By Elizabeth Prata
I like tea. I dislike soda, and most juices are too sweet containing much sugar. I like the warm feeling of the hot but light liquid warning up my throat all the way down to my belly. Coffee is too heavy for me in the afternoon. I like the taste of hot tea.
Besides physically, I like the self-care ritualistic aspect of the process of making tea. When I get home from work I'm usually tired. I need a calming moment or two as a buffer between the busy and noisy day at school and the peace and tranquility I seek at home.
In that way, the tea process becomes that buffer. I enjoy selecting the teapot first. The size is determined by how much I need a calming time. A small 2-cup pot means I'll be good to go after just a few cups. A large teapot means I need longer to decompress. To that end, I have a variety of differently sized pots. The largest is the milkweed teapot and the smallest are #7, #8 and #9. As for number 6, it's large but the handle has a crack so I dare not use it as the entire pot becomes very heavy when filled.
The next part is selecting the teacup. I enjoy this. I like all the patterns and varieties of cups I own. They range from brand new to 72 years old.
The collage below shows 14 of the ones I own. I have 18 in total of the traditional teacups, and 4 additional Japanese style (handleless) cups. The oldest one isn't shown. It says "Made in Occupied Japan" on the bottom which means it can be exactly dated to the time Japan was occupied, 1945-1951. Some teacups are easier than others to pick up due to the way the handle is made. Others have a wider mouth than others, and lets the tea cool faster. Some feel smooth and silky and are lovely to hold. Some have a sweet spray of flowers inside the cup which reveals itself as I sip and the level gets lower and lower. They are all so interesting.
The very first teacup I bought was the Tuscan (China company) in Duchess (pattern). An entire dish set was being sold for only $24! Usually a trio is sold for that (a trip meaning cup, saucer, and dessert dish in same pattern). I really didn't need all the dishes but I loved the two-tone pattern of creamy ivory almost butter yellow on the bottom and the robin's egg blue on top, with rose. This was manufactured from 1961-1965. So it is at least 58 years old!
I tend to like footed teacups. This means it has a small pedestal on the bottom of the cup that fits into the saucer depression. The Tuscan Duchess teacup is footed.
The Tuscan in Duchess pattern was the first one I bought! It remains my favorite teacup.
Next is choosing the tea. I have a wide drawer in my kitchen and that is where I store all my tea. Current faves are Sweet Himalayan by Vahdam from India, and Heather tea by Edinburgh Teas. I also enjoy Boh Tea, it's from Malaysia.
The thing that got me going on tea, aside from my British grandmother enjoying a "spot of tea", and watching her enjoy it, is this one that got away. About 15 years ago I was browsing a yard sale with a friend. As we were leaving I spotted this teapot and I thought it was beautiful. It was sitting alone on a table. I wanted to take a moment to examine it and perhaps purchase it, even though I had no tea and hadn't drunk any for a while. My friend was in a hurry though so I snapped a quick picture and went on my way. The more I thought about it the more I wanted the pot. I went back later, but it was gone. It was my big fish that got away...
EPrata photo
Here is a writeup on my teapots-
1: Noritake, Japanese company, Chatham pattern. manufactured 1954 – 1964.
2: Unknown maker and unknown age. New though, not vintage. I liked the milkweed pattern on the side.
3: Hall China Company, American, Philadelphia pattern & shape (they went by shape for these teapots). 1915-1929. It is my oldest teapot.
4: Tetsubin, cast iron, Japanese. New, I bought it on Amazon. A Japanese cast-iron kettles with a pouring spout, a lid, and a handle crossing over the top, used for boiling and pouring hot water for drinking purposes, such as for making tea. Tetsubin are traditionally heated over charcoal. In the Japanese art of chanoyu, the special portable brazier for this is the binkake. Tetsubin are often elaborately decorated with relief designs on the outside. They range widely in size, and many have unusual shapes, making them popular with collectors. They allegedly kept the tea hotter longer due to the cast iron but I have not found it to be so. I stored the teapot on a high shelf in the cupboard.
5: Gibson's Staffordshire, English, orange blossom pattern with copper finial and stripe. Mid-century, unknown exact dates of manufacture. Likely mid-century. I got this teapot at a super great vintage store called The Saturday Market in Thomson, great (low) prices.
6: Homer Laughlin, maker of the famous Fiesta ware and Riviera ware. This line is called Eggshell, and being thinner, it was a departure from the thicker and sturdier ware like the Fiesta introduced in the late 1920s. Cavalier style and Spring Song pattern. It was actively sold between 1952-1957. This one indicated by the stamp is dated to 1955. Sadly, I did not notice a crack in the handle when I bought it, making it unsafe to use as the belly is large and the pot is heavy when full.
7: Gardner of Verbilki AKA Dmitrov Porcelain, Russian. Charmingly, the backstamp is a red moose with a B entwined in its head. Probably 1980s.
8: Sadler mini-pot, English, Rosebud swirl pattern, gold edging. I had not known that Sadler teapots are highly collectible, and highly thought of in the China world. This one is a small pot but probably worth the most-IF it is a genuine Sadler. I'm not convinced. More research is warranted. Unknown age.
9: Whittard, English, Clipper pattern. It is a tea for one, the bottom of the pot is beveled because it sits on a teacup to keep the cup warm while the tea is brewing. Sadly I broke the cup. Modern, it was a gift.
10: Crown Dorset Staffordshire: English. This style with the integrated over the top handle is called carriage style. Unknown age. Probably 1970s.
11: Royal Doulton, England, pattern Pillar Rose. Manufactured 1961 – 1978. This is interesting because Royal Doulton is known for innovation. In 1960 they invented English Translucent China a breakthrough production method that resulted in less expensive china that offered the quality and translucence of fine bone china. It has a smooth and milky feel and is lovely to handle. I also have a matching teacup and saucer in the same pattern in translucent china.
12: Kutani, a Japanese type teapot. The design is an iris and bird motif with gold leaf on both sides and on the lid, with a bamboo or rattan handle. The color is an ivory or cream color. Matching Japanese style cup. Kutani porcelains are characterized by their elaborate picture decorations in thick gold, red, blue and some other colors. In latter years I understand that these decorations were no longer hand painted but usually transferred by decal. This likely dates to late 1970s early 1980s.
Thanks for your interest.
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