China Tea Sets

China is the first culture in the world to use the tea we all now recognize and use daily. There are many ways to make tea, including using roots, leaves from various plants and even coffee leaves. The commonly use leaf, and what we all recognize as "tea" now comes from a single plant family and, with the exception of some herbal teas, all tea today comes from this family.

In China, tea is such an integral part of the culture as to be inseparable. The tea service is a very important part of the day for all Chinese part of the ceremony is the proper preparation of the tea. If you want to prepare tea in the traditional way it is important to have the correct tea set. What are the components of a China tea set? Traditional sets are composed of teapots, tea bowls, tea saucers, cups and tea trays. Having a proper set plays a vital role in the proper making and enjoying tea.

Different regions in China produce different teas and each tea has a different tea set. Some sets have a very high artistic value and others are used in day to day ceremonies, saving the special set for special tea ceremonies, like weddings or anniversaries or even religious ceremonies. If you are using a floral tea, which is considered a herbal tea, is usually brewed in larger pots, which are ceramic. In Kangnam, green tea is the most popular and ceramic pots are also used with lids. If you are using a fine leaf tea, small cups are best because a large cup will give too much water for the fine leaves. If you brew the fine leaves too quickly you will ruin the taste and fragrance of the tea.

China tea sets can also include things like trays, tea set cover cloths and tea plates. The basic set is all you really need and is more traditional. If you want to really enjoy tea the way it was meant to be enjoyed, then stick with the traditional China tea sets, especially if you are new to tea drinking and tea ceremonies, or tea drinking. Once you have the hang of it you can branch out and experiment.

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