettle, typically made of bamboo.The tea needle (No. 2) is used to dredge the inner net of the teapot, prevent the spout from being blocked, and keep the water flowing smoothly.
The tea strainer (No. 3) is placed on the teapot to guide the tea leaves into the pot and prevent the tea leaves from falling outside the pot due to the small spout. The tea tongs (No. 4) are used to pick up the tasting cups and aroma-smelling cups when washing them. The tea spoon (No. 5) is a term in various local dialects. It refers to a relatively small spoon. It is also called a teaspoon, and these two terms can be used interchangeably. It is different from spoons like soup ladles and rice ladles. In modern life, it also refers to a spoon for eating, and its most common use is to stir milk tea or coffee. It got its name from the small spoon used for making tea in ancient times. The tea caddy (No. 6) is a cylindrical container used to hold tea art utensils. It is a cylindrical object for inserting tea scoops, tea spoons, tea tongs, tea needles, etc.
