I received a curious package in the mail last week. It contained “hobs” from Thistledown.com. What is a “hob” you ask? Their site defines hobs as: “a shelf in the back of a fireplace on which to place things to keep warm”; and “hob” is a British colloquialism for a stove top.” Thistledow’s hobs are not shelves in the back of fireplaces, rather — they are cozies for your tea. Not one of those old-lady Victorian style cozies either. It looks cool. They have all sorts of designs on the site. But, the big question… do they work, and if so, how affective are hobs? Do hobs do their jobs? From the website: “HOBs are constructed with two layers of high tech mylar batting. This batting insulates with both a layer of mylar reflecting heat back into the teapot and layers of polyester preventing heat conduction away from the teapot. This material results in superior heat retention.”
“The HOB has a bottom, also with two layers of mylar batting, acting as a built-in trivet. Once on, the HOB completely encases the body of your teapot, keeping your tea hot!”
“The HOB is extremely easy to use: slip the teapot between the two ‘clam shells’, flip over the top and clip together with the buckle. I set out to find the answer. I monitored the temperatures of 2 identical tea pots one with a hob, one without for 2 hours, and I was surprised to find that the HOB kept the water inside the pot considerably warmer for longer.
I revelled reading it. I need to read more on this matter…I am admiring the time and effort you put in your blog, because it is apparently one great place where I can find lot of reusable info..
I tend to think of Jing as a leader of the online tea shop world. I’ve had many wonderful one-of-a-kind teas from Jing. But I recently had the opportunity to try out some of Jing’s teaware. Jing’s 400ml Glass Tea-iere is a thing of beauty, it looks good, it feels good, and its completely practical. It fits right into my lifestyle:
I used the tea-iere in conjunction with their glass cup and saucer. Not only do these items look great, but they function well. I don’t always have time for my Yixing Gongfu set, and this is the complete answer for my lack of time. Their tea-iere can easily be taken to work for work-time tea and that is exactly what I plan to do with it.
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One Response to “Jing Tea Teaware: Practical and Beautiful”
I’ve thought I might like to get a silver cup for raw, young Pu-erh. If I can find one that isn’t too expensive it would be a possibility. –Spirituality of Tea
In pinyin, the term “Kung Fu” is written: gōngfu. The term really has nothing to do with martial arts, but refers to the possession of great skill. So in the world of tea, when we refer to the gong fu tea cermony, we are referring to a skillful way to prepare tea. When performing the gongfu tea ceremony there is no formal set of rules, procedures, or utensils — but there are some fundamental ideas that have grown into the tradition we now call the Gong Fu Tea Ceremony.
The first treatise on tea surfaced during the 8th century – it was Lu Yu’s “Classic of Tea,” the work described the manufacturing, brewing, and drinking of tea to great detail. He set forth these 8 guidelines for what man must do with tea:
He must manufacture it
He must develop a sense of selectivity and discrimination about it
He must provide proper implements
He must prepare the right kind of fire
He must select a suitable water
He must roast the tea to a turn
He must grind it well
He must brew it to its ultimate perfection
He must finally, drink it
Over the years the gongfu tea ceremony has become the essence of tea culture across China and Taiwan, each tea master skillfully preparing the tea in his/her own way. There is no right or wrong when it comes to your tea ceremony as long as you are slowing down, and enjoying the tea as it should be enjoyed. Join us these next few weeks as I break down the gongfu tea ceremony in its many forms.
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3 Responses to “The Origins of the Gong Fu Tea Ceremony”
Great post Tony.
It’s a good way to enjoy time with friends.
What kind of water do you use Tony? people said water is the mother of tea, but for now there are hard to find good water in city.
Thanks for that entry, Tony. I know that formally Kung fu wushu is the martial art we often think of, wushu literally meaning “martial art.” Guess that makes kung fu wushu mean “possessing great martial art skill,” which I never knew. Thanks! Excited to see what you bring forward these next few weeks. I would love to practice gong fu.
I received a curious package in the mail last week. It contained “hobs” from Thistledown.com. What is a “hob” you ask? Their site defines hobs as: “a shelf in the back of a fireplace on which to place things to keep warm”; and “hob” is a British colloquialism for a stove top.” Thistledow’s hobs are not shelves in the back of fireplaces, rather — they are cozies for your tea. Not one of those old-lady Victorian style cozies either. It looks cool. They have all sorts of designs on the site. But, the big question… do they work, and if so, how affective are hobs? Do hobs do their jobs? From the website: “HOBs are constructed with two layers of high tech mylar batting. This batting insulates with both a layer of mylar reflecting heat back into the teapot and layers of polyester preventing heat conduction away from the teapot. This material results in superior heat retention.”
These cozies are rad. The tea shop I work at in Seattle carries them. I use mine all the time now.
Ma..this is a cute one and people need it now in this cold weather,thanks for the share-Tony.
Okay so liking the Hob, I may have to get one to do my own testing with and report on the blog. How fun!
I revelled reading it. I need to read more on this matter…I am admiring the time and effort you put in your blog, because it is apparently one great place where I can find lot of reusable info..