Week 9 -- Chinese Tea Ceremony

I visited a tea house this weekend and I was surprised to find out that this tea house uses a traditional method to serve the tea. I immediately think of my dad, who also has a set of tea ceremony utensils. When I was little, I was always curious of the little tools that he used to brew various kinds of tea. There are many rules for brewing and drinking different kinds of tea designed for the characteristics of the tea. The little dog at the middle of the wooden table is called a tea pet -- tea pets are small clay figures used most often as decoration, but also used by tea drinkers for good luck, or to test water for the right temperature.