The New Additions

I must apologize for the lack of posting. School has begun, once again, and my time is limited. However, I still make time for tea… just not enough time to write about it. Stay with me, though, I’m going to try my best to get more reviews submitted because I received loads of new teas for Christmas.

Speaking of things I received for Christmas, I will now get to the main reason for this new blog entry, my new tea toys! The first tea ware that I would like to mention is my fantastical green Yixing pot that I received from my boyfriend’s parents. I absolutely love the shape and the deep “smoked” green color. I mentioned my favorite color is green right? Heh, anyways, I also love the cute matching cups that come with it. The only problem that I see with this Yixing pot is the size. It’s a good 12oz and from what I’m learning about Yixing pots, the smaller the better… contrary to what I’ve been told by my promiscuous peers. Another problem I am having with this Yixing pot is I have been, as of this moment, unable to find a tea to dedicate it to. Some tea friends of mine have suggested oolongs but I am still not really into oolongs. I swing towards green tea. I am open to suggestions on a good green tea to present to this lonely Yixing pot, so what do you think?

Next up is my greatest impulse buy, yet… I think. Heh, this set of cups I found on the internet and darn it if I can’t find the name of the site at the moment (sorry). Anyways, this was a serious love at first site kind of thing! I love shiny, bright, bold colors… heh heh, shiny! I was, at first, just going to order the green cup (duh) but they were on sale and, like most shoppers I know, I couldn’t pass up a good sale. I am very glad that I bought the whole set because the four of them look amazing when sitting on my shelf, waiting to be filled with leafy goodness. Heh heh, so shiny.

Finally, I received a bright red “tea pot” from my aunt. I have searched the internet using numerous Google searches and have visited almost every site that has been mentioned on Tea Chat but I have never seen anything like this. I know you can buy “tea cups” with strainers in them but I have not seen one with this design or even a lid (but maybe that is just me). This tea pot works like a normal cup with a strainer, you put the strainer in the cup, put the leaves in, add hot water, and with this cup you put on the lid. When the tea is done steeping you remove the lid, turn the lid over (so the red side is facing down), remove the strainer and after all the liquid drains into the cup, you set the strainer on the lid of the tea pot. Cool, eh? I think it’s pretty sweet… and shiny. The only problem I have with it is that when I brew a small leaf tea like Sencha or Gyokuro, the leaves get stuck in the slightly large holes of the strainer. This makes clean up not the greatest thing in the world, but it is actually quicker to clean than my “regular” tea pot.

These are all my new toys. I plan on getting into Matcha next, however, that will not be for a while. Like I said above, I still have so many teas to try before I start getting into the ceremonial stuff. It is still on my list of stuff to do to expand my tea experience, so no worries. One thing I would like to purchase, if the funds will allow, is a tea tray. Time for some more online shopping!