I do have a fair amount of great stuff, so you might think it would be pretty hard to choose just one particular piece worthy of the title "My Favorite Piece of Teaware."
... but really it wasn't. I immediately thought of ...
This Thing!
I bought this pretty wooden strainer from Yoon Hee Kim at the 2009 Northwest Tea Festival. From the moment I first laid eyes on it I was smitten. I started using it right away to brew samples of tea for festival guests and was quite impressed by the rich and fragrant tea it helped me to produce.
I love this strainer for many reasons: its smooth, knotty texture; the tender way it catches the leaves that flow through it; and its earthy-woody smell when it gets wet. It has a strange way of possessing my hands, causing them to crave its touch. I also love how it has a little notch carved out of it so that it sits comfortably on the rim of most cups and decanters. On top of all that, it is beautiful, natural, portable, rustic and highly functional. What more could one ask for!
In the past six months, this strainer has helped me brew hundreds of great cups of tea for my friends and myself. It does impart a tiny bit of pleasant woody flavor to my the tea but I really don't mind. There is something special about the tea that passes through this strainer and I hope it lasts a very long time!
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5 comments:
It looks cute and sturdy! I think it will last a long time and can be seasoned like a yixing!
Ooo, I'd like a strainer like this. Any idea where I can get one?
This is one more reason that I'm kicking myself for missing the last Seattle Tea Festival. Darn it!
Very cool, Brett. :)
BTW, earlier this week I wrote a blog post with tasting notes of one of teas recently purchased from you. I've really been enjoying them.
That is a beautiful strainer! You are fortunate to have it.
Yes, my wife and I use one that is made from half of a small gourd. It just looks and feels so natural.
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