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Mar 5th, '08, 12:37
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My Personal Travel Tea Set Creation!

by TaiPing Hou Kui » Mar 5th, '08, 12:37

Ok. So, I travel every weekend to visit my girlfriend and I used to brew tea out of a glass infuser mug when I was there......but I got to thinking......"What's keeping me, or all of us fellow tea drinkers, from bringing remotely nice brewing vessels/equipment with us on the road?"--Protection. We dont want to damage it. So, here is my solution: I took a Lunchbox from Target (one that has a plastic insulating shell on the inside ($12), went to the fabric store and got a 1ft long by 8 inches wide, 8 inches depth, piece of foam that would be put into outdoor couch cushions ($8), and then got a 4oz gaiwan and 4 oz. yixing cup )porcelain glazed on interior and cut out the respective shapes in the foam with a razorblade (after already cutting the foam to fit in the lunch box. There is about 4 inches left overtop of the items inside the boxe, so I cut another piece of flat foam to full the void space between the gaiwan and cup and the lid of the lunchbox. Here are some photos:

Image
This shows the box with everything fitting nicely in its place

IMG]http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii16 ... tea005.jpg[/IMG]
This shows the box with everything in place as well as my travel tea containers (glass jars, each one .99cents and 4 fit perfectly in that front section)

Image
This shows a close-up of the gaiwan and its lid/saucer, as well as the cup

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This shows a clos-up of the travel tea with the gaiwan and cup in the background. The travel teas are as follows from left to right; 2006 Wu's Reserve Ripe Pu-Erh; ITOEN premium sencha; First flush TaiPing Hou Kui (private source); and Rishi Silver Needles

*Hope you all enjoy and perhaps get some ideas of your own! Remember to think outside the "box", or lunchbox for that matter!

-Nick (TaiPing)

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Mar 5th, '08, 13:21
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by Mary R » Mar 5th, '08, 13:21

I just adore life hacks...and this is one that I might actually use! Great idea.

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Mar 5th, '08, 14:13
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by Salsero » Mar 5th, '08, 14:13

Thanks for the great idea and great pics, Nick.

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Mar 5th, '08, 14:52
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by andy825 » Mar 5th, '08, 14:52

I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of this nifty little item from yunnan sourcing:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Just-White-Portable ... m153.l1262
It comes in a lunchbox, too!
I really like your yixing gaiwan, though, its pretty classy.

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Mar 5th, '08, 16:18
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by olivierco » Mar 5th, '08, 16:18

Nice work!

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Mar 5th, '08, 17:50
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Re: My Personal Travel Tea Set Creation!

by augie » Mar 5th, '08, 17:50

TaiPing Hou Kui wrote:Ok. So, I travel every weekend to visit my girlfriend and I used to brew tea out of a glass infuser mug when I was there......but I got to thinking-Nick (TaiPing)
Nick, doesn't gf drink tea? Why not buy her a nice set so you don't have to commute your set? A gift that would definately earn you a few extra points.

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Mar 5th, '08, 18:20
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by TaiPing Hou Kui » Mar 5th, '08, 18:20

She is not a huge fan of tea....I have tried to convert her, but no such luck....we have been together for 4 years.....soooooooooo many gifts....she doesent need a tea set haha!

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Mar 5th, '08, 20:07
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by Sam. » Mar 5th, '08, 20:07

TaiPing, That looks super convenient! I must ask where your gaiwan and cup are from. The gaiwan looks like one I've seen on Dragon Tea House, but I haven't seen that cup and it's a perfect match.

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Mar 5th, '08, 20:20
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by Wesli » Mar 5th, '08, 20:20

Nick wrote:First flush TaiPing Hou Kui (private source);
"PRIVATE SOURCE"??!

I DO NOT ACCEPT THIS

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Mar 6th, '08, 12:01
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by Mary R » Mar 6th, '08, 12:01

scarrell wrote:TaiPing, That looks super convenient! I must ask where your gaiwan and cup are from. The gaiwan looks like one I've seen on Dragon Tea House, but I haven't seen that cup and it's a perfect match.
I bought a set of 6 cups that look identical to that one. I think I got 'em from the eBay store Chinese Teapot Gallery Tea Culture.

I've just checked, and if you look under "Cup Set" you'll find a set of 6 for $15 that look very similar to TaiPing's. The shipping is $7.99, but it ships from Plano, TX. If you browse the site and find other things you'd like, e-mail the seller and he'll give you a quote for combined shipping. It probably won't go over $12...which can be handy.

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Mar 6th, '08, 15:40
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by hop_goblin » Mar 6th, '08, 15:40

WOW! I can see you certainly did give it some thought! Good job!

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