Tea Making Equipment

I've not really ventured too much into making Japanese teas with any great degree of tradition, so I shall leave this until a later date - I'll either create a new post or edit this one.

For teas brewed using the more familiar Western method, I will be using a small ‘Tea-For-One’ teapot and cup, along with a steel ball infuser (I know, they aren’t ideal but they do fit the small pots!). These are very popular and widely available now. You should be able to find something of quality for about £20. I find them particularly handy at the office and would feel a bit lost without one.

Chinese tea is made in many different ways under many different circumstances, with fairly varied tea ware. As I’ve already suggested, while some methods may be better than others at getting the best out of leaves, there is no single right way to do it.

What concerns me in this blog is making tea in everyday circumstances where time and space are likely to be limited. In my case, this is at my desk at home and at my desk at work. I’m going to suggest a couple of arrangements – the first being my preferred one, the second being a small compromise on that.

With the exception of the flask, all of the tea ware listed can be purchased directly from China thanks to ebay stores – these really are the most cost effective source of items like these and there is some good quality available too. Furthermore, the stores I have purchased from have never stinted on packaging – it doesn’t matter how delicate your wares, they will get to you unbroken.

When reviewing tea for this blog, it will usually be made with the first arrangement...

The gongfu tray is not absolutely essential but it is very, very handy to have. These will usually be a bamboo box with a slotted lid that serves as a work surface so that spilt or discarded water falls through the slots into the box. It is common to discard the first steeping of the leaves (well, it’s really just a wash or blanching), so that alone makes this worth having but if, like me, you are a little messy, then I can’t recommend one enough. It is particularly worth while at a desk with a computer, acting as an additional safeguard against costly accidents.

The one that I use at home is about 25cm by 16cm and about 6cm deep and cost me around £20. Everything bar my flask can fit comfortably onto it, which means it pretty much defines my tea space. If you have space enough for one of these and a flask on your desk, then you’re good to go.

Chinese teas tend to be brewed in small amounts, reusing the leaves a number of times. Because of this, it is handy to have a source of hot water to hand – ideally this would be a small kettle or pot kept warm to the desired temperature. However, life is seldom ideal and so the best solution I have found is a simple Thermos Flask. I suggest that you stick to the Thermos brand as I’ve always been pleased with the quality and how long the water is kept hot, and the twist-and-pour tops are accurate and seldom dribble or drip. You can buy and 375ml flask for about £7 or a 500ml one for £10. The advantage of the 500ml is that you’ll need to make fewer trips to get more water (in principle), however, as you use water, the temperature of what remains is dropping such that you may need to get fresh hot water before the flask is used anyway.

At home I use bottled mineral water boiled in an enamelled kettle that is used for nothing else. At work however, the office has to make do with a heated urn, which is far from ideal but that’s life. If you are in the same situation, you may find that your flask suffers from a build up of lime scale. This is easy to treat: put in a cupful of cider vinegar and top up with hot water, then leave for a few hours before you rinse clean. No more scale.

I honestly find a simple brewing cup, known as a gaiwan, to be the best and most versatile thing to brew my tea in. It is quick and simple to use, and a doddle to clean. Basically it is a simple lidded cup that usually has a saucer – you just add your leaves, pour in the water, cover with the lid and allow to steep. Now you’ve a choice: you can either drink your tea directly from the cup (but remember that the leaves are continuing to steep as you do), or to pour either into a pitcher or to your cup(s).

There are very many designs available, though most keep to the tried and tested traditional shape. For your first, I would suggest a simple white porcelain and for making tea for just yourself, get a small one with a capacity between 80ml to 120ml. The smaller examples can be handled most easily – particularly if you have small hands. The gaiwan that I am using at the moment is actually a red clay with a white ceramic glaze with a 90ml capacity – I find it very comfortable to handle and it costs less than £7.

A pitcher is a handy item to have, as even a small gaiwan will make enough tea for two small cups, so you’ll either need a larger cup or one of these. I’m using a small 120ml capacity glass pitcher which has a double wall rather than a handle and it cost me about £6.

Cups are an obvious bit of kit but a little different from what you might be used to. These small bowls will hold between 20ml to perhaps 60ml at the top end. Around 30-45ml seems more normal. The ones I am using match my gaiwan and a set of four cost a little under £8.

As some teas I will be reviewing come in compacted cakes, you may need a small tea pick or tea knife. I have both but prefer the knife as a rule – about £3 should to the trick. And finally, you may also want to pick up a strainer – again, you get buy cheap ones for £3 that do the job fine.

All told, this arrangement should set you back £60 – but if buying from China, that will include the postage.

If you are little more pushed for space than this or need to be able to clear space quickly, then this might be worth a look. If you aren’t as messy as I am, then you can forego the gongfu tray, and spend your money on just the Thermos and one of these little alternatives to a gaiwan/teapot. There are a few places that sell these, sometimes as teapots, sometimes as gaiwans, and sometimes as quick gongfu makers. Whatever you call them, they are little brewing bowls that will steep enough for one small cup, while the cup sits on top and serves as a lid. I have a couple of these and have had a lot of mileage out of them until I could clear enough space on my desk for a tray and then a while longer until I decided if I could get away with expanding my tea ware without drawing too much attention to it.

The top drawback I think is that they don’t hold the heat all that well at this size, so the longer your steeping time, the colder it’s going to get, which will have an effect on your brew. My advice is that if you do buy one of these, then stick to teas that don’t require too much temperature or too long a steeping time – light greens and whites.

Prices start as little as £8, so you can be in business for as little as £16.

Everything bar the Quick Gongfu Maker was purchased from Dragon Tea House on eBay.

The Quick Gongu Maker was purchased from Royal Tea Bay, again on eBay.