Affordable, Small-ish Tea Table?

[heatwaves]

I've been traveling to a satellite office quite often and I wanted to purchase a small tea table. Ideally I'm looking for something that's about 12" long by 8" wide (30 cm x 20 cm). I don't want the basic bamboo travel tray that you lift up the top. Rather I'm looking for one that I use at home that has a slide out tray and looks a lot more expensive than it is. I bought that one in China for $10, but I realize that I'd probably have to pay $40 for the same one in the US. Any ideas on finding one that's affordable? I looked on ebay, but those just seem to be price gauging for what you get.

[debunix]

Can you share of photo of the one you're already happy with? That might help jog memories of what/where someone has seen something like it.

[heatwaves]

Here are two photos, I added my hand to the second photo to show some scale.

tea table.jpg (24.38 KiB) Viewed 2470 times

tea table2.jpg (23.96 KiB) Viewed 2470 times

[debunix]

Aha. The few I've seen in person or online that are remotely like that--but I haven't seen any with such beautiful wood grain--have all been over $50.

[heatwaves]

Thank you. I can't say I'm too surprised. I'm kicking myself a little now because I should have bought three or four when I was in China a few years back. But being that it took over an hour of haggling to get the proprietor down from a whopping $80 US to just $10. I didn't want to complicate the transaction any further.

[sontea]

Yes, teatray will be expensive in North America, because of shipping cost. I checked many designs of tea trays, and I selected this tea tray as best design. It has waste water basin also. I also have bigger one, but for small tea gathering, this size was perfect and convenient.

[jayinhk]

I just bought one just like sontea's...can't wait to get it! My first real tea tray.

[ethan]

Does the wastewater basin attach to the underside of the tray?

In photo the basin can't be seen.

[Tead Off]

Does the wastewater basin attach to the underside of the tray?

In photo the basin can't be seen.

They usually slide in and made of plastic.

[jayinhk]

Yes, it's plastic and slides in and out. It should arrive tomorrow or Monday: it's coming all the way from Yixing!

[jayinhk]

Well, the seller used a slower, cheaper courier: my tea table took a whopping five days to get here. It's bigger than I expected, but that's not a bad thing. It works well and is well made, but the plastic tray is very cumbersome if I let it fill up too much. Because of its length, the water sloshes around from side to side. I struggled to carry it to the sink when it was halfway full, and a little water sloshed out despite my best efforts. I know now to empty it out more frequently so I don't have to struggle.