Tea drinking requires utensils. The Western Han Dynasty's literary work, Zhuangyue, mentions “preparing tea and all its implements, covering them after the feast,” which is the earliest reference to “tea utensils” in Chinese history. Historically, goldware, woodenware, pottery, weapons, ceremonial objects, and wine vessels were all referred to as “utensils.” Tea utensils are no exception. The beauty of these objects complements the tea infusion, preserves its aroma, and each type of tea utensil has a unique beauty and practical use.

Firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea are essential for daily life in China. There is also the saying that “tea is the cure for all diseases” and “without tea one day, digestion is sluggish; without tea for three days, illness ensues.”

Today, drinking tea is not only a healthy lifestyle but also a pursuit of spiritual elevation. So, what should be included on the tea table of a true tea lover?

01

Purple Clay Teapot

Sixyi Hall Reduction-fired Ziyan Shibo Teapot

The purple clay teapot is considered the premier tea utensil, ideal for brewing tea.

Firstly, purple clay contains natural iron beneficial to health, and long-term use of a purple clay teapot avoids the intake of harmful metals detrimental to human health.

Secondly, the dense yet porous texture of the clay allows air to pass through without seepage, ensuring that brewed tea retains its original flavor and does not spoil or sour.

The teapot neither leaks nor impedes air circulation, preserving the tea's original taste. The fragrance does not dissipate, allowing one to experience the true aroma and flavor of the tea, enhancing the tea's qualities.

02

Fairness Cup

The fairness cup is now commonly used to distribute tea, meeting the needs of tea drinkers. For example, when Tieguanyin or Oolong tea is steeped in a purple clay teapot, it is necessary to filter out and pour the tea liquor completely, requiring a vessel to hold it.

A pot of Pu'er tea will have significantly different concentrations between the initial infusions and later ones. If there is a container to hold the tea liquor, it can mix the different infusions thoroughly, and the fairness cup serves this purpose.

Fairness Cup Purple Clay

In addition, pouring the tea into the fairness cup can quickly cool the tea and allow fine tea leaves to settle, ensuring that the tea liquor served to each guest is clear and transparent.

03

Host Cup and Guest Cups

Premium Host Cup Wood-fired Purple Clay

The host cup, as the name suggests, is the cup regularly used by the host for tasting tea, distinct from those used by guests, symbolizing their different statuses and tastes.

Guest cups are typically used to serve guests, often chosen for uniform style and material, such as white porcelain, celadon, or purple clay.

Host Cup (Wood-fired)

A well-known phrase in the tea world is “no personal cup, no banquet,” so tea enthusiasts always prepare a host cup.

04

Tea Tray

Antique Ruyi Set (with Dry Brewing Platform)

The tea tray is a shallow container for holding Teapots, tea cups, tea sets, tea pets, and even tea snacks. It comes in single or double layers: single-layer trays are usually connected to a drain pipe leading to a tea bucket, while double-layer trays appear as drawers to collect wastewater before disposal.

Purple Clay Slurry Pot Stand

Wet brewing often uses a tea sea, which is relatively spacious and can be directly poured over.

Dry brewing employs a dry brewing platform, a small pot stand with various styles but generally small in size, often single-layered.

05

Tea Towel

Tea Towel

The tea towel is an unassuming piece of tea ware on the tea table but plays a significant role in keeping the tea table and utensils clean.

The towel used to wipe the tea utensils should be separate from the one used to clean spilled tea on the table, and they should never be mixed.

06

Tea Canister

A true tea lover is undoubtedly obsessed with finding good tea; having good tea, one must consider how to store it properly, making the tea canister indispensable.

07

Tea pet

Tiger Talisman Tea Pet (Modeled After the Original Tiger Talisman in the National Treasure)

The tea pet is an object for appreciation on the tea table, becoming warm and appealing over time, deeply loved by tea enthusiasts.

Different-shaped tea pets carry different meanings, some symbolizing wealth and contentment, others representing happiness and auspiciousness.

The care of tea pets, due to their varied shapes and postures, reflects the personality, preferences, and sentiments of the owner.

08

Calamus Potted Landscape

Calamus

Calamus is one of the Nine Immortal Herbs in China.

Calamus has been a standard adornment on the desks of literati since ancient times, often referred to as the scholar's grass. Changing the water for calamus in cold springs, leisurely brewing olive tea over a live fire. Calamus stands out for its ability to “endure hardship and cold, remain indifferent and humble,” “not requiring sunlight or soil, elegant and handsome, upright like jade, possessing the spirit of mountains and forests, without any pretentiousness.”

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