Beginner's Guide to Chinese Tea Utensils
- EngiCrafts UK
- Aug 20, 2024
- 10 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
If you're just beginning your journey into the world of tea, it’s natural to feel excited about buying all sorts of tea utensils. However, it’s important to pause and consider what you truly need to start enjoying tea. You only require a few practical and basic items to begin experiencing the pleasures of tea drinking. As you delve deeper into the art of tea, you'll naturally discover which utensils you love and need the most. Here’s a guide to help you get started with the essentials, along with some advice on what to avoid as a beginner.
To begin with, you only need a few key items to brew tea in the traditional Chinese style using steeping methods: a gaiwan or teapot, a chahai, and teacups. For added convenience, you might also consider including a chapan (tea tray), chahe (tea holder), and a tea towel. These are the foundational tools that will allow you to start enjoying tea right away.
Essential Tea Utensils for Beginners
Teapot (cháhū, 茶壶)
The teapot is the primary tool for brewing tea and holds a central place in Chinese tea culture. Invented by the Chinese around the 14th century, the teapot emerged as a response to the need for a vessel specifically designed for brewing tea, rather than boiling it in a cauldron.
Over time, the teapot evolved from earlier jars into the refined forms we see today. Among the most renowned in Chinese culture are Yixing teapots, crafted from a special clay found near Yixing. This clay’s unique mineral composition imparts almost magical qualities to the teapot, making it highly sought after by tea enthusiasts. However, due to its porous nature, Yixing clay absorbs the flavours of the tea, making these teapots best suited for brewing only one type of tea.
For beginners, a small teapot is recommended as it is easier to handle and less likely to cause burns. Alternatively, a gaiwan or a porcelain teapot might be more practical, as they can be used to brew various types of tea in a single vessel. The style, material, and colour of the teapot are important, as they influence the harmony of your entire tea set.
Tasting Tea Cups (chábēi, 茶杯)
Tea cups are essential for enjoying tea in the traditional manner. These small cups, typically part of a set that includes a host cup and guest cups, are much smaller than their Western counterparts, holding between 20 to 50ml of tea. This size allows you to savour each steeping without overwhelming your palate, unlike larger Western cups, which can hold 200-350ml. While beginners may initially prefer larger cups, they soon realise that the smaller size is ideal for the multiple steepings common in Chinese tea traditions, preventing them from feeling too full too quickly.
The material of the teacup — whether it’s thin-walled, glass, Yixing clay, or tenmoku ceramic — can slightly influence the tea-drinking experience, with some materials, like Yixing clay, believed to enhance the tea’s flavour by softening the water.
Ultimately, the choice of teacup is deeply personal, guided by your aesthetic preferences and the desire to create a harmonious tea set. Whether you opt for a traditional, bright Chinese teacup or something more unconventional, the most important consideration is that the cup size complements the amount of tea brewed, ensuring that everyone can enjoy their portion.
Scent Cups (wénxiāngbēi, 闻香杯)
The scent cup is a specialised tea utensil used to appreciate the aroma of tea before tasting it. Taller and narrower than tasting cups, the scent cup is designed to capture and retain the tea’s fragrance, allowing the drinker to fully experience the delicate aromas that are especially prominent in high-quality oolong teas, such as those from Taiwan.
Typically made of porcelain, which is ideal for this purpose, the scent cup helps preserve the heat of the tea, allowing the aroma to diffuse slowly. The traditional method involves pouring tea into the scent cup, inverting a tasting cup over it, and then carefully flipping the pair to transfer the tea into the tasting cup. The scent cup is then brought close to the nose, where the drinker can gently rotate the cup to maintain its warmth, releasing the tea’s fragrance in a lingering, enjoyable experience. While other materials like Yixing clay can absorb tea aromas, porcelain is preferred for scent cups to ensure that the full aroma is preserved for each use.
Tea Pitcher (gōngdàobēi, 公道杯 or cháhǎi, 茶海)
The Tea Pitcher, known as gōngdàobēi (fair cup) or cháhǎi, is an essential tool for ensuring that tea is evenly distributed among all cups, maintaining consistency in flavour. When tea is poured directly from a teapot into cups, the first cup may be too weak, and the last cup too strong, leading to an imbalanced tea experience. The cháhǎi solves this by collecting the entire infusion before it is poured into individual cups, ensuring that each guest enjoys the same richness and flavour.
