having traditional tea on my mind...
i've only experienced a proper tea serving once... in our ancestral home in Xiamen, China when i was still very young.
it was a clay tea set placed on top of a round wood and ceramic tray with slits. hot water is poured over the clay set, and the water drains into the slits. tea leaves were placed into the pot, then hot water poured into it. first serving of tea was thrown out, as this was to wash away the impurities of the leaves, and to heat the clay-ware.
water is poured into the teapot again and this second brew was the one given to us, as the real flavors of the leaves were already released from the first brew. this was poured into the cups with care, and served to each guest
clay tea-ware seem to have a way of bringing out the earthier flavors... and the ceremony itself was mesmerizing to observe..
Yeah.....the art of tea drinking was something that I observed with fascination! A friend of mine had old tree trunks in his factory, and I asked what those were for. He used to serve us tea with his set similar to the pic you have up there, and now he has fashioned tea tables similar to this pic here. Some people are just so creative and innovative.
Edited by
Amelinng
on Fri 04/17/15 07:41 PM