The Exotic Teapot

For centuries tea has entered the political arena hence impacting societies, prosperity and traditions around the world.  In 1391 the Ming Dynasty in China ruled that loose teas were to be honoured by the courts instead of tea bricks.  In 1773 a historical event in the soon to be USA occurred, rebuking taxation of tea from the British Parliament. This was instrumental to the American Revolution.  Today, if using a US search engine such as Google.com then typing in tea party over 72,500 links appear, with the first page and many more associated with the current political movement called the tea party.  These are just two nations’ examples.  The history of tea and its benefits indicate what a precious commodity it truly is.   

Black, robust, aromatic plus delicious with or without milk or sugar defines a great breakfast tea. Organic black teas from India in the Assam region are some of the most superb morning blends.  This is due to Assam’s perfect balance of humidity and heat.  These growing conditions result in tea that has a gentle malty yet spicy taste.

What to name the new furry or feathered addition to the family is a joyous debate.  Often the owner will select the pet’s physical appearance, characteristic traits, native origin or simply his/her favorite gender name.  Some humans put more thought in the process, incorporating one of their own habits into the salutation.  This is the case for husband and wife museum curators and writing team Ron and Janet Benrey.  Featured in their stories are two British shorthair cats Lapsang and Souchong.  Their fur is a smoky gray; these types of teas have a smoky flavour.  Their Shiba Inu, an ancient Japanese canine breed, is named Cha-Cha; cha is referred to as tea in many parts of the world.  And, of course their African Gray Parrot is called Earl.

We just received the first batch of 2010 Spring teas and in particular our full range of flowering teas. It's the culmination of a few hard weeks of traveling through India and China to visit our tea masters and teaware producer. Despite an inevitable shortage of premium tea this year, we think we've managed to secure some very high quality tea. We hope our customers enjoy tasting our fresh 2010 spring tea as much as we have. You can read more about our trip here.

Wendy Mor, born in London, England, traveled the world before selecting Israel as her permanent residence.  The journey influenced everything she associates with art.  She has designed and manufactured clothes and sold her drawings and paintings.  But it wasn’t until she met clay matter that she selected her permanent media.  Now, Wendy combines or selects English, Greek, Indian, Italian and Far East cultural icons or trends as her ceramic subject matter.  This “Manjushri Teapot” is a perfect example.

Using soft slabs of clay, imported Indian wood cuts and textured objects found in everyday homes, Elaine Pinkernell creates one of a kind functional teapots, mugs and vases.  She compares her process to that of quilting.  First she selects a coloured slab just as one would a fabric.  Then she creates impressions with stamping as a quilter would with stitching.  Next she assembles each slab into one form, such as the shape of a teapot; similar to assembling all decorative fabric pieces into one quilt.  Pinkernell’s last process is to glaze the teapot with a tint which will best reveal the textured slab form then fire at high temperatures, enabling her wares to withstand dishwasher use.