Taiwanese Tea Brush

[Cinnabar Red]

Hi,

Just wondering if any of you use a tea brush for use on your yixings. I use it to liberally "paint" my teapot with tea while preparing tea, in the hopes of hurrying along the patina process.

Anyone think this actually works??

[JP]

No brush here. No hurry to create a patina either.

[wyardley]

I don't think it so much makes the pot develop a shine faster; it helps to ensure that the pot's patina develops somewhat evenly. It's so that tea oils are distributed to areas that don't normally get as much, so that water doesn't accumulate for too long in areas where it otherwise might, and so that big spots of oil don't create spots or lines on the pot. If the pot is surrounded by tea / water (i.e., in a tea boat), you can brush up the tea onto the rest of the pot.

I usually use a wet tea towel to do more or less the same thing; I've been looking for the perfect brush, but so far, I haven't been happy with the ones I've found.

[gingkoseto]

I got a free tea brush in my recent purchase of tea from Taiwan. I found it almost exactly the same as my powder brushes, just a bit smaller, but from appearance to texture, almost exactly the same.

I also heard some painting brushes made from wool hair work great as makeup brushes, yet much cheaper. I didn't try it because I've already got more makeup brushes than I could use. But I guess, maybe all these brushes can replace each other

I don't use brush on yixing at all, and I have quite enough makeup brushes. So I may end up using my new tea brush in painting

[wyardley]

The ones I've seen most people who know what they're doing use appear to be makeup brushes, not the special purpose teapot brushes that are sold. Actually, almost bought one at Sephora when we were at the mall on the LA tea excusion today.

The art and calligraphy brushes I've tried (even ones that look fluffy / puffy) seem a little too stiff or something.

[gingkoseto]

Actually, almost bought one at Sephora when we were at the mall on the LA tea excusion today.

Yeah that can be an option And I can imagine some women in China buying tea brushes as less expensive options to replace sephora makeup brushes because sephora is relatively more expensive there

The art and calligraphy brushes I've tried (even ones that look fluffy / puffy) seem a little too stiff or something.

The calligraphy brushes made from sheep hair are supposed to be softer. Many are made from wolf (or maybe sort of coyote? since there aren't that many wolves around) hair and those are stiffer.

[edkrueger]

German Shepperd?

[Cinnabar Red]

German Shepherds(had to look the spelling up ) probably shed more than my brush.

[gingkoseto]

Just for fun. My *tea* brush and *other* brushes.

[xuancheng]

Just for fun. My *tea* brush and *other* brushes.

Ginko, please mark your brushes! Which are for Yixing, which are for makeup? You wouldn't want us using makeup bruses for our teapots, now would you?

I bought a brush for my teapot, but it smelled a lot like sheep oil. I had to soak it in tea for a long time until the smell was goe.