What is a Tea Pet?

The ‘art of tea’ is a spiritual force for us to share.

Alexandra Stoddard

Announcement to the world – I have my first Tea Pet! What is a Tea Pet you may ask? A Tea Pet or Tea Friend as the Koreans call it, is typically a clay figure that is placed on the Tea Tray during the tea ceremony and a small amount of tea is dripped or poured onto the Tea Pet. Some tea lovers have them as a collectable piece, or a pet, others see them as a good luck charm bringing wealth, fortune and prosperity. There isn’t a lot of history about Tea Pets available, only that teapot artisans began using the same Yixing Clay that Yixing Teapots are molded from to create animals and mythical creatures for tea enthusiasts around the world.

My delightful Tea Pet is a Purple Clay Mouse sitting on a sack of treasure. I will pour tea over him, and using a Tea Brush ensure he is completely covered each time I take tea. Over the years the patina will change as the Tea Pet absorbs the tea and becomes glossy with an aroma of the tea emitting from it. This is a long process that will take years to achieve but in the meantime I have the pleasure of sharing my tea time with my new found Tea Pet, one that I treasure dearly. Check out this You Tube Link to see how the Tea Pet is nourished with tea.

I was fortunate enough to receive my Tea Pet from Umiteasets which have an exquisite range of Teas, Tea Pots, Tea Sets and of course Tea Pets. I have some amazing teas to try over the next few days and weeks so look out for a blog post all about those – Jasmine Green Tea and Ginseng Oolong to name but a few!

Delivery was relatively quick in these uncertain times, but everything arrived in perfect order and I couldn’t be happier with my new addition. You can find Umiteasets on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as well as their beautiful website. I will certainly be looking to add to my collection and can highly recommend this company for beautifully created products.

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