This is one that I have shared before but one that I absolutely love. It is red, my favorite color, and has a little bit of a back story. I found this one after we had dinner at our daughter in law’s parents’ house for the first time . It was a really fun night and we have since had many other meals with her parents who seem to outdo themselves each time we visit.
We had no less than 20 courses that her gracious parents prepared for us on this night. and it was wonderful. I have vowed to get good at eating with chopsticks because right now I stink at it and would starve if I had to rely on eating with chopsticks. Of course part of the meal involved tea and they had an amazing tea set that I coveted. I admit it.
It was a beautiful blue floral pattern but the best part were the double walled insulated cups that we drank the steaming hot tea from. The mugs stayed cool in our hands and I was amazed. I loved these mugs.
Once I got home I asked my friend Mr. Google about these sets and he gladly shared several places where I could purchase them. So I found the perfect one in red and ordered it. From China. Because that is the best place to get a set like this. My pictures definitely do not do it justice—I had difficulty photographing it but trust me—the red is vivid and the gold embellishments are beautiful.
It arrived within a couple of weeks in perfect condition and was not as expensive as you might think or else I never would have bought it. So now I am enjoying my lovely red tea set and love the cups. They are the perfect tea drinking vessel and I feel like I am drinking my Chinese brews authentically.
Each cup has a tiny hole in the bottom to drain any liquid that might get inside the insulated walls.
The tray that the set sits upon has drainage holes as well and that way when the water is poured into the teapot if any overflows it is contained in the tray below.
The petite teapot is the typical size of a true Chinese teapot that is constantly refilled with hot water. The steeping basket is an added bonus.
I currently have this one on my dining room table as a centerpiece because I love it so much. It will be staying there for awhile.
Tea History
Sometimes you will see pricy teas called ‘Monkey Picked Tea.’ This name is likely a reference to the high quality of the tea, not the method it was harvested. The name comes from variations on the legend that monkeys used to be trained to pick tea leaves. One variation is that monkeys picked tea that grew at precarious heights too dangerous for people to climb to. Another is that monks would throw things at monkeys to knock them out of tea trees, breaking branches of choice leaves at the top as the fell so that the branches would fall to the ground.
From 19 Lessons on Tea : A Guide by 27 Press
