Tea on the go

[wyardley]

Or is it that you just appreciate the traditional, more soulful, character side of it? Like a vinyl record collector?

How can I convert you Scruff?
From your tone i gathered that you're not that big of a fan on the ingenuitea tea pot. To me it looks like a solid solution, I see it more 'practical' than the set-ups discussed before. The reviews seem good enough, so why is it you guys still stick with your traditional setups?

Vinyl records aren't just better because they're traditional and soulful, but also because they sound great, many would argue better than digital.

I think the good reviews for the Ingenuitea are because the target market (and target usage scenario) is different. Personally, I wouldn't use one of those (in fact, someone sent me one for free and I didn't even *try* it), so of course I'm not writing reviews about that thing.
btw, I think that product is more or less a copy of the Chinese style pots that work the same way, e.g., the Kamjove one:
http://www.asiachi.com/goartteacup.html

I don't think anyone is saying you can't make a good cup of tea with one of these devices, though I'm sure many here feel you can make a *better* cup of tea using a different method. Aside from any potential safety or leaching issues with plastic, even food grade plastic, it doesn't retain heat well, so I think you'd have some difficulties hitting certain types of leaves with enough heat. The big selling point is convenience, and if I were going to go with a solution like this, I'd probably use less leaf and carry around one of those metal Chinese tea thermoses with a screen on the top (or just put tea leaves loose in a mug or paper cup).

When you're talking about stoneware / Yixing pots, they actually can smooth out the taste of a rough tea, improve the taste of a good tea. Traditional brewing paraphernalia gives you more control of the brewing process itself - the speed of the pour, temperature of the pot itself, etc. And they feel nice in your hands, look nice, and acquire a patina over time.

[eanglin]

I'd love a little kettle that wasn't dependent on having a stove or electricity and didn't use messy or large fuel sources.

Hhhhmmm. Great reply! Very thought provoking. I may be missing something here, but if the kettle was suitable, could you not put your tea leaves inside the kettle once boiled to the right temp. and let it steep in there? Eliminating the need of transferring the water into a tea pot?
Thanks for the reply Eanglin, I imagine i'll be constantly referencing it.

For some teas, where you want the maximum possible heat on the leaves (Black and possibly some Puerh teas) this *might* be a great product, but I see two problems.

Cleaning. Most people like to clean their teapots thoroughly after use. They become stained with tea and if one likes flavored tea, you want to remove the traces of one tea before switching to another flavor. This can be hard with an electrical/mechanical appliances.

Most traditional teapots can be cleaned very thoroughly- bleached even to remove tea stains and residue. Those that cannot be cleaned in this way are expected to 'season' and acquire a patina of tea tannins, and they are usually dedicated to one type of tea so the flavor coming from the residue enhances the next batch of tea instead of ruining it. The market for this type of teapot is a very specialized one.

Second, Temperature curve. The set up you are describing would be like brewing tea in a hot pot. You might get a good cup if you select a high heat friendly tea monitor temperature closely and remove the leaves at just the right time, but doing so is like asking a chef to prepare a soup in an electric crock pot.
A good cook could do it, but they would get better results cooking on a stove where they have precise temperature control and the ability to sautee, change to a thicker or thinner bottomed pot (To prevent or encourage the maillard reaction.) and pull things off the heat completely when necessary.

Making tea is cooking and making the best tea has a lot in common with cooking any gourmet dish- most people strike a personal balance between simplicity aesthetics and brewing the finest cup possible.

You need to decide what market you are targeting- the Rachel-Raye meal in a hurry crowd, or the Martha Stewart use the finest ingredients and best tools to produce sumptuous banquets.

Keep in mind also that for may people the routine of making and drinking tea is a meditation and for some the routine has almost religious overtones. Aesthetics and tradition are extremely important, and for these people improvements and modernizations would have to fit seamlessly into their traditions.

For good examples of this aesthetic see http://mattchasblog.blogspot.com/
He has posted pictures of some gorgeous traditional looking tea equipment that almost invisibly incorporates electric heating elements. *Drools* Gorgeous stuff.

[scruffmcgruff]

How about a butane fueled kettle that can be used as you mentioned, on a picnic, with no need for alcohol burners, charcoal or propane grills?

http://www.msrgear.com/stoves/reactor.asp

There ya go! I think El Padre has a similar stove, if not the same one, and IIRC he likes it a lot.

Scruff, you're advice is invaluable for that reason. If I can deliver a product that is marketable and pleases you, surely that's a success. I want to explore how a modern set-up could appeal to you? Is it simply down to whatever produces the best results? In this case, where can I learn what factors determine a great cup of tea?

Or is it that you just appreciate the traditional, more soulful, character side of it? Like a vinyl record collector?

How can I convert you Scruff?
From your tone i gathered that you're not that big of a fan on the ingenuitea tea pot. To me it looks like a solid solution, I see it more 'practical' than the set-ups discussed before. The reviews seem good enough, so why is it you guys still stick with your traditional setups?

Well, for one, yes I do appreciate the aesthetics of simple yet traditional teawares. Actually, I would consider mine to already be on the modern/minimalist end of so-called "traditional" setups. For the most part though, as wyardley commented, this is just the best way to make good tea. With these tools, a brewer has control over far more variables than with "practical" equipment, which seeks to make the process easier by eliminating variables.

