1. Pot
Anyone who loves to drink tea knows that to enjoy tea, the indispensable tool is the teapot. The first criterion to decide a good teapot is that the shell must be hard, when lightly tapping on the pot, the clearer the sound, the more precious it is.
In addition, the lid must also be tight, you can check that the lid is closed by pouring warm water into 3/4 of the kettle, holding the lid tightly by hand and tilting the kettle. If there is no water coming out of the lid, this is a closed lid.
Besides, you also need to pay attention to choose the size of the kettle to suit your needs. The capacity of the teapot should be compatible with the number of users to avoid the inconvenience of the shortage of tea, or the excess of tea causing the tea to cool.
Ceramic teapots are often suitable for brewing gentle and elegant teas such as green tea, white tea, etc. In contrast, earthenware pots such as zisha pots are suitable for fermented teas such as black tea, oolong tea, etc.
2. Tea cup
If you have a teapot, you definitely can't forget the cup used to drink tea, right? The teapot sets are usually divided into 4 different types suitable for each season.
The spring-autumn tea cup has a moderate size, and the wall is neither thick nor thin. Particularly for tea cups used in hot and humid summer, there will be thin cups to help the tea cool down quickly. In contrast, the winter cup has a thick cup wall, a deep cup helps keep the heat of the tea longer.
However, today the choice of cups is not necessarily too picky according to the season, but depends on the personal preferences of each person.
3. Cup tongs
A cup of tea is a cup with a large capacity equivalent to a teapot, used to take water from the kettle after each brewing before dividing it into small cups.
The bowl is usually made of ceramic and glass to make it easier to observe the color of the tea, help filter the tea residue, and make the tea clear and beautiful. This is also a very necessary tool to help the tea taste more evenly. The cup also helps reduce the temperature of the tea, avoiding burns when drinking.
In addition, for teas that need to be brewed at low temperatures such as green tea, you can also pour boiling water into the cup first to reduce the temperature of the water and then pour it into the teapot.
4. Army cup
For military cups, there are currently two main types: tea cups and incense cups.
Tea cups usually have a wide mouth and a shallow bottom to make it more convenient to enjoy the flavor and color of the tea.
In contrast, the incense cup has a deep bottom, the mouth is smaller than the drinking cup and is used mainly to enjoy the scent of other aromatic teas such as Oolong tea, flower teas, etc.
Besides the quality of ceramics, you also need to ensure the uniformity in the design and color of the tea set to ensure the table looks more beautiful and luxurious.
5. Lien tra
Tea urns are tea cups with lids, often appearing in ancient Chinese tea sets. Tea bowls are usually relatively large in size, with a lid on top and a support plate below.
In particular, this type of cup can also brew tea without the need for a kettle. You just need to rinse the cup with boiling water, add the tea, pour hot water and close the lid for about 20 seconds to 3 minutes to be used.
However, this type of tea ceremony is less popular with Vietnamese people, today, only a few Chinese people living in Vietnam use tea cups.
5. Strain the tea
To make a delicious cup of tea, besides the tea set, you also need many other supporting items. In particular, tea filter is a pretty important tool.
Tea strainers are often used with cups to help you filter out the residue of tea grounds and make the tea clear and beautiful.
Although tea strainers are now used quite commonly in Taiwan and China, they are rarely seen in Vietnam. Due to cultural differences, the traditional Vietnamese tea ceremony usually does not use tea filters.
7. Khao tra
The tea pot is the large bowl in the teapot set, used to hold boiling water, heat up the tea making tools as well as clean the tea tools. At the same time, this is also the place to discard the tea water and tea grounds after filtering.
However, if you use a dedicated tea table with a water tray underneath, there is no need to use this teapot.
8. Khay tra
If in the West there is a separate plate for each cup of tea, in Asian countries, tea trays are used to hold the teapot, helping to prevent tea from falling on the table or seat.
You should pay attention to choose tea trays with durable materials that are easy to clean. Depending on the preferences and style of each person, you can choose a sophisticated or simple design.
The tea tray is not only used to hold the teapot, but also is considered a decorative item for the tea table to be more lively and beautiful. The tea tray is usually dark in color, the purpose is to highlight the bright white color of the porcelain teapot.
9. Storage
In order to preserve the delicious taste of tea, it is necessary to have a special tea box. The best tea containers are terracotta pots, but if you can't, you can also choose aluminum, tin or glass containers.
In addition to the material, you also need to make sure to choose a sealed tea container, not allowing air to easily make the tea ferment. You should choose a dark container to limit direct light because this is the cause of reducing the flavor of the tea.
10. Grip tool set
If you regularly drink tea or want to enjoy tea more professionally, you can invest in a tea picker kit.
The set of tongs used in the tea ceremony usually includes a tea spoon used to take tea from the tea container or mix the tea leaves in the kettle, a cup tongs, a tea funnel so that when the tea is put into the pot, it does not fall out. . All tools are contained in a container, called a tea drain.
11. Water kettle
Besides the above specialized tools for making tea, the kettle is also an important item in the brewing process.
Although it is possible to use a super-speed kettle instead, to suit the tea space, you should invest in a dedicated tea kettle.
The kettle used in the tea ceremony is usually a ceramic, glass or metal kettle with a beautiful design. Currently, for more convenience, people often use electronic water heaters, with automatic water collection systems from the tea table.
12. Tablecloths
Finally, you also need to prepare a small, clean towel to wipe the tea tools as well as wipe the tea table, keeping the tea table clean.
The tea table cloth should be a cotton towel that is easy to absorb water. Especially the towel used to wipe the tea table should be new, do not wipe other places in the kitchen such as the greasy kitchen table, etc. because it will obscure the smell, making tea enjoyment incomplete.
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