Here is one of my many gongfu style tea sets. This set is made from Celadon pottery. The glaze gives it a "cracked" appearance. Of course one must always invite a tea pet to have tea. This little fish is made from celadon as well.
The small pitcher in the back is called the justice or fairness bowl. After steeping for just seconds you strain the tea from the gaiwan into this pitcher to serve. This way the tea leaves will not keep steeping and everyone gets the same strength of tea from first pour to last. The stepping time increases with each infusion. The Tea pet always gets the first pour which is just a quick rinse of the tea leaves,(basically dumping the first pour off) . Then the first of multiple infusions begin. This is a delightful way to slow down--- enjoy the smells, aroma and taste of tea.
For the lack of anything else worth photographing and to stay inside where it's cool, I might show you some of my other sets this week.
Such a great shot of this beautiful tea set. Having lived in Japan for so many years, tea ceremonies were always a favourite. I have not heard of Gongfu until you posted quite a while back.
