Tea pets emphasize three parts selection and seven parts care. A beautiful tea pet is slowly "nurtured" by tea drinkers investing time and thought. While drinking tea, one may gently pour tea over it or use a tea brush to apply tea liquor. Over the years, the tea pet will be nourished by the tea color, becoming warm and pleasing to the touch, fragrant with tea aroma—just like a Yixing clay teapot, increasing in value the more it is cared for. During the tea pet nurturing process, these three points must be mastered:

1. Do Not Soak

When nurturing a tea pet, do not constantly soak it in leftover tea. It is best to gently brush it with a soft brush while drinking tea. Although soaking may speed up the process, the effect is not ideal, and experienced eyes can easily tell the difference.

2. Pu-erh Tea Yields the Best Nurturing Results

Using fermented teas such as Oolong or Pu-erh to nurture a tea pet produces the fastest effects—usually changes can be seen within one or two months, and a warm, smooth effect can be observed in about half a year. In contrast, green tea is relatively slower.

3. Do Not Change Tea Types

If possible, it is best to use one type of tea to nurture the tea pet, so that it does not come into contact with teas of different qualities, which could cause the color to become impure.

The joy of nurturing a tea pet lies in personal involvement, just like growing flowers—watering, fertilizing, pruning, attending to every detail. The moment it blooms, one gains complete satisfaction. In the daily nurturing of the tea pet, there is full of inner anticipation and hope. One day, suddenly discovering that the "little nurtured one" seems to possess a lifelike spirit—how exciting and delightful that moment is!