Information That you Should Know About Teapots
March 28th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Where did the Teapots Originate?
If one is to go by the accounts of Chou Kao-ch’I, who authored the Yang Hsien ming hu hsi, an account dealing with Ishing teapots, then it was these teapots which were the creations of potters at Ishing that were later made famous to Europeans and were known to them by the Portuguese term, bocarro, which means large mouth. These were teapots that were of small size and came to Europe along with tea to become the models after which the European teapots were first fashioned.
However, this view has since been disputed and teapots in Europe may have been attributed to either the Islamic coffee pots or to the Chinese wine vessels that were being imported as curiosity items. In any case, there is no denying the fact that tea was originally Chinese, even though teapots as we know them today are basically entirely European.
To begin with, European teapots were heavy cast having short, straight and replaceable spouts that were different to the Chinese teapots. This was followed by large scale importations of teapots through the East India Company, which, recognizing the increasing demand, then imported them and they also made for extra ballast for ships on which they were being sent.
With industrialization, the growing middle class had surplus cash and they wanted to imitate the lifestyles of the upper classes and this included the afternoon tea ritual, which was common amongst the more fortunate parts of society.
The market for teapots thus, grew incredibly, and even renowned artist-merchants like Josiah Wedgwood and Josiah Spode began to cater to this growing demand. The design of teapots catered to every taste and style and it incorporated every major trend in Victorian art and craft styles including Renaissance, Gothic, Chinese, Moorish, Japanese, as well as Art Nouveau.
Contemporary design of teapots made a return to simpler forms and during the 1960s became more functional, in order to depict the modernism that was sweeping all and by the next ten years, novelty teapots also then made a re-appearance.
There have always been constant changes in the regards to the design of teapots, with the passage of time. Sometimes they tend to be elegant and many of these teapots reflect the classic patterns of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
There are a number of more common types and styles of teapots, and these include that of: Classic Brown Betty Teapots, Japanese Tetsubin Teapots, Silver and Porcelain Teapots as well as Chinese Yixing Teapots and Clear Glass Teapots. Each has their own distinctive style and is popular among various sections of society.
Teapot - Early Chinese Tea Drinking Vessels That Later Came to Europe
March 25th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
European styles are the most preferred now-a-days
If one is to go by the accounts of Chou Kao-ch’i who authored the Yang Hsien ming hu hsi, an account dealing with Ishing teapots, it was these teapots which were the creations of potters at Ishing that were later made famous to Europeans and were known to them by the Portuguese term, bocarro, which means large mouth.
These were teapots that were of small size and came to Europe along with tea to become the models after which the European teapots were first fashioned.
However, this view has been disputed and teapots in Europe may have been attributed to either the Islamic coffee pots or to the Chinese wine vessels that were being imported as curiosity items.
In any case, there is no denying the fact that tea was originally Chinese, even though teapots as we know them today are European. To begin with, European teapots were heavy cast having short, straight and replaceable spouts that were different to the Chinese teapots.
This was followed by large scale importations of teapots through the East India Company, which recognizing the increasing demand, imported them and they also made for extra ballast for ships on which they were being sent.
With industrialization, the growing middle class had surplus cash and they wanted to imitate the lifestyles of the upper classes and this included the afternoon tea ritual, which was common amongst the more fortunate parts of society.
The market for teapots thus, grew and renowned artist-merchants like Josiah Wedgwood and Josiah Spode began to cater to this growing demand. The design of teapots catered to every taste and style and it incorporated every major trend in Victorian art and craft styles including Renaissance, Gothic, Chinese, Moorish, Japanese, as well as Art Nouveau.
Contemporary design of teapots made a return to simpler forms and during the 1960s became functional, to depict the modernism that was sweeping all and by the next ten years, novelty teapots made reappearance.
There have always been constant changes to the design of teapots, with the passage of time. Sometimes they tend to be elegant and many of these teapots reflect the classic patterns of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
There are a number of common types and styles of teapots and these include Classic Brown Betty Teapots, Japanese Tetsubin Teapots, Silver and Porcelain Teapots as well as Chinese Yixing Teapots and Clear Glass Teapots. Each has their own distinctive style and is popular among various sections of society.
Go Climb a Tea Tree
March 12th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
A tea tree, which is also popularly referred to as a ti tree, is used to refer to any related or even unrelated series of trees which grow the leaves that are made and used to produce tea. This grouping of trees may or may not carry the leaves from which traditional tea is even derived. However, they have all been termed as such because, at some point or another, people have used the leaves of the said trees for the tea-making process.
That is, individuals and groups have taken leaves from the tea tree and soaked them in water in order to make a tea-like product. Although there are numerous types included in the tea tree classification, for the sake of space, three will be discussed in this article as examples: the kanuka tree, the leptospermum tree and camellia sinensis, a true tea tree.
Kanuka
This tea tree which is found in New Zealand is really more like a shrub than a tree. This tea tree can grow very large and is abundant across the New Zealand landscape, and due to the beautiful little white flowers it contains, these tea trees also create a beautiful backdrop across much of the land.
Some liken the appearance of a series of kanuka trees to that of a snowy hillside. Although the leaves are often used for tea-making, this tea tree actually only produces an herbal tea product, so technically it is not a true tea-making tea tree.
Leptospermum
Like the kanuka tea tree, the leptospermum resembles more of a bush than an actual tree. Also similarly, this tea tree can be found in New Zealand. However it is most prevalent in Australia, and still yet similar to the kanuka tree, the leptospermum leaves generate an herbal tea and not the true tea type of green, white, black/red or oolong. In addition to using the leaves of this tea tree to make a tea-like product, natives have also long-used the flowers’ nectar to make honey.
Camellia Sinensis
The camellia sinensis is the one true tea tree from which all teas, black/red, green, oolong and white are originally plucked. It is based on the eventual oxidation process that determines the final product, but subtleties in flavor are also relevant to the region of each camellia sinensis tea tree. This tea tree is a native to Asian regions, but today they can be found and are cultivated all over the world. All that is needed is a bit of tropical weather in order to make the camellia sinensis grow.
