Select a teapot, brew the tea

Author: China Friendship Publishing House
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-17
Features: Is the pot bought for collection and appreciation, or for practical use in brewing tea? If you buy a pot with the former mindset, then the effort you put in cannot rely on hearsay, nor can you judge a pot by just looking at a few illustrated catalog books. If you buy a pot solely for brewing tea, then you must remember: the function of the pot is to serve the tea.
Drink what kind of tea, buy what kind of pot: round pots for oolong tea, flat pots for Wuyi tea, flat purple clay pots for Tieguanyin. The "Tea Style Series" is compiled and planned with a respectful heart for tea! It uses simple language to record how tea stands out amidst diverse and changing factors, and hopes to bring a fragrant essence to the art of tea drinking for the Chinese.
Drinking tea can be a simple and ordinary affair, or it can be an experience of savoring fragrance and taste with mindfulness. To enjoy a good cup of tea, it's not just about good tea and good water; it also requires a good mood towards tea. Only then can one concentrate and carefully extract the essence of tea from its physical form, and penetrate the cultivation and craftsmanship of tea to find its flavor and depth! So, deeply understanding every detail of tea can become the foundation of a tea enthusiast. Unfortunately, without a profound and accessible understanding and analysis of tea, one loses the ability to grasp the multifaceted changes of tea, and thus fails to realize that tea drinking originally holds so many graceful and diverse aspects!
The "Tea Style Series" is compiled and planned with a respectful heart for tea! It uses simple language to record how tea stands out amidst diverse and changing factors, and hopes to bring a fragrant essence to the art of tea drinking for the Chinese.
The "Tea Style Series" covers the following three aspects:
1. Tea - A Tea, a Story. Every type of tea has its own fascinating and winding history. We systematically introduce popular teas in the world, such as "Tieguanyin," "Pu-erh Tea," and "Wuyi Tea," writing biographies for each, revealing their legendary tales!
2. Tea and Life. Boiling water, placing tea in the pot, pouring hot water into the pot, and transferring the tea into a cup—these seemingly simple steps of brewing tea contain subtle elements that influence the fragrance and taste of the tea, such as the quality of water, the amount of tea, the speed and quantity of the pour, etc.
3. Tea Ware. Fine tea must be paired with excellent tea ware to enhance each other. Among the classic tea ware of China's dynasties, many come from renowned kilns or were passed down in imperial courts or among scholars and connoisseurs, becoming a popular theme for collection. This series will explore the inseparable bond between tea drinking styles and tea ware of each era, using Chinese tea ware as the vertical axis and time as the horizontal axis.
Tea is the national drink, and its fragrance has been spreading for a thousand years. In the vast world of tea, have you found its soft freshness? Have you been able to taste its charm just by drinking a cup of tea? Let the "Tea Style Series" accompany you as you discover the fragrance of tea in the tea texts.
Is the pot bought for collection and appreciation, or for practical use in brewing tea? If you buy a pot with the former mindset, then the effort you put in cannot rely on hearsay, nor can you judge a pot by just looking at a few illustrated catalog books. If you buy a pot solely for brewing tea, then you must remember: the function of the pot is to serve the tea.
When buying a tea pot, don't rely solely on the artist's seal. If you remove the seal left by the artist on the pot and still recognize it as a valuable piece, then you have the key to buying a pot. Otherwise, you're just buying a seal, not the pot itself. Buying a tea pot is about brewing good tea. If the 1,000 yuan pot you buy can elevate 1,000 yuan of tea to a 1,500 yuan level, then the cost of brewing two pounds of tea will be recouped. Therefore, buyers should first purchase a tea pot, rather than seeking famous artist seals on it. Buyers should develop a deep connection with tea, wholeheartedly understanding the relationship between the pot and the tea, allowing the pot to serve the tea, rather than just being a specimen displayed in a showcase or used to match catalog illustrations.
If the pot in your hand is identical to the one printed in the book, does that add to its guarantee and value?