Select a teapot and brew the tea

Author: (Taiwan) Chi Chung-Hsien
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
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 into it cannot rely on hearsay or merely looking at a few illustrated catalog books to understand the pot. If you buy a pot solely for brewing tea, then you must remember: the pot's function is to serve the tea. Drink the tea you like, buy the pot that suits it: 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 people. Drinking tea can be a simple and ordinary affair, or it can be a mindful experience that reveals fragrance and taste. To enjoy a good cup of tea, it's not just about good tea and good water; it also requires a good mood for tea. Only then can you concentrate and carefully extract the essence of the 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 drinking tea holds so many graceful and enchanting 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 people.
The "Tea Style Series" covers the following three aspects:
1. Tea - A Tea, a Story. Every tea has its own fascinating and winding history. We systematically introduce popular teas in the world, such as "Tieguanyin," "Pu-erh," and "Wuyi," writing biographies for each tea and telling their legendary tales!
2. Tea and Life. Boil water, place tea in the pot, pour hot water into the pot, and transfer the tea to a cup. These seemingly simple steps of brewing tea contain subtle elements of how to choose water, how to pour, the amount of tea, the speed and quantity of the water infusion—all of which subtly awaken the fragrance and flavor of the tea.
3. Tea Ware. A fine tea must be paired with a good teapot to enhance its brilliance. Among the classic Chinese tea wares of the past dynasties, many come from renowned kilns or were passed down in imperial courts or among scholars and connoisseurs, becoming themes for collection. This series will explore the inseparable bond between tea drinking styles and tea wares of each era, using Chinese tea wares 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 realm 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 to see the fragrance of tea in the words of tea.
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 into it cannot rely on hearsay or merely looking at a few illustrated catalog books to understand the pot. If you buy a pot solely for brewing tea, then you must remember: the pot's function is to serve the tea. Buying a teapot should not rely solely on the artist's seal. If you remove the artist's seal from the pot, can you still recognize it? Only then do you have the right to buy a pot; otherwise, you are just buying a seal, not the pot. Buying a teapot is to brew tea well. If the 1,000 yuan teapot 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 buy a teapot, rather than just 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. Is it true that if the pot in your hand is exactly the same as the one printed in the book, it adds more assurance and value?