How to Pick the Proper Teaware for Different Types of Tea Brewing

Different Types of Proper Tea Brewing

**1. Glass Tea Utensils:**

Characteristics of glass tea utensils:

1. Affordable and popular among consumers.

2. Fragile, so they can get hot to the touch compared to ceramic.

3. Transparent and shiny, which makes them excellent for brewing various high-quality teas. The tea's vibrant color, the unfolding of tea leaves during brewing, and their appearance are clearly visible, giving them high aesthetic value.

Suitable teas for glass tea utensils:

Primarily used to brew teas with a good appearance, such as Xinyang Maojian, Junshan Yinzhen, and Jin Jun Mei.

**2. Ceramic Tea Utensils (Purple Clay Teaware):**

Characteristics of ceramic tea utensils:

1. Preserve the true aroma of the tea without adding a cooked taste, and they maintain the color, aroma, and taste of tea leaves for an extended period.

2. The tea residue inside the teapot can enhance its quality. These utensils do not need frequent cleaning and can develop a natural tea aroma with extended use.

Suitable teas for ceramic tea utensils:

Ideal for brewing Pu'er, Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong, and Da Hong Pao, which are heavily fermented teas.

**3. Porcelain Tea Utensils:**

Types include white porcelain, celadon, and black porcelain. White porcelain is the most esteemed. It allows the tea's natural color to be expressed to the fullest. The white porcelain produced in Jingdezhen and Dehua is the most famous.

Characteristics of porcelain tea utensils:

1. Low thermal conductivity, which makes them easy to handle while brewing tea.

2. Stable physical properties, non-absorbent, and resistant to chemical reactions, preserving the original flavor of the tea.

Suitable teas for porcelain tea utensils:

Most appropriate for brewing light-fermented teas with rich fragrances, such as West Lake Longjing, Dongting Biluochun, and Anxi Tie Guanyin.

**4. Metal Tea Utensils:**

These include gold, silver, copper, and tin, which are chosen for their stable physical properties. In general, metal utensils for drinking tea receive lower evaluations.

Characteristics of metal tea utensils:

Good sealing properties, oxidation-resistant, with tin often used for tea storage. However, metal utensils for drinking tea do not receive high praise.

**5. Lacquerware Tea Utensils:**

Lacquerware tea utensils mainly come from the Fuzhou region of Fujian, with notable varieties including Beijing carved lacquerware, Fuzhou tuotai lacquerware, and the tuotai lacquerware from Poyang and Yichun in Jiangxi.

Characteristics of lacquerware tea utensils:

1. Typically made of silver as the primary material, which is lightweight and stable, providing high temperature resistance and acid resistance.

2. Fuzhou lacquerware, in particular, is famous for its colorful appearance, with various styles, including golden sand glitter, filigree agate, changing gold thread, antique porcelain, carving, high relief, and inlaid silver.

**6. Wood, Stone, Tea Utensils:**

Wooden tea utensils are simple, affordable, and appreciated by many. Stone tea utensils are often made from pumice and have excellent clarity, natural preservation, and good health benefits.

**7. Bamboo and Wooden Tea Utensils:**

Bamboo and wooden tea utensils are simple, cost-effective, and still loved by many people today. They use natural bamboo and wood as raw materials. The most distinctive feature is the unprocessed, original state of the utensils, preserving a hint of bamboo fragrance even after brewing tea. In southern China, utensils made from coconut shells are used for tea brewing due to their practicality and affordability, often seen in places like Hainan. Wooden or bamboo containers for tea, as well as Wuyishan-style wooden boxes for oolong tea, are also widely used. They feature landscape paintings and are both finely crafted and unique. Decorative wooden containers, bamboo boxes, and other tea utensils are valuable gifts and serve practical purposes.

These tea utensils cater to various needs and preferences when it comes to brewing and enjoying different types of tea.