Looking for gongfu tea tray / table

[MarshalN]

Yeah, Lin's is nice, but it'll cost you a fortune. I had one and used it for about 2.5 years before it broke down.

[TomVerlain]

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/33630 ... y_tea.html

These are what I want -

[tortoise]

yeah, the granite thing would be pretty cool if it fit, physically and aesthetically, in your space. I'm afraid it would look woefully out of place among my zen-vaccuum, clutter decor.

[Elovitz]

I love that granite one! Maybe one day

Does anyone have a photo of that tea table made from a polished tree piece? It doubled as a regular table due to its size. It was pretty amazing!

[TomVerlain]

from a shop in HK. Tasting a 1970's sheng

[TomVerlain]

At a department store in Kowloon. The whole top floor was tea shops.

[Alex]

from a shop in HK. Tasting a 1970's sheng

I wonder what the postage would be on that bad boy to the UK

[Wan Ling]

I'd strongly advise against buying a bamboo only tray -- they tend to crack after a year (or even less) of use, and are sooner or later irredeemable and need a replacement.

Hello everyone,

Seems a long time since our last posting. Hope everyone is excited about the new spring teas that are slowly filtering on the market. We have our first batch of Tai Ping Hou Kui arriving this evening - very excited.

I digress. Was reading this thread and wanted to reply plus ask you all more about your needs.

MashallN, you are right in many ways but also wrong. Bamboo trays vary hugely in quality and reliability. James has been using one of the medium bamboo tea trays with water pipe in the UK for nearly 4 years now (used sporadically) and it is only getting more beautiful with time. It is now a deep amber, from its original pale bamboo colour. Wan Ling has hers in the shop for nearly two years and that is used 7 days a week, 365 days a year, normally for 10 hours a day.

This said, we have selected this brand after a lot of bad experiences. Bamboo is still one of the best options from a practicality and appearance point over, especially if then add in shipping. Wood is stunning but heavy. James' wooden table weighed nearly 20kg, not something you want to pop in the post!

So what to look out for? Key thing to look out for is joins. It will be the joins that give out on tea trays the first, whether wood or bamboo. Solid trays are on the whole more reliable, if well made from professionally compressed bamboo or a hardwood. Another important point is to pay attention to finish. A well made tray will be well lacquered, ideally with more than 3 coats of varnish, even up to 6 coats.

Moving on to stone tables. Some of the most beautiful are from GuangDong and southern China which are made from Ink Stone. Usually beautifully carved with the stone mason picking out the naturally varying colours. Watch out for mass produced ones with mediocre carvings, if you are investing this much money be picky. On the downside, stone tables can be the down fall of your favourite tea wares. All too many hand made tea wares have been chipped and broken by seemingly innocuous 'clinks'.

Finally, the tea tables, and by this I mean the tree trunks and roots that are formed into free standing tea trays. This are not as expensive as you may think. The cost is the shipping. Very possible and willing to help anyone that is interested. Just remember you need get your tea table fumigated if shipping overseas. The other wonderful thing to do if you know local craftsmen is to commission one. Wan Ling Tea House is working with a local Dorset, UK artist to make this from British Beech and Oak. Live global, shop local where you can.

Can I ask readers of this post to send us some feedback? We see lots of hits for people looking for tea trays, but not so many sales. Reading this thread, its seems to be a hard product to find outside of China. What do you need?

[betta]

Can I ask readers of this post to send us some feedback? We see lots of hits for people looking for tea trays, but not so many sales. Reading this thread, its seems to be a hard product to find outside of China. What do you need?

Yours in tea.

Wan Ling Tea House

I tend to agree with Marshaln that tea tray made of bamboo or any kind of porous wood material won't last long. It's natural because once water seeps inside the capillary, it will exert capillary force that tear the material inside out. Some dense, heavy hard wood material should last longer.

Therefore I'm looking for porcelain tea tray like this, which to my knowledge not being offered anywhere for retail in the english speaking website. Perhaps I didn't manage to find it. Nevertheless this might be a good business opportunity to introduce it for the first time in english speaking online shop.

Shipping weight and packaging might be a problem for porcelain item, but such an item can last decades.

If you have or will carry such a porcelain tea tray and ship from UK please pm me.

[fracol]

When I went to San Francisco I bought a really nice tea table at vital tea leaf. I am not sure of the wood, but I believe it is rosewood. They have a website offering tea tray's called:

http://vitaltealeaf.net/

I'm not really sure about their tea, but I really like their tea wares. Especially the coasters!

Hope this helps, shipping from inside the United States should be much more affordable.

[debunix]

....http://vitaltealeaf.net/

I'm not really sure about their tea

I bought some tea at their shop once, and really liked the things I got, but when I tried to reorder one of those teas online, I got something that I didn't recognize--my 'yellow' tea sure looked and smelled and brewed like a yunnan black. I cannot say for sure that I ordered exactly the same thing, however, so the mistake might have been mine.

[pamper]

Hi Tom,

I enjoy Gongfu(Taiwan Oolong) tea for most of my life. Lately I am planning to sell some of my beloved tea tables / purple sand tea pot from collections because I will be moving to new office and there is not as much space to place my collections.

Attached you will see a photo of my tea table set which is authentic camphor wood purchased several years ago. It's a set with 3 pcs, incl. two chairs and a tea table.

[Tead Off]

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/33630 ... y_tea.html

These are what I want -

The best tea tray/tea tables I've ever seen have been from Taiwan especially the stone ones. Generally, it seems the mainland styles usually are too over the top for my tastes. Gaudy. The stones from Taiwan can get exceedingly expensive but they are truly works of art.

As far as bamboo trays go, mine have never split. Maybe the humidity of Bangkok helps keep the moisture content just right but I also think not all bamboo trays are made equally. I met a bamboo master in Korea who cures his bamboo sometimes for years before making something with it.

[Ludwig-1954]

Good evening Betta

Have you found your ceramics tea-boat yet?
Otherwise try this link:

http://www.ebay.ch/itm/Good-Gongfu-Tea- ... 6712wt_802

Best regards

Patrick B. Ludwig

[fracol]

Good evening Betta

Have you found your ceramics tea-boat yet?
Otherwise try this link:

http://www.ebay.ch/itm/Good-Gongfu-Tea- ... 6712wt_802

Best regards

Patrick B. Ludwig

Wow Patrick, that is a good find. It even comes with the gaiwan, cups, pitcher, and strainer. Seems like a decent deal.