A Chinese tea tray is important when you are brewing Chinese teas with traditional methods. You can find a simple tray to serve tea on at any home retail store, but special Chinese tea trays actually serve a purpose. If you are considering adding one of these to your kitchen, here is what you should know.
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What Is a Chinese Tea Tray
A Chinese tea tray is a tray that is designed to allow you to brew, pour, and serve traditional tea. With Chinese teapots you need to fill the pot with water so it covers the tea leaves. In most cases, the water will spill over the edge of the teapot slightly. Even in ancient cultural ceremonies this is perfectly acceptable. A tea tray made for this method of brewing will have deep channels around the edge of the tray to collect this water, or perforated slots in the center to allow the excess water to drip through. Most of them are designed to fit directly on top of a sink or basin. This way you can pour your water over the loose leaf tea in the pot, allow the water to drip through the tray, then plate the tray for serving. A Chinese tea tray can be very simple, or very ornate.
Choosing the Right Tray
Choosing teaware is important for anyone who drinks tea regularly. The Chinese tea tray is no exception to this. If you just want a decorative tray for occasionally serving tea, you can find decorative trays that aren’t designed for traditional brewing. This is going to save you money. If you want to brew tea in a traditional way, you will want a tea tray just for this. You want to consider what kind of presentation you want to make when you serve tea. A simple tray will allow you to serve it in a traditional manner with no frills. You can also find trays with jade or mother of pearl inlays for a more special presentation. Just remember the price will go up dramatically for these extra touches. The size of the tray will be an important consideration as well. A large tray will be necessary if you’re serving 4 or more cups at a time. Small trays are good for those who don’t entertain or only need to serve Chinese tea to one other person. Most people will suggest getting a larger tray just in case.
Pricing Considerations
The price can turn many people off to traditional tea trays. They can be priced as high as $400. However, there are a couple things to think about with this investment. Many tea trays are packaged with other tea accessories. This can make it more worthwhile. The quality of the tray also plays an important role in the price. If you purchase a $100 tray and have to replace it every few years, then you’re spending more in the long run. If you use the tray on a regular basis it’s best to just go ahead and pay for a high quality tray up front rather than have to pay to replace them regularly. Most tea trays are made of wood. The lower quality trays may not be sealed properly. In these cases the excess water and tea that flows on to the tray will start to damage it fairly quickly. It’s also important to think about the design of your tea set. If you are using a beautiful, high quality tea pot and cups, you want a tray that will showcase this. An overly ornate Chinese tea tray can take away from the beauty and value of the pot.
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