For beginners, a fair cup with a handle is recommended to prevent burns, and a spout shaped like an eagle’s beak is ideal for smooth pouring. Besides its primary function, the cháhǎi also halts the brewing process by separating the tea from the leaves, allowing the remaining brew in the teapot to wait for the next steeping. Additionally, if made of glass, the cháhǎi offers the added pleasure of visually appreciating the tea’s colour while enjoying its aroma lingering inside the empty vessel.
Tea Container
Proper storage is crucial to maintaining the freshness and quality of your tea, and ceramic tea containers offer an excellent solution for this purpose. These containers provide robust protection against external elements that can degrade tea, such as light, moisture, and temperature fluctuations.
Ceramic’s non-porous surface prevents moisture from entering, while also blocking out light that could cause the tea to lose its flavour and aroma. Additionally, ceramic helps maintain a stable temperature, safeguarding the tea from heat variations. One of the key advantages of ceramic containers is their ability to preserve the delicate flavours and aromas of tea without imparting any unwanted tastes, unlike some other materials. Many ceramic containers come with airtight seals that prevent oxidation, keeping your tea fresh for longer periods. Beyond their functional benefits, ceramic tea containers are also aesthetically appealing, available in a wide range of designs, colours, and styles that can complement any décor. They can serve as decorative kitchen accessories, adding a touch of elegance to your tea storage setup. Moreover, ceramic containers are versatile, suitable for storing not just loose leaf teas but also tea bags, coffee, herbs, and spices. In some cases, unglazed ceramic containers, like those made from Yixing clay, can even be used for aging certain teas, such as pu-erh, by allowing slow air exchange similar to wine aging in oak barrels.
Teapot Stand (húchéng, 壶承 or cháchuán, 茶船)
A teapot stand, known as tea tray or tea boat, is an essential tool for keeping your tea area clean and organised, particularly when practicing the dry brewing method. The primary function of a teapot stand is to prevent the teapot from sitting in water, which can occur when excess water or tea overflows during brewing. This helps maintain a tidy tea setup and protects your brewing surface from moisture damage.
In traditional Chinese tea culture, there are two brewing methods: wet and dry. Wet brewing involves pouring hot water over the teapot to raise its temperature and wash away any spilled tea, often leading to water accumulating on the tea table. A teapot stand with a raised platform allows this water to drain away, keeping the teapot elevated and dry. On the other hand, the dry brewing method, which has become increasingly popular, involves no water spillage and keeps the tea area dry and neat. Regardless of the method you prefer, a teapot stand is a practical and valuable addition to your tea set, helping to preserve both your teapot and your tea table.
Kettle
A kettle is used to boil water for brewing tea, and glass kettles are popular for their aesthetic appeal and functionality.
Tea Scoop (cházé, 茶则)
The tea scoop is an essential tool in tea preparation, designed to measure the right amount of tea leaves, ensuring consistency in every brew. Typically made of bamboo or wood, the tea scoop is used to transfer leaves from the storage container to the teapot, addressing both hygiene and moisture concerns that can arise from handling the leaves directly with your hands. Bamboo tea scoops are especially common, crafted by splitting the bamboo, shaping it with a slanted edge, and smoothing it into a form that easily holds and pours tea leaves. This design is particularly well-suited for handling the ball-shaped or semi-ball-shaped oolong teas that are popular in Taiwan, making the tea scoop a frequently seen tool in Taiwanese tea culture. Beyond its practical function, some tea scoops are intricately decorated, with bamboo carvers adding personal artistic touches such as carvings, calligraphy, and patterns, elevating the tea scoop to a piece of art that can be appreciated for its craftsmanship as well as its utility.
Tea Tweezer or Tea Pincer
Tea tweezers, also known as tea pincers, are versatile tools used in tea preparation to maintain cleanliness and safety. Shaped like a pair of tongs or tweezers, they are primarily employed for handling hot tea cups during the warming or rinsing process, where the high water temperature and small openings of the cup can make it easy to get burned. By using tea tweezers, you can safely move the cups without direct contact, ensuring both hygiene and preventing burns. Beyond their use in cup handling, tea tweezers are also practical for removing and examining tea leaves after brewing, allowing you to observe the leaf structure and quality. Additionally, they can be used to clean out tea residue from the bottom of the teapot, making them a multifunctional tool in the tea ritual. Tea tweezers are commonly made from bamboo or wood, though some may be crafted from metals like gold or silver, adding an element of elegance to their practical use.
