Purple Clay Teapot shown on left.
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Making tea in pots has been going on for over five millenniums. The Chinese legend goes that in 3000 B.C. Shen Nong, the Divine Cultivator, had leaves accidentally fall into a boiling pot of water. He liked the resulting drink and the rest is a rich and long history of the international tea trade that grew and grew over the centuries. In honor of the legend, Shen Nong's Canon of Medicinal Herbs was compiled in 500 A.D. Then in the Tang dynasty (618-907) The Book of Tea (Cha Jing) known as The Classic of Tea wrtitten by Lu Yu (733-804) appeared.
The certainty of the first tea pot is lost in antiquity, however, today every home in China and Japan hs one.
The ceramic teapots are superior to clay pots, and have a distnctive ring to them. This is due to the teapot being fired at a much higher temperature in the kiln. All the tea pots are made from red sand clay which is found very deep in the ground. All teapots are made by hand and are considered valuable collector items. All tea pots are offered in the purple clay as well.
The Portal Market is offering both the Purple Clay and Natural Clay Teapots in four traditional shapes. The Teapots offered are of the ceramic and clay variety. However, the hardness and quality of the ceramic teapot is of superior quality. Each one is throughly inspected for symmetry and structural integrity by our Tea Masters before they are sent to our customers.
Size of teapots:
Height: 2 inches
Diameter: 3 inches
How to order:
Hand made from Korea these small and beautiful tea cups act like a small tea pot and have a built in infuser which sits inside so you can place your loose tea leaves. After infusion just take the lid off and place the infuser inside the lid and you have a perfectly brewed cup of tea.
This edition has the crackle look with a beautiful crane.
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This edition has a beautiful print.
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This edition has Chinese chracters.
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Size of Korean Tea Cup Infusers:
Height: 3.5 inches
Diameter: 3.5 inches
How to order:
SOLD OUT
SOLD OUT
with (Chinese characters)..........$24.95
This small tea pot holds exactly 1 full cup of water and also has a built in infuser. What this means is you can place your favorite loose tea inside the pot before you add the boiling water. You can then pour the tea into the two matching tea cups. This is a perfect tea serving pot for either one or two people and matches the tea cup infuser as shown above.
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How to order:
International shipping based on country.
PO Box 655
Fairfax, CA 94978
Tel: (415)456.4221
The Porcelin Tea Holder
Click on tea cup for larger view
Making a great cup of tea is an art.
1. The water is the most important ingredient. It is best to filter your water and better still if the water is high in alkalinity. Make sure it is cool, and if you do not have a filter make sure you run the water from the tap so the water is cool before you put it into the pot.
2. Put about a teaspoon of tea into the retainer cup. If you are using the brick tea break off two or three small pieces. If you are using loose tea use a little more than a teaspoon. Place the retainer cup into the tea cup, and get ready to pour the hot boiling water over the tea. Make sure the water is really boiling. The extra air bubbles are good to get into the tea leaves.
3. Infusion. Place the lid on top of the tea cup and let the tea sit in the boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes before drinking.
4. Lift the tea retainer out of the cup. If you prefer you can pour the tea through a strainer before you drink the tea depending on how clean you want the tea. Most tea particles will settle to the bottom of your cup, but for the purest in you, straining the tea is the best way to be sure the tea is perfectly clean.
Pu-erh tea is good for a least 5 to 10 infusions depending on how much tea you originally placed in the tea retainer. Please note how different this technique is over the tea ceremony technique. This is for the tea cup drinker, not the individual small cups which are drunk over an hour with close friends to share thoughts and feelings on life in general.
If you have any questions what-so-ever please call: (415) 258-7356
How to order
