Tea represents a peaceful and tranquil life, and Drinking Tea has become the pursuit of many, even turning into a fashion trend. Tea has further evolved into “tea culture,” a shared cultural phenomenon for the entire nation. People began to appreciate the form, color, aroma, and taste of tea itself, and this appreciation gradually extended to the completeness and delicacy of tea utensils, as well as the artistic beauty of the utensils themselves, enhancing people's sensory enjoyment and achieving a deeper harmony of the mind. So, what is the unusual development of tea utensils?

China is the birthplace of tea and also of ceramics; it is the origin of tea culture and the cradle of tea utensil art. The term “tea utensils” first appeared in Wang Bao's “Tongyue” from the Western Han Dynasty, with the phrase “preparing tea with all the necessary utensils,” indicating a meticulous approach to tea preparation. During the Tang Dynasty, drinking tea was enjoyed by all levels of society, and tea became an essential item for entertaining guests, worshiping deities, and honoring ancestors under the influence of Buddhism and Taoism, making tea utensils an integral part of Tea drinking. The Tang and Song Dynasties were the peak periods of China's historical tea culture; tea-drinking became a popular trend, and the gentry spared no effort in their tea affairs, leading to the emergence of specialized tea utensils. The ancients even used the beauty of “utensils” to enhance the excellence of “tea.” As the homeland of tea, China also has a long history of tea utensils, making tea utensil culture an inseparable part of tea culture.

Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, tea utensils have been classified by material, including earthenware tea utensils, porcelain tea utensils, lacquer tea utensils, metal tea utensils, glass tea utensils, and bamboo and wood tea utensils. During the Song Dynasty, the production of porcelain tea utensils flourished, giving rise to various styles of porcelain tea utensils. Famous kilns of that time included the official kiln in Hangzhou, Ge Kiln in Zhejiang, Ru Kiln in Henan, Jun Kiln in Henan, and Ding Kiln in Hebei. The earliest known tea utensils were probably clay jars similar to today's tea roasting jars in Sichuan and Yunnan, which could be used both for cooking tea and as containers. Although they had a simple shape, they were heavy and coarse. Glazed Pottery tea utensils emerged since the Western Han Dynasty, with a smooth and glossy surface and bright colors, beginning to exhibit artistic qualities. In the Tang Dynasty, ceramic tea utensils were predominant, while noble families and wealthy households also used metal tea utensils made of gold, silver, copper, and tin. During the Song Dynasty, black-glazed cups were mainly used for “tea fighting.” In the Yuan Dynasty, celadon tea utensils were common, and in the mid-Ming Dynasty, purple clay teapots appeared. In the Qing Dynasty, gold-threaded enamel porcelain and lacquer tea utensils were introduced. In modern times, glass and enameled tea utensils have emerged. China's tea utensils are diverse and varied, and the art of tea utensils is rich and colorful. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, tea utensils were meticulously crafted and decorated, with an increasingly strong cultural atmosphere. In the Qing Dynasty, the production of tea utensils entered a period of unprecedented diversity and brilliance. The main materials for making tea utensils, earthenware and porcelain, further developed, forming two famous series: Jingdezhen porcelain and Yixing purple clay pottery.

Nowadays, when people drink tea, they think of tea utensils. There is a close relationship between tea-drinking methods and tea utensils. Even the best tea needs to be brewed with tea utensils to showcase its fragrance, rich flavor, and bright color. What kind of tea utensils are needed for different tea-drinking methods?

During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the method of drinking tea involved steaming fresh leaves, crushing them into cakes, stringing them up, and drying them, referred to as “tea cakes” or “cake tea.” When drinking, the tea cake would be ground into powder (also called powdered tea) and placed in a pot to be boiled so that the tea could fully infuse before drinking, making the tea utensils of that time very complex. In his “The Classic of Tea – Chapter Four: Utensils,” the tea sage Lu Yu listed a total of 28 tea utensils. In addition to the commonly used utensils for brewing, drinking, and storing tea, there were also utensils for grinding tea: the tea mill and the tea sieve. The tea mill was a tool for grinding tea, available in wooden and stone versions. Wooden tea mills were made from hard, fine-grained, odorless wood, with the best being tangerine wood, followed by pear, mulberry, and paulownia wood. This type of wooden tea mill consisted of a “mill base” and a “mill roller.” The mill base was square-shaped on the outside, with a round hole in the middle that fit the “roller” perfectly. The mill roller was a round piece of wood with an axle installed in the middle. When grinding tea, one held the axle and turned the mill roller, using the pressure between the mill roller and the mill base to crush the tea cake. The tea sieve, also known as a “sieve box” by Lu Yu, had a hoop made of bamboo or fir bent through heating and painted. The sieve surface was made of fine silk gauze. When sifting the powdered tea, a cover was added to prevent the tea dust from scattering. In the Song Dynasty, the hoops of tea sieves were made of gold and silver, and the sieve surfaces were made of fine painting silk from Oxi in Sichuan. At that time, tea drinkers often ground and sifted their own tea.

With changes in tea-making and drinking trends, from grinding tea cakes during the Tang and Song Dynasties to boiling whole leaf “loose tea” (also called “steamed green loose tea”) in the Yuan Dynasty, to changing “steamed green” to “fried green” in the Ming Dynasty, the method of drinking tea also changed from boiling to steeping. Therefore, in addition to the existing tea cups and bowls, specialized “teapots” for tasting tea appeared in the Ming Dynasty, and from then on, cups and teapots became the most basic tea utensils.

The development and innovation of Chinese Tea utensils throughout history have continuously enhanced their artistic quality and aesthetic value. Appreciating various tea utensils while drinking tea has naturally become a pleasant and enjoyable process. The unusual development of tea utensils has added a mysterious touch, complementing tea and forming both “tea culture” and “tea utensil culture.”