“The Charm of Tea Caddy” Exhibition

“The Charm of Tea Caddy” Exhibition

There are so many types of tea caddy that we normally can't imagine. Let's talk about them one by one.

First of all, when you buy tea, sometimes they will give you an iron can, which is generally quite airy, and of course it is the most convenient way to store tea leaves. We in China like to put tea in tin cans, and Japan has similar copper or silver tea canisters.

For ceramics, there’s no dispute that Jiaqing blue and white tea caddy is most popular. Taiwan wood-fired tea caddy is said to have far-infrared rays that catalyze tea quality.

Is it better to use ceramics or metal (iron, copper or tin) to store tea leaves? In my personal opinion, wood-fired ceramics is the best way to store food waiting to be transformed; not only tea, but others like dried radish and pickled vegetables. Putting Pu’er tea is the best. Pu’er tea needs transformation. It’s not just loose tea leaves, it’s pressed into cakes. It can be disassembled in one go, so you don’t have to break it up every time before drinking it. Put it in a caddy is a convenient way; easy to take and has the added benefit of waking up the tea.

I have found that Japanese mitsusashi ( a ceramic pot with a lid) used in the tea ceremony is actually the most suitable for keeping tea leaves.

In the Japanese tea ceremony, there is a small jar called matsume, which is used to put leaves on the tea table when holding a tea ceremony.