In Japan, people tend to relate to Japanese tea cups when talking about Japanese tea sets. Clearly, Japanese tea cups is a kind of important tea sets. When people first see Sencha making, they are always astonished at the small size of the tea cup and few tea in it. It is common sense for Sencha-making people in Japan that they shall be devoted to small size and exquisiteness, which shows the unique characteristics for making Sencha at that time. There are plenty stories about why choosing small cups. Some say it is because only small cups were available and commonly-used at that time, while others content that it was affected by Chinese Kongfu tea making.
Tea drinking has become a tradition in Japan over the years, and Japanese tea cups has become known around the world. There is vast collection of Japanese tea cups suitable for various occasion. And to fully appreciate and enjoy the tea, we recommend Japanese tea cups. If you are tea lover, with these antique Japanese tea cups are a smart choice. These Japanese tea cups will also add a unique cultural accent to your home.
Nothing makes us happier than great design...Except great tea and tea cups, of course. Which is why we’re so jazzed about this bright, modern collection of tea cups. Clean and sleek with colourful accents, they just make us smile.
The wooden tea cups is smooth to touch. Great for tea or sake. This unique Japanese wooden tea cups will have people talking.
The Feature of Japanese Tea Cups
1. The Beauty of Simplicity. The beauty of simplicity is one of the basic elements of Japanese tea ceremony culture. Therefore, most of the Japanese tea cups we see now are often simple. Although they seem to be unencumbered, they have a simple beauty, which let you unforgettable.
2. The Beauty of Nature. Unintentional, unconscious. Whether it is a tea master or a tea guest, in the tea room, when they look at each other with deep courtesy and respect, the common mentality they show is the beauty of nature. In the Japanese tea ceremony culture, the deliberate behavior that regards not beautiful. Therefore, from tea to human behavior, all pursue the natural state. So the best tea cups is made by coarse pottery naturelly.
3. Calm, quiet, peaceful and self reflection in our daily life is also one of the elements of Japanese tea ceremony culture The beginning and end of the tea ceremony are often done in a silent silence. The theme of Japanese tea cups is quiet. The beauty of silence in Japanese tea ceremony is also integrated into the tea cup.
4. When we look at Japanese tea cups, what we notice is not how delicate and practical it is. What really moves us is that it is a kind of simple and temperament, which is mixed with different styles of ancient and modern times. The preservation and development of this ancient style is one of the aesthetic sources of Japanese tea cups. The temperament not only comes from the outside, but also from the inside, just like the spirit of Japanese craftsmen that we know. In Japan, many workshops are small and not factory level. Even the number is far lower than the Chinese master studios. However, a small number of people also brings benefits. No matter how famous the masters are, they all do it by themselves. In this way, these tea cups will have a strong personal style. His temperament, his experience, his understanding and cognition of tea are all in it. Using his cup is equivalent to talking with him.
Why Most of the Japanese Tea Cups Has No Handles?
In daily life, the water cup, coffee mug or office cup used for drinking water with handles, which are convenient for people to use. But why do Japanese tea cups have no handles?
This is because when drinking Japanese tea, the best temperature is 60 ℃, which is suitable temperature when holding the tea cup in your hand. The most intuitive feeling is that you can taste the best taste of Japanese tea at this time. Therefore, most Japanese tea cups will not set the handle for better experiencing this feeling.
How to clean the Japanese Tea Cups?
1. Clean it Directly
After drinking tea, don't leave the tea leaves in the cup. Pour them out, and then clean the tea cups with water. This is the simplest cleaning method. Generally, such cleaning is enough.2. Clean with Toothpaste
Once there is tea stains in the tea cup, it is difficult to remove it! At this time, you can squeeze a small amount of toothpaste on the tea cups. After smearing it for about a minute, you can clean the tea cups with water. If not, try more. It’s a most simple and easy way to clean the Japanese tea cups with toothpaste.3. Use the Right Tools.
When cleaning the tea cup, avoid using some rough, easy to damage the tea cups cleaning tools to brush the tea cups. If you clean the tea cups, it is easy to damage the enamel on the surface , making the tea cups thinner and thinner, and the tea stains will slowly seep into the tea cups. Finally, the tea cups will become the color of tea, which is very difficult to clean.
Notice of Use Japanese Tea Cups
1. Clean the tea cup with clean water. Do not use detergent and other chemicals to clean it.
2. Wipe the tea cup with special tea towel. Do not use metal dishwashing towel.
3. Pay attention not to wipe the tea cup too hard, otherwise it is easy to damage the tea cup.
4. Tea Towel need to be cleaned and dried regularly to avoid cross contamination.
5. All kinds of wooden and bamboo tea cups should be kept ventilated and dry.
Four Meanings of Japanese Sado when Drinking Tea with Japanese Tea Cups
1. Harmony and Pleasure
Harmony and pleasure is a spirit going through all processes of sado. Harmony is the form and pleasure in the emotion, the foundation of sado atmosphere. In the sado process, the senses of touching, smelling, seeing and hearing should in harmony and pleasure.
In detail, the tea cup should not be too cool to touch, the sweet fragrance should be spread in the room with its pleasant smell inducing guests into meditation. The environment should be in harmony and the guests should be in pleasure.
2. Respect
Japanese sado has absorbed the value of "equality" from Buddhist Zen and formed the idea of "respect" by summarization and improvement. The idea means that all participants of sado are equal and they should respect each other and should joint to create and enjoy the harmonious atmosphere of tearoom. In the teahouse guests and the host respect and love each other to mingle their feeling in a natural way. No matter what social statues of guests, they all go into the tearoom through the "little entrance? If the samurai takes his katana with him, he must place it outside of the teahouse. All this mentioned above embody the idea of "respect" advocated by sado.
3. Cleaning
"Cleaning" in sado means to clean one’s soul. Before the coming of guests, the host cleans the leaf and stone in the room. Tearoom remain spotless, even the coal that used to boil water are washed out of ash. Tea drinkers gain a clean and peaceful heart by removing outside pollution.
4. Quiet
Quiet is the ultimate state pursued by Japanese sado, and it is also the meaning of sado existence. In terms of Sanskrit, " quiet" means "silence", "peacefulness" and "stability", but in Buddhism it means "death?，"nirvana" and "empty". When tea drinker and Buddhist deny all matters, they enter an "empty" world without sound and color. Compared with being alive, death has much primitiveness and belonging and takes a longer time. Death is absolute, but living is relative. "Death" is the world of "empty" and the "origination" of "existence". Samsara of Buddhist idea brings people with the hope of regenerating in future world. When tea drinkers deny all inherent aesthetic values and abandon all mental restricts, a brand new art emerges at the moment.
Japanese sado is a comprehensive cultural and art activity, merging daily behaviors, religion, philosophy, ethics and aesthetics into a single whole. It is an indispensable part of oriental culture. It can provide people with material enjoyment as well as benefit people with tea etiquette teaching, improvement of personalities, and cultivation of aesthetic value and ethic value by tea party.