Tea Pots
68The tea pot, those cute little pots with a handle attached for you to hold on to. This is what you use to brew a nice hot pot of tea. Relax with your family or friends, and enjoy sipping tea and having good conversation. You sit and reminisce about how both your grandmother and mother treasured their tea pots. You now too have a special tea pot that you treasure and will hand down to your children. You remember all the tea parties you gave and attended, as a child. How fun it was to make believe that you were drinking hot tea poured out of you little plastic tea pot. Back when you were young, you were taught by your mom the song “I’m a Little Tea pot”. You had to learn the song along with all the motions that went with it. Your arms were the tea pot’s handle and spout, and you of course were the tea pot. Tea pots are a part of almost every culture and we all learn at a young age what they are used for.
Where it all started
The tea pot’s beginning started at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty in China. The earliest tea pots came from this period and were made of purple clay. Tea has always been a favorite to drink in China and is used in daily Chinese rituals. By the 15th century both the Chinese and Japanese were drinking tea during their rituals. Chinese intellectuals then started designing tea pots and making them out of different materials other than clay. The Chinese were the first to come up with the idea of a tea pot or vessel for tea drinking, but the tea pot design that we have today is basically European. The European tea pot design was better than the Chinese design. There tea pots were made of heavier materials so they would not break or chip as easy as the fragile Chinese tea pots.
Tea Pots, all shapes and sizes
Tea pots come is different shapes and sizes and are made of many materials. There are the more expensive tea pots made of sterling silver, porcelain and bone china. There are lower cost tea pots made of stoneware, pottery, and clay. Whatever material you choose they are basically all the same when it comes to brewing the tea. Some people who like to collect tea pots have the more fancier kind. Others who want to give social tea parties would choose the expensive tea pots.
Tea Pot Collection
Many people choose collecting as a hobby and collecting tea pots is more popular than you think. You can display your collection of tea pots for everyone to view. Put them in your kitchen, on a window still, in a bay window or on a decorative shelving unit. Your tea pots will become a focal point in your home and a great conversation starter. When finding the perfect tea pot to add to your collection there are plenty of places to look. If you are looking for vintage or antique tea pots, you can find them at yard sales, estate sales, flea markets, thrift and antique shops. When looking for brand new tea pots, you can check out the many online websites. E-E-bay has a large selection of new and vintage tea pot on auction. Many towns also have specialty boutiques that would most likely carry tea pots. Department stores also carry tea pots of all kinds. Collectors are on a mission to find the perfect tea pot to add to their collection and have a lot of fun finding them. Collectors sometimes have a certain theme for their collection. Some may only collect Victorian tea pots or oriental tea pots. You can find tea pots of all types of styles such as nature, animals, flowers, whimsical, and fantasy. There are so many different types of tea pots you will have a very hard time choosing.
Sitting down for some tea
So now you have your favorite tea pot and will proceed to brew some nice hot tea. Make sure to heat your water on the stove in a pan, never put your tea bag directly on the stove. Heat the water to boiling and carefully pour it into your tea pot. Add tea bags of what ever type of tea you choose to the water, put on the tea pot cover, and let the tea brew. Brewing time for any tea is approximately 10 to 15 minutes. You can use tea bags of tea leaves. You would need a diffuser to put the tea leaves in when brewing. If you don’t want to spend the time boiling the water you can always make sun tea in your tea pot. Just fill the tea pot with warm water, add tea bags, and set it out in the sun for around an hour or two. You also can make other delicious drinks in your tea pot. You can brew instant coffee and hot chocolate. Use your tea pot for serving cold juice or lemon aide too. Your tea pot is versatile so use your imagination.
