Saturday TeaDay 8/22/09 TeaCup fave material?

[Chip]

Good TeaDay everyone. Please drop in throughout the day and share what is in your cup today.

Yesterday we discussed tea pot materials. You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.

Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic. Yesterday was teapots. So, today do you have a preferred or favorite TeaCup material? Please share why.

I am looking forward to sharing this TeaDay with everyone. Bottoms up.

[olivierco]

No, I don't think so.

Organic Kabusecha (o-cha) this morning.

[Drax]

Hrm, I don't believe so. As w/ 'preferred,' I only really use glass, porcelain or yixing/clay. But no real favorite material stands out. . .

I'm off to do some errands. .. then I will come back and enjoy a cup of tea.

[brandon]

Porcelain of any shape, size, or vintage is worth trying.

[virago_ns]

Again... I like variety

Cream Earl Grey this morning

[brad4419]

I like clay and stoneware the best.

I like the rugged feel in my hand and using clay or stoneware makes the tea experience much more uniqe because drinking tea is the only time I use clay or stoneware, where as I use porcelein for all kinds of things. Pocelein is nice though.

I don't like metal or glass for teacups at all. Metal gives me the feeling of mass produced, industrial feel and can taste like the metal in your drink. Glass just doesn't have that earthy feeling you get from clay or stoneware.

No tea yet this morning got up a bit late and going for a run.

[JP]

I have yet to try some of the materials used for cups, so I don't have a favorite.

I'm having an Assam this morning.

[Maitre_Tea]

Is it just me, or do I feel like I'm the only one who has a strong opinion about the poll topic these past two days...

I feel that porcelain (almost translucent) makes my tea more vibrantly colored, and I've tried glass and it doesn't make my tea look as nice. Enjoying an over-night brew of Tea Gallery's 100 Year Tree. Very deliciously complex

[Mrs. Chip]

Is it just me, or do I feel like I'm the only one who has a strong opinion about the poll topic these past two days...

It certainly appears that way since most everyone else seems to be fence-sitting. Or definitely are not as passionate about their choice as you are.

I will stick with my choice yesterday ... clay.

Gotta love it, from the unique shapes and glazes, to the feel in the hand, ...

This morning Yunan Gold at work, yummy to drink on the run.

Have a TEArrific TeaDayWeekend everyone!

[reey]

Metal is absolutely out of the question, as is plastic of any sort. I like stoneware best...it's got a good feel and doesn't lose heat. I like clay, too, though not as much as stoneware, but I wa a potter for years, so I have some clay mugs I made especially to fit my tastes.

Glass seems weird though I have a glass mug. I use it for coffee, mostly.

Lunch is a noodle pancake (with udon noodles, onions, and green peppers) and garlic-fried shrimp. so I'm having a good black tea whose flavor won't get lost.

[Chip]

I would have to say since last Fall, Clay as in Hagi, glazed clay. Porcelain was long my fave for 7-8 years. Regardless, it can be textural, but has to have a smooth spot where the lips meet the cup.

Began the TD with Chiran YM from O-Cha, this is "2008 vintage" and still remarkably well preserved and quite delicious. SweeTea concurs while TEAh, Pyrit seemed impressed with the going ons at the TeaTable.

[Intuit]

Porcelain for later in the day. A stoneware mug early on. Glass cups are new to me, but the double-walled versions seem to resolve the heat-lossy issue. Pottery/stonewear works, but unvitrified clay is out. I want a non-reactive, nonabsorptive surface in my cup, please. Unless the metal cup has an interior enamel coating, it's probably going to influence the taste of the tea (fortunately, most of the cast iron tea cups do have this).

Anxi oolong this morning. Finally cooler today, gloriously clear and crisp for a change (we've had near-daily clouds this summer - in the western desert in high summer? Very, very rare to have so few completely clear days). A hint of the coming autumn has me thinking about medium and high fired oolongs again.

[brlarson]

I don't have one preferred material for cups. I use all types of cups but they tend to be glazed.

Jing's Tie Luo Han was this morning's breakfast tea (delicious) with Zencha's Fuji The Ultimate for lunch. Zencha produces stunningly rich, subdued and elegant teas with sparkly little taste motes that twinkle in your mouth long after the cup is empty. They always lift my spirit and make me introspective (you can tell I just finished a cup:-)).

[kymidwife]

I'm a Hagi girl all the way these days... love the texture, variegated color, the way the clay breathes and sweats as if it were alive... it just makes the tea experience something more rich for me. I also have some porcelain, glass, stoneware, and even the dreaded plastic! Tervis Tumblers are great for on-the-go. I know, I know, plastic poison blah blah. I love them. But clay definitely got my vote.

Puttabong FF started my day, and now some Sencha Karigane iced.

Sarah

[Dreamer]

Too funny, I almost went on to answer this question yesterday, but I had a sneaking suspicion that it might be today's poll question.

Yesterday as I was answering I was using porcelain for the first time in while and was noticing how nice it felt in my hand and I was appreciating the smooth thin slightly flared lip of the cup. As I answered yesterday's question (about the fave teapot material), I decided that I also could not pick a favorite cup material either. Sometimes, I want a smooth delicate cup and sometimes must have a heavy cup and sometimes it must have lots of tactile interest.

This morning I tried the same Assam as yesterday (house blend from specialteas)...more leaf, more time, still couldn't get anything out of it. DH liked it (heavily sweetened), but I literally threw mine over the deck railing into the yard. Life is too short for bad tea I will probably mix it with something and make iced tea.

Started over with Yunnan Imperial (also from specialteas) and I LOVE it!!
This tea would be great with eggs and toast at breakfast; unfortunately, I was already finished with breakfast.

Have a joyful day everybody,
Dreamer