Teaware for Chinese tea ceremony

There are a number of Chinese tea ceremonies and usually, the main difference between them is the type of teaware being used. New ceremonies emerged not because a tea master decided to brew tea in a different way, but because somebody has created a new piece of teaware with some advantages to existing ones. Some teaware were later adopted by other tea masters and schools, some have not become popular and disappeared thereafter. Let's try to make a list of every teaware item which is relevant to our days

Most used teaware in Chinese tea ceremony:

Gaiwan (盖碗 gàiwǎn) - cup with a lid

Gaiwan - is the most commonly used teaware in China. You can put a lot of tea in gaiwan and use it to brew tea gongfu cha style, pouring tea in small cups for you and your guests, while you also can put a few grams of tea leaves and drink and drink your tea right from the gaiwan. It is actually the most common way to drink tea in China. People might go to experience tea ceremony on some rare occasions, but people also drink tea on other days.

Chahu (茶壶 cháhú) - teapot

Well, we all know what a teapot is :) The first teapot was made long after gaiwan. There are a number of different teapots, but usually, they are rather small: 100-25 ml made of clay or porcelain. Yixing teapots are valued mostly. It is hard to find a good Yixing teapot because most of the imported ones are cheaply made replicas. Besides, a good Yixing teapot will require experimenting with the type of tea to brew in it. If you manage to choose the right tea for a good Yixing teapot - you will have a perfect cup. Yixing clay is able to absorb the taste of tea, so every next brewing is a bit different and with time your teapot will enrich the tea flavour. You can hold a hot Yixing teapot and your skin won't get burned. Also, Yixing clay is quite hard and durable, so with care your teapot will serve you and many generations after you, becoming a family treasure. Read more about Yixing teapot shapes and types of teapots.

Chabei (茶杯 chábēi) - cups

A small cup is also nothing new for you. You can find cups of different shapes, made of different materials. While teapots are usually made of Yixing clay or porcelain, ceramists have created a large variety of ceramics types and glazes for cups. That's why cups are so appreciated in China. You may use a simple teapot and other teaware, but you'd better have a set of good cups.

Chahai (茶海 cháhǎi) - tea ocean, pitcher

Alternative name: "Gongdaobei"(公道杯 gōngdàobēi) - fairness cup and "Cha Zhong" (茶盅 сhá zhōng) - tea pitcher without a handle. This is the cup, where tea infusion is poured from gaiwan or teapot before pouring it into cups. Some people swear by porcelain chahai, but most people today use glass chahai because one can appreciate the beauty and colour of the tea when using it. I can not imagine the tea ceremony without chahai. Technically, it is the only optional item, but in fact - it is a crucial part of the idea behind the tea ceremony. When you use chahai, you make equal tea for every guest. If you pour tea into the cups directly - the tea in the cup of your first guest will be mild, while the last guest will get very strong tea. Neither is going to like it and most importantly - the discussion of tea will be pointless: everybody will experience completely different tea.

Chahai is the most common name, but when chahai doesn't have any handle, it is more correct to call it chazhong. Gongdaobei - is the most explanatory name for this cup, but it is rarely used in real life.

Optional Chinese teaware:

Wenxiangbei (闻香杯 wénxiāngbēi) and pinmingbei (品茗杯 pǐnmíngbēi).

Wenxiangbei is used to appreciate the aroma of the tea, while pinmingbei allows one to appreciate the tea taste. Usually, they have equal volume. Tea is poured in a tall cup, covered with a wide one and then they are flipped. First, you pull a tall cup, so the tea can transfer to a wide one. You can smell the tea from wenxiangbei. It will release the aroma for quite a while. Once wenxiangbei gets cool it stops releasing the smell. Tea decreases its temperature to a comfortable degree by this time - it is a perfect time to drink it.

Chayeguan (茶叶罐 cháyèguàn) - tea caddy

Tea caddy is used for carrying tea at the beginning of the tea ceremony. You can also store tea in it. Most caddies are made out of clay, celadon, and porcelain, but some are made out of wood, silver, gold and other metals. Any material will do for tea presentation, but only porcelain or metal ones could be used for storage.

Chahe (茶荷 cháhé) - tea lotus

Chahe is used for smelling tea leaves. At the beginning of the tea ceremony, you put some tea leaves from the caddy into the chahe and you can pass it to your guests, so they can take a look at the leaves and smell it. During this process, you can warm up your teaware.

Chachong (茶宠 cháchǒng) - tea pet

Tea pets are different figurings that are usually placed on the chaban during the tea ceremony. Sometimes they symbolize the topic of discussion that the master has planned. Most of the tea pets symbolize some of the Chinese mythical creatures or philosophical/religious concepts. Some people recommend to pur tea over tea pets, so they will bring positive energy to your house. I would instead recommend focusing on the educational purpose of the tea pet. Tell your guest a legend, story or philosophical concept, associated with your tea pet. Give them time to think about it, discuss it and then, every time you would pour tea over your chachong - they would think again about it and at some point - they will think about it in a new, unusual way. That is one way to serve and be useful to your guests.

Chaban (茶板 chábǎn) - tea tray

Chaban is a small table, where you put all your teaware on. It has a tray for water and tea leftovers. Sometimes the word "Chapan" (茶盘 chápán) is used. They are very similar, but they hold slightly different meanings. Chapan - is a tea tray, where water and leftovers are stored inside of it during the tea ceremony, while chaban should have a pipe going to some external tray or to the drain.

Shui Yu (水盂 shuǐ yú) - receptacle for water

It is an old piece of teaware, that was used before chaban. You can place your teaware on some cloth and use shui yu only to pour out used water during the ceremony. Sometimes it is also used as a tray for teaware at the beginning of the ceremony

Chachi (茶 池 cháchí) - tea pond

It is a type of shui-yu, with a ceramic top, that has holes in it. You can use it the same way, as you would use a small chaban: place teapot and cups on top, inner part will hold used water.

Hucheng (壶承 húchéng)

Hucheng is a bed for the teapot. You can put it inside of shui-yu and use it to pour hot water on your teapot. You don't necessarily need any special item, you can use a piece of stone or wood to serve the purpose.

Chaluwang (茶濾网 chálǜwǎng) - strainer

Strainer is used to separate the tea leaves from the brew. It is not very commonly used. In fact, there are teas you should avoid straining, like Bi Lo Chun. Such delicate teas may have what is called "fur", which is what gives the tea its flavour and texture.

Zhushuihu (煮水壶 zhǔshuǐhú)

This is a large teapot, where the master boils water. Most zhushuihu are made of clay or glass, but iron ones are also popular. In Japan, you would usually find tetsubin which is the same thing as zhushuihu, but it is always made of iron. To make things simpler, people often use simple thermos instead of zhushuihu. I would recommend to try using zhushuihu and use charcoal to boil the water at least once in order to experience a real tea ceremony.

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