Tea Time

Aaaaand now it’s time for a completely random post on tea and tea accessories, inspired by various Christmas gifts exchanged this past holiday season. Yeah I know, it’s kind of late. Everyone’s prepping for Valentine’s Day at this point. But since I have many good friends that I only get to see once in a blue moon, lots of these presents were given out quite late.

Currently, my friend Sanyo, who I met during my 2008 spring semester abroad in Shanghai, is visiting New York City all the way from Southern California. For my birthday last year he gave me a Hagi-yaki tea bowl made by Seigan Deishi, a famous ceramicist:

Hagi-yaki is a type of Japanese pottery that’s made with some weird glaze, and what makes it cool is that every piece is one-of-a-kind, and apparently only 15 out of 100 of these actually survive when they’re baked in the kiln. These pieces change color over time as they’re filled with tea again and again, so the alteration adds to their uniqueness.

When he came to visit this time, he gifted me with a late Christmas present of yet another Hagi-yaki, which I’m even more in love with:

Another picture of them side by side for comparison’s sake:

And another late Christmas present I received was a Chai tea kit from my friend Althea. She found the kit on Etsy (and if you yet haven’t realized how in love with Etsy I am, read my second to last post.)

It’s the cutest idea ever! It comes with six little containers, each holding a different ingredient: Earl Grey tea, cardamom tea, whole cloves, Ceylon cinnamon, whole cardamom, and star anise. There’s also a little scrolled up card inside with detailed instructions on how to make this delicious chai tea from scratch.

I myself also gifted a couple of tea sets this past holiday season. I gave my boyfriend Loren this lovely blue celadon gaiwan:

I gave Sanyo this gorgeous painted plum blossom set:

And while we’re on the subject of all things related to tea, I might as well talk about my current favorites. I will of course forever be partial to Asian teas just because I was raised on them. My parents religiously drink this Dong Ding Oolong tea from Taiwan, and I must confess to being pretty addicted myself. As far as non-Asian teas go, I really love this British Breakfast Black Tea that Loren bought for me as a Happy-First-Day-Of-Work present.

And a close-up on the Oolong:

Yum!