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Sep 18th, '13, 09:04
Posts: 192
Joined: Feb 16th, '12, 13:41
Location: London England

Which Small Teatray

by etorix » Sep 18th, '13, 09:04

im lookin for a smallish, say 12-14" x whatever, closed teatray

like .. no hose or drain, removable top only

DTH has a nice one for 25

teafromtaiwan has a slightly bigger version for 40

pls recommend only ones u have actually owned + used

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Sep 18th, '13, 11:11
Posts: 470
Joined: Jan 23rd, '07, 14:50
Location: Philadelphia
Contact: Evan Draper

Re: Which Small Teatray

by Evan Draper » Sep 18th, '13, 11:11

Not sure which you are talking about: this Dragon one?
Because I have this Dragon one. I was plenty happy with it, solid performer, but apparently some of my friends didn't care for it--the clay's pretty low-fired--so they got me this Petr Novak one which is lovely and wonderful, though one has to take a lot of care when emptying the water as the lid can slide off.

Enough has been said here about the unreliability of these bamboo box tea trays, so let me only mention that I think the best use of a box-style tray is in a large one, like when you are cupping two or more teas simultaneously, or otherwise making a big mess. The four inches of elevation you get with a box tray throws off the visual sesnse of proportion when you're only using one teapot/gaiwan, even more so if all the cups and fair cup won't fit on there too.

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Sep 18th, '13, 15:40
Posts: 192
Joined: Feb 16th, '12, 13:41
Location: London England

Re: Which Small Teatray

by etorix » Sep 18th, '13, 15:40

Evan ; thats the one indeed from dth

is it rubbish?

seems i should search more on here for discussions, but im wanting recent impressions

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Sep 18th, '13, 16:10
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Joined: Jan 10th, '10, 16:04
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact: debunix

Re: Which Small Teatray

by debunix » Sep 18th, '13, 16:10

I have one that is very similar in design to the DTH version, that has been in continuous daily or nearly daily use for probably 3 years, first at home and now in the office. It has not leaked, and it is very handy to be able to remove the lid and carry a few pieces of teaware in the bottom tray to the nearest available sink for washing up. Some of the glued connections in the lid loosened when I got careless and left water in it for a few days at a time, but recognition and greater caution stopped the process--I now make sure it is emptied daily and left overnight with the lid off to dry out thoroughly.

I did replace this tray for home use with a nice ceramic tray, but for my work use, the convenience of moving the lighter tray around and using it as transport for washing up beats out the nice looks and greater sturdiness of the ceramic trays.

BTW, this is in an air-conditioned office in Los Angeles.

Sep 20th, '13, 17:24
Posts: 51
Joined: Nov 29th, '12, 18:14
Location: Oslo

Re: Which Small Teatray

by ole » Sep 20th, '13, 17:24

I also got a similar to the wooden one. Been used almost every day for 3-4 years, and still going strong. No signs of leaking - despite my at times careless handling of it. It often spend the night over with water leftovers.
Maybe the fact that it is more or less always a bit wet has allowed it to keep its shape. I suppose the constant drying up process might eventually lead the wood to shrink and swell, causing leaks.

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