It's similar to a pro-sumer SLR camera vs. a point-and-shoot, if we needed another analogy. With an SLR you have control over aperture, metering, exposure correction, shutter speed, and many other features; you can also change lenses, filters, etc. to produce the desired result. A point-and-shoot camera is far easier to use, is more portable, doesn't require changing lenses, and can produce good results even in the hands of a novice, but generally the pictures will not be as good, the user does not have as much control, and the user must accept the camera's creative choices.

What you seem to be designing is a "point-and-brew" type device, which sacrifices control over variables (pour speed, pour strength, rinsing, aggressiveness when adding water, etc.) in order to appeal to the user who doesn't want to think about the effects those variables can have.

*phew* Long-winded, I know! Hopefully it helps to put things in perspective, though.

[battra]

eanglin, with those answers you should take out a consultation fee!

But this is a very interesting question!
I found what seems to be the homepage of the contest,
http://www.tea-off.com
There they also clarify a thing that puzzled me:

Your sketch and nomenclature suggests tea kettle, but the materials and description suggest tea pot. Which is it?
Kettle. As in a container that boils water. The heat source is not limited by anything but
your research into ways to make heat hot enough to boil water; lifestyle trends; cultural contexts; etc. Whatever other purpose the hot water may serve, the expectation is that tea, its social and cultural place in history and into the future, will be the source of the inspiration for this competition’s entries.
If you find a way to infuse tea in the kettle, and even a way to serve the tea from the
kettle, then that is allowed, but please explain the function and rationale.

Hmm, maybe heat water with gunpowder... Hot water in a second!

As for the "sorapot" depicted above, I think it looks ridiculous and must suck big time when it comes to brewing tea. Of course, that isn't necessarily a problem, because it is a very inventive design, which could certainly win design contests and be sold at posh design shops. The people who buy it probably don't brew tea very often, so they will not have a problem with such things as ease of inserting tea leaves and water and cleaning the pot, or the taste of the tea.

[Geekgirl]

I have some very specific ideas about what I would want in a travel kettle. I've never seen one like what I would like, so...

1. small, holding about 4-6 cups.

2. induction plate with variable temp. Maybe 2-3 temp settings.(110v for USA)

3. stainless steel kettle, induction quality

4. WIDE mouth for easy cleaning

5. tempered glass view window in the size.

6. vulcanized rubber handle and teapot knob (no slip)

7. drop in stainless steel infuser basket, basket should also be wide and deep. Basket needs a little handle so it can be removed easily even when very hot.

Styling... very little preference, although the simpler the better. The whole unit should be made for compactness, so having a little "holder" of some sort that keeps the plate and cord all wrapped up, or possibly even held with the pot... perhaps a collapsible plastic box or egg, for easy packing.

last: Retail for $100 or less.

(dream design. )

[Salsero]

As for the "sorapot" depicted above, I think it looks ridiculous and must suck big time when it comes to brewing tea.

+ 1

Kudos on mentioning the emperor's nakedness!

[scruffmcgruff]

As for the "sorapot" depicted above, I think it looks ridiculous and must suck big time when it comes to brewing tea.

+ 1

Kudos on mentioning the emperor's nakedness!

[caligatia]

I have some very specific ideas about what I would want in a travel kettle.

I want one of what you described!

[Salsero]

I have some very specific ideas about what I would want in a travel kettle.

I want one of what you described!

Put me down for one too.

[wyardley]

I've always loved the use of glass and seeing the actual tea. But i noticed few of you use anything like this, any specific reason?

Glass teaware is, in fact, fairly popular. A lot of people do use glass at one point in the chain or another (there are glass gaiwans and teapots, glass cha hais, glass drinking cups, but overall, it doesn't retain heat as well as other things, especially when brewing teas that require high heat. Keep in mind that people on this forum are not necessarily the best representatives of your average tea consumer, and many of the people here are into traditional Japanese or Chinese tea ceremony, where earthenware, porcelain, metal, and wood are much more traditional. One of my friends runs a tea shop, and she sells a ton of glass teapots (probably more than she sells of more traditional wares).

For brewing green teas, I think glass makes some sense, and people frequently do use glass (and thin porcelain) for brewing and / or serving green teas, white teas, and other delicate teas. A lot of tea shops use them, mostly because they look nice. They're used a lot for those awful flowering display teas too, but that's because the whole point of those teas is to look at them.

I don't really prefer glass myself generally, though I think there is a glass cha hai (serving pitcher) in the picture of my work setup you quoted earlier.

[scruffmcgruff]

I've always loved the use of glass and seeing the actual tea. But i noticed few of you use anything like this, any specific reason?

I use a glass cha hai and like the look of it; plus it doesn't clash with any of my other wares. The only problem with glass is that, while it doesn't stain too badly, the stains really show, and it can be annoying to clean. I have fancied getting myself a glass kettle though, and actually a fair number of "traditional" tea shops in the US use glass kettles similar to this:

http://www.imperialtea.com/AB1002000Sto ... gory_ID=18