Tea Strainer or Tea Filter
The tea strainer, also known as a tea filter, is a practical accessory used to catch any loose tea leaves or fine tea particles when pouring brewed tea into a fair cup or directly into teacups. It is typically placed over the mouth of the teapot or fair cup, ensuring that only the clear, flavourful liquid passes through while filtering out unwanted leaf fragments. This is especially useful when brewing teas that tend to produce smaller leaf particles, such as when using the last bits from a vacuum-sealed tea package. Some tea strainers are designed to integrate with tea funnels (tea leaks), so it’s important to ensure that the size of the strainer fits well with the diameter of the fair cup or teapot. For health and durability, it’s advisable to choose a tea strainer made from high-quality materials, such as #304 stainless steel, which is both safe and resistant to rust. The tea strainer is a simple yet essential tool that helps enhance the clarity and quality of your tea, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable tea-drinking experience.
Utensils Unnecessary for a Beginner
Tea Tray (chápán, 茶盘)
The tea tray is a specialised board used during tea sessions to keep the tea area clean and organised by catching any excess water or spilled tea. Its primary function is to provide a tidy surface for your tea-ware, such as teapots, fair cups, and teacups, while also offering heat insulation and drainage. Made from materials like bamboo, wood, stone, ceramic, or metal, a well-crafted tea tray not only serves a practical purpose but can also be a visually appealing centrepiece in your tea setup. Modern tea trays often come with built-in water drainage systems, sometimes featuring a tray or hose to collect and dispose of excess water efficiently.
While a tea tray can be a valuable tool for maintaining a clean and organised tea area, it tends to be bulky and might not be necessary for beginners. However, for those who frequently brew tea or appreciate the aesthetic and functional benefits, choosing a tea tray that suits your personal style, tea space, and brewing habits can enhance both the practicality and enjoyment of your tea rituals.
Tea Holder (cháhé, 茶荷)
The tea holder is a small tool commonly used in the preparation of Gongfu tea and during tea ceremonies. Its design often resembles a lotus leaf, with edges that curve upward, giving it its name. The primary function of a tea holder is to temporarily hold tea leaves after they are taken from the tea container and before they are placed into the teapot. Some tea drinkers use the tea holder to appreciate the appearance, colour, and aroma of the tea leaves, allowing for a more precise measurement before transferring them to the teapot. Tea holders are made from various materials such as bamboo, wood, ceramic, porcelain, and tin, and some are crafted with such attention to detail that they can be considered works of art.
While the tea holder adds a touch of elegance and ritual to the tea-making process, it may be unnecessary for beginners. If you are just starting, using a simple tea scoop to transfer leaves directly from the container to the teapot will suffice. As you become more familiar with tea brewing and develop a deeper appreciation for the nuances of tea, you might choose to add a tea holder to your collection for both its functionality and its aesthetic appeal.
Tea Waste Bowl or Tea Pool (shuǐfāng, 水方 or cháchí, 茶池)
The tea pool is a versatile and elegant tool used during tea brewing sessions to collect excess water and tea residue, offering a refined alternative to the traditional tea tray. It has gained popularity in recent years as part of a broader revival of traditional Chinese tea-drinking practices, often complementing ancient-style tea sets and cast iron kettles. While the tea pool can enhance the sophistication of your tea sessions, it is not an essential item for beginners. If you’re just starting, a simple porcelain plate can serve the same purpose of keeping your tea area tidy. As you grow more experienced and develop a deeper appreciation for the ritual of tea brewing, you might choose to incorporate a tea pool into your setup, but it’s not a necessity when you’re first learning the basics.
Key Takeaways
When starting with tea utensils, prioritise simplicity and practicality. You don’t need to rush into buying specialised tools right away. Start with a basic setup that you genuinely enjoy, such as a teapot and a few cups. As you grow more familiar with tea brewing, you can gradually add more items that suit your preferences and enhance your tea-drinking experience.
By beginning with these essential utensils, you’ll be well-equipped to explore the rich and rewarding world of tea without feeling overwhelmed or burdened by unnecessary tools